The Congress party has finally decided on who is to be the Chief Minister of Kerala. With this, the final chapter of the recent round of assembly elections has been closed, though some drama can still be expected before the swearing-in of VD Satheesan to the post. It has been a stormy couple of months. Newspaper columnists, TV news channels and, above all, the unrestrained social media discussed threadbare the issues involved in the entire range – from the farcical to the authentic, even prophetic.
Considering the critical issues and high stakes involved in each of the states involved, it was only natural for the people of the nation to be drawn into the entire narrative. This included the people of the north, who were initiated into the politics of the south in a manner not seen before. So, while the political parties were battling it out, people have been acquainted with the many aspects of each state’s particular identity – cultural, economic, vulnerabilities, biases, strengths and weaknesses. The violent nature of West Bengal politics was thoroughly scrutinised, its historical roots, the structure of power, and the hubris of the ruling TMC. The heights of the ridiculous were reached when MP Mahua Moitra asked people to name even one Gujarati who participated in the freedom movement. Would one Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi have sufficed?
Similarly, everyone in the north is now well acquainted with the ‘Dravidian’ politics of Tamil Nadu and the DMK’s deep antipathy towards ‘Sanatan Dharma’. Also, how the people in that state have been so deeply obsessed with screen heroes and heroines that they can overcome the programming of ‘revolutionary’ ideologies to place without hesitation a rank newcomer in the seat of power.
They also know now about the intricate caste and community matrix of Kerala, which has a quiet balance but subtly transforms the power equation on an almost regular basis – except for the one repeated term of Pinarayi Vijayan. They can see how, despite all the high falutin talk of social justice, all the Congress candidates for Chief Ministership were from the upper castes.
All this shows the many aspects of a democracy. It is not just about choosing a government through elections – it is also about informative debates in the many formats which educate the people in the crucial elements of decision-making. There are elections approaching in other states and there can be no doubt that even people living in distant villages will have understood the complexities involved. It is even possible that the reported drop in IPL viewership may have been caused by people watching the real life drama of politics, instead.
