A new chapter begins in the Lok Sabha elections

The electoral field for the Lok Sabha elections has been set, the process of accusations and counter-accusations against each other has started increasing as usual among all the political parties. The violent mentality of immorality, defection, accusations and counter-allegations has spread in politics with all the claims of cleanliness, morality and establishment of values. Politicians are beating the drum of defection. No party has lagged behind in giving tickets to turncoats, because the question is limited to winning the elections by whatever means. Very few people care about principles and political values ​​anymore. Electoral politics is also adding bitterness to the atmosphere of the country. Healthy and value based politics is being sidelined. Politics has been completely reduced to casteism, muscle power and money power. The situation is such that more than half of the candidates fielded by political parties so far are turncoats, criminals or tainted people. In such a situation, who and from whom should one expect improvement in the level of politics? The silence of political parties on this issue is understandable, but the silence of the Election Commission is beyond comprehension.

Lok Sabha elections is a historical and important occasion of leadership selection, on this occasion, Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching’s book “The Tao of Leadership” is a light for politics and politicians. This is a wonderful, unique and incomparable work which presents a creative strategy of leadership for the new era. Today, when there is a dense darkness over the question of leadership everywhere in the country and the world, the extremes of despair and irresponsibility have brought politics and leadership into complex times. When we look at the entire scenario of the society and the nation, we do not see any leadership that can show us the right path amidst the difficult and complex situations that we have to face.

There should be no harm in accepting that everyone is watching the twilight of democracy, but with silence. Perhaps everyone has their own compulsions. The voter’s compulsion is that he has to choose only one among the candidates in the fray. This country has also seen people taking to the streets against inflation, unemployment, crime against women, poverty, communalism, but there has never been any movement against the politics of confrontation, crime, anti-nationalism and violence. The Election Commission may have its own limitations, but people contest and win elections while sitting in jail. Villains have started becoming heroes. The maximum expenditure limit for contesting elections is openly violated, but the Commission is unable to do anything. During the election campaign, abusive language is used openly, but the Commission is relieved of its responsibility only by giving notice. Not only money but even liquor is openly distributed to the voters to buy their votes, but no action is taken against any candidate. The public is troubled by the falling standards of politics, but does not raise its voice against it. This silence should be broken in these Lok Sabha elections and the leadership that will make the nectar of independence bitter should come to the fore. Such a leadership which will take the country as a leading economic superpower and create a golden story of development.

The need for a successful, meaningful, capable and characterful opposition leadership has been there in every era, but today it is being felt more acutely. What should the opposition leadership be like, how should it behave with its own colleagues as well as the ruling party? What should be there and what should not be there? What should he do, why should he do, when should he do, how should he do? etc. are some complex and serious questions without finding answers to which we cannot reveal a capable opposition leadership. It is on the basis of the answers to these questions that we will have to strengthen the leadership of the ruling party and the opposition. No power in the world will be able to hinder the progress of the nation which will get the leadership which has the answers to these questions, which will be timely, tolerant, neutral, far-sighted and selfless. Only such leadership will be able to create new history and lead the future generations towards better directions. Today, the kind of violent culture of accusations and counter-accusations that has developed in the election campaign, throwing shoes and slippers at each other, attacking with stones, using abusive words on small matters, hue and cry, sledging and ruckus. There are incidents like this which blur the leadership.

There has been a lot of change in the mindset of people regarding leadership, today there are situations thirsty for capable leadership, but unfortunately there is no expected leadership. There is a reservoir, there is no water. There is a city, there are no citizens. There is hunger, there is no bread – in such a situation we have to think whether this unexpected void of leadership can be filled? Can we get rid of the terrible and dire crisis and dilemma that the nation is facing today? Recently I read a sharp satire on the question of leadership – ‘The difference between a country and a train is that the train cannot be run carelessly.’ That is, negligence in running the country is forgivable, but negligence in derailment of a train is not forgivable, because the question of a person’s life is associated with it. But let us not forget that the day the country’s leadership deviates from its principles and ideals, the question of destruction of entire humanity and nationality will arise.

Today, the standards of democratic, cultural and moral life values ​​have changed in the country and the objectives of justice, law and order have now started giving new interpretation. Character came to the margins, power came to the centre. At such a time, in the race to get the chair, people do not share responsibilities, they start sharing characters and a serious question has arisen as to how to keep the soul of a country whose character has become sellable. Who is responsible for his responsibilities today? Who is honest about the policies? In this context, Acharya Tulsi’s statement reveals the reality that “It seems that the meaning of a politician is not to maintain order in the country, but to maintain his power and chair.” Politician does not mean that policy-oriented personality, who gives utmost importance to the progress, development, expansion and prosperity of the nation at any cost, but that clownish personality, who, even after throwing the nation’s development and prosperity into the pit of degradation, does not mean his own. Gives supreme importance to the chair.” Political people cannot be expected to become Mahatmas, but it is not right that they should descend to animalism.

The biggest anomaly and oddity of the present opposition leadership is that it is a clairvoyant, who can see the bad even in the good of the ruling party. This leadership is devious, elusive, not a leader, but an actor, not a real character, playing the role of a clown. This leadership does not shy away from doing anything to attain power, even the kind of politics it is doing to reach power sitting on the shoulders of the people, the efforts being made to deceive and woo the public in the manifestos. In a way, they also seem to be the first to stab the public in the back. Even more dangerous is the intemperate, criminal and characterless nature of this leadership, which gives more importance to its family than the nation in order to capture power. He gives more importance to his caste and community than to the country. For whom winning elections is not a means of service, but a means of luxury. In order to have a clean face of leadership, it is required that the character of the people coming into this field be tested. If any new technique of character test like IQ test is used, then this Lok Sabha election fight will be more meaningful.

– Lalit Garg

Writer, Journalist, Columnist