There once was a time when the people pooled in money—10 rupees and 20 rupees—to put up candidates they wanted to see represent them.
Today, voters expect parties and candidates to hand them money—500 rupees and 1,000 rupees and multiples thereof—if they want to vote for them.
The “Gandhi of Mandya”, as former Karnataka Assembly speaker Krishna is known, spent Rs 32,000 in his first election in 1985.
And won.
Last week, Krishna announced his retirement from active politics, bemoaning the obscene role of money in modern-day Karnataka politics.
Political parties, he says, have ruined India’s political system beyond redemption with their flagrant use of money and casteism.
churumuri 
Without doubt, he has spoken the TRUTH by calling a spade, the spade. As for caste-based candidates, I am prompted to relate or recall a candidate named DEVIAH, a so-called socially backward or outcast who used to contest from Srirampuram constituency (block) in the Bangalore City Corporation elections. A truly Gandhian to the core, irrespective of his social identity, many ‘upper caste’ voters elected him with glee since he delivered most of the promises that he made at the time of electioneering.
He founded a school named Sarvodaya School and strove hard for the betterment of his locality and gladly interacted with the neighbouring reps so that the development works mooted by him bear the fruits. Evident was the Deviah Park that the citizens of this area dedicated to him and wonder (wish) it still exists in Nagappa Block.
Such committed and dedicated leaders are hard to find these days….
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Sri. Krishna has repeated what most people know. However with his forty years of experience he has not suggested what can be done. I wish he also could have stated as things were getting bad to worse how did he fight against casteism and money power in his party.
Can Churumuri publish articles which discusses what needs to be done to stop and reverse the twin problems of casteism and money power in India’s election?
What is the contribution of our intellectuals who are good at analysis to reform the electoral process? By this time they must have realized that preaching and writing is not going to help? Contesting in one election like Nandan Nilekani did does not help. Had he continued in politics, he could have helped the Congress party and could have even taken over the party rather than allow dynasty to destroy it. None of the parties younger or brighter leaders because only those who fail at every thing join politics today. I go to colleges an schools and when I ask who will consider joining politics, I do not get any response. If I press, I may get one or two raised hands.
I regret now that I played my role as an independent rather than join a party and fight casteism and money power from within. I might have failed but I would have had the satisfaction of doing my duty.
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Media is fully complicit in making the indian elections a caste cess-pool by analysing everything from a caste perspective. how does the media know how many votes a candidate/party obtained from different castes – is it not fake news? Shouldn’t media folks be jailed for publishing such fake news?
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