Social scientists must be as perplexed as psephologists, who carried out those exit polls just before the electorate went to vote in Delhi—an election that ended in disastrous results for the BJP and the Congress.
Let us examine this queer behaviour of a population that voted the Congress to power for fifteen long years, term after term, and then, did not give even one seat to them this time round.
It is understood that those belonging to the Lutyens’ Delhi cocktail circuit of power, profit and pelf, do not stir out to vote…they don’t really matter in the larger scheme of things. The remaining population can safely be divided into those who gave bribes and those who received bribes, with a minority who sat on the fringe that neither received nor gave bribes to the powerful underlings in government departments.
Looking at the mandate, this sudden change of heart of the bribe-givers and the bribe-takers, within a short span of one year, is rather intriguing. However, in view of the Lok Sabha results, it is clear that the people of India have firmly stated thus far and no further for the Congress.
Initially, what was intriguing was that the BJP even lost the constituencies that were dominated by government servants. Later on, after much analysis, one could figure out the reason…the government servant is unhappy with the central government. Prime minister Modi has made sure anyone, high or low, within the bureaucracy, has not only to work for full eight hours but also arrive at his desk in time. No afternoon golf and free lunches any more.
The bribe-giver is happy and hopes he will not be asked for money to part with for a death or birth certificate or any such document. The psychology of the bribe-taker, who too must have voted for Kejriwal, is even more interesting. It has been a free-for-all for those 15 long years that Congress ruled Delhi. The bribe-taker rightly feels that he is surrounded on one side by Modi, who says, “neither will I take nor will I give” and on the other by Kejriwal, who is already gunning for those who are corrupt.
Has the electorate of India, including of Delhi, decided, “thus far and no further”? Yes, indeed, now the voter has nothing to do with the political philosophy of the Congress, BJP or even AAP. If the economy is in good shape, prices do not rise, there is no corruption in high or low places, if the image of the country keeps shining and the neighbourhood enemy is taught a lesson or two, he will continue to vote a party that will provide these fundamentals.
Modi may get away by achieving little during his term by virtue of inheriting the ruins from Congress but Kejriwal has already promised too much and deliverables are not really directly under his control.
Is the Indian democracy in trouble? No. It has evolved and would further evolve until a time when the PM takes the metro or bicycle to work, the crafty business tycoon waits out his turn for an appointment with the high and mighty, the man on the street gets his voice back and no one is hiding in the cracks. Long time to go…