What’s with the Congress bigwigs? Rahul Gandhi’s trusted advisors and mentors seem determined to see whatever prospects there are for the party go down the drain. After Jairam Ramesh, it is now the turn of Sam Pitroda to offer outlandish solutions to regain past glory. It is par for the course for losers to denigrate EVMs to save face, but to advise a boycott of the polls altogether is irresponsible and dangerous. This is yet another example of uncalled for foreign interference in India’s internal affairs. As there is still some time for the next Lok Sabha polls, more such anti-India actions can be expected.
There are several countries around the world that have suffered long term damage following local political parties having taken such extreme measures out of frustration at not being able to influence voters in their favour. This is not how democracies work, particularly well-established and credible ones like India’s.
It is also an intolerable insult to India’s Election Commission, one of the best functioning institutions. As the EVM is a standalone machine, it would require the many thousand government officials to be complicit in their rigging. That is not possible because they cannot all be coerced to do so and, at the same time, keep the secret. Thus far, despite the many claims, no proof has been provided of some ‘centralised’ manipulation of the EVMs. It may also be noted that in whichever country poll results go against the public mandate, it is the people who voted that challenge the outcome. That has never been the case in India.
Parties like the Congress should know that a return to the ballot box would damage their prospects the most. The BJP and some regional parties have the cadre base to rig ballot boxes. Politicians seem to have forgotten the times when dominant communities in the constituencies used to take over polling booths and keep out the others. The Congress in the past had the support base to counter such challenges, but it no longer can do so. A return to the old system would harm it the most.
The opposition really must review its strategy against the BJP. It is presently only harming its own interests by ceding space unnecessarily by tactics not unsimilar to Pitroda’s boycott suggestion. Without the people’s support, mere symbolism will remain an empty gesture, paying zero political dividends.
