Putting a mark on the ballot paper should be an uplifting experience for the citizen, a triumphant assertion of his constitutional right to install or reject. Increasingly, that constitutional right is fast becoming a nightmare because he is given the option of choosing, as it were, between competing evils.
On what basis, then, is the concerned voter to make a selection? I cannot pretend to provide answers. In fact, if anything I might probably heighten and deepen your sense of gloom, add to the anguish and bewilderment regarding the "difficult decision" troubling you.
Naturally, such doubts will leave those lucky enough to come under the "committed" umbrella undisturbed. For them marking the ballot paper poses scarce anxiety, since their political commitment is firm and unswerving, unlikely to be influenced by performance or promise. But for millions making up their mind afresh, this election (as most past elections) is a no-choice election.
In the right hand corner, glowing and poised, stands Atal Behari Vajpayee. Victor of Kargil, Slayer of Nawaz Sharif, Curber of inflation, Harbinger of national pride, Bomb blaster extraordinary etc, etc. In the merry month of August, Mr Vajpayee is being gift-wrapped as a cunning mix of Winston Churchill, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi with a little bit of Lee Kuan Yew thrown in. The hypocrisy of those responsible for this sudden projection will not have escaped the astute Vajpayee. After all, barely eight months ago, these very people were calling him nikamma (useless) and mukhota (mask).
The Prime Minister knows that once he "delivers the goods"-as he is likely to-his detractors within his party and the alliance will show their true colours. Deflation will follow elevation at roughly complementary speeds. Mr Govindacharya has not suddenly become a Vajpayee-bhakt, he is merely biding his time. The insurance policy the Prime Minister has taken out in the shape of Janata Dal (United) may not be enough.
Kargil, doubtless, has magnificently obscured the Vajpayee government's record in office. To that extent, Mr Pramod Mahajan and the BJP publicity juggernaut (with a little help from DD) has been singularly successful. However, the truth won't hide for long. Despite the fact that Hindutva has been temporarily locked up, the National Democratic Alliance has instability and bad governance written all over it. That a 24-party grouping, with such old faithfuls as George Fernandes, R.K. Hegde, Mamata Banerjee, P.S. Badal joined in hasty matrimony with new faithfuls like O.P. Chautala, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sharad Yadav, J.H. Patel, M. Karunanidhi, is a recipe for turmoil and non-governance needs no emphasising. Compared to this lot, Jayalalitha seems positively benign.
If to this medley of inherently unstable individuals, one adds recklessness and adventurism, which characterises the disposition of many of Vajpayee's colleagues in government, you have the perfect script for a dangerously unstable India.
Meanwhile, in the left hand corner, reading a prepared text, stands Sonia Gandhi and the Congress. On paper the party seems an attractive option. It has, despite numerous blemishes, a long and honourable record of service to the nation. The Congress, unlike the BJP, is not obsessed with "changing the face of Indian society". Although it has paid obeisance to both demons, the Congress is neither communal nor casteist. Given these historical advantages and the many openings the Vajpayee regime has handed the Congress on a platter, one would expect Sonia to begin as a clear favourite, Kargil notwithstanding. Unfortunately, when it comes to self-destruction the Congress has few equals. Today Sonia and her team are seen as bungling, immature and insincere.
The party's poll tactics defy comprehension. Even those living in Manto's mental asylum would recognise Kargil as BJP's strong point and stable government as BJP's weak point. So, what does the Congress do? Day in and day out it attacks Vajpayee on Kargil without providing one shred of evidence to back its charge of negligence. Not surprisingly, the electorate sees such attacks as petulant and carping. On stability, the Achilles' heel of the NDA, the Congress is less than eloquent and pressing.
I have left till last the leadership row. How, we must ask, did last November's sure winner turn into September's sure loser? What message does Sonia's Peter Sellers-like Bellary dash send to her party and to the nation? When she goes like a thief at night to file her nomination, she concedes defeat not only for her party but for herself in her chosen seat. Whether Sonia is personally guilty for these juvenile but costly blunders or her discredited coterie (Ahmed Patel is currently flavour of the week) it is difficult to ascertain. She must know, however, that the buck stops with her.
There are, then, two options for the uncommitted voter. Either he becomes a conscientious objector and sits at home inviting the charge of irresponsible citizen, or he makes a non-party choice through a painstaking post-mortem on the offered candidates. If you live, say, in South Delhi this process will lead you to Dr Manmohan Singh. If, however, you live (as I do) in New Delhi, the same process leads you to Jagmohan and R.K. Dhawan. Irresponsible citizen, clearly, is the favourite in my constituency.
