Candidates Squirm As Voters Shoot Queries, Demand Accountability

The right to recall your MP or MLA may well be a distant prospect, but the first moves have been initiated. Across the country, stray efforts are being made to put candidates of various parties on the mat, and to ensure that only the right kind of people are elected to the Lok Sabha. Elections 1998 may well see a new high in voter assertion and awareness.

There is litle coordination in the efforts of various organisations and individuals concerned with the degeneration in politics and public life. The idea is to make a difference in the quality of persons elected, and making them more responsive to the voter. So far, the efforts have been confined to the metros and state capitals, but initial reports say the spirit is catching on and spreading to the interiors too.

 

Leading lights in various fields have come together to do something about the way candidates-most of them of the unsavoury kind-get elected. Most of them are apolitical, which adds credence to the effort. Candidates are already reported to be squirming at the new dimension, much to the delight of the voter.

Two initiatives that have drawn wide response are: one, led by an organisation called Election Watch in Andhra Pradesh; and two, the joint effort of five respected, non-profit organisations in Tamil Nadu. There is no indication of any coordination between the two initiatives, but one of the methods used by both is sending a detailed questionnaire to candidates, and putting their responses on public display for the benefit of the voter.

The questions relate to the candidates financial position, income tax compliance details, movable and immovable property, political record, criminal history (if any), views on electoral reforms, family and educational background, past political alliances, experience in legislature and public positions held.

Says ex-IAS officer Jayaprakash Narayan, the brain behind Election Watch: We have received some responses to the questionnaire. Former chief minister N Janardhana Reddy, the Congress candidate from Bapatla, was among the first to reply. Some candidates in Vijayawada and Guntur have also replied. Their answeres will be put on public display in their own constituencies. Our voters are a clever lot. They will judge each candidate from these answers.

In Tamil Nadu, the move has found support from TMC president G K Moopanar, DMK chief M Karunanidhi, AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha and Janata Partys Subramaniam Swamy.

About 70 responses have been received so far. Thanks to the endorsement by the leaders, candidates of their parties are taking the questionnaire seriously, says N L Rajah, legal adviser to the Federation of Consumer Organisations, one of the five organisations involved in the effort.

The organisations have launched a media offensive in the form of advertisements in leading local dailies, urging voters to insist on the complete bio-data of the candidates when they come canvassing. Rajah says the response from the districts has been far better than that in Chennai, and adds that the total number of candidates has come down from 700 in the 1996 elections to 296 now for the 39 seats in the state.

The Election Watch has take more steps to empower voters. It helps them to enrol themselves in the first place, and persuades those not too keen on voting to actually go and exercise their franchise.

Moreover, the voters are told that if they do not find a suitable candidate in the fray, they should still take the ballot paper, invalidate it and desposit it in the ballot box. A sizeable number of invalid votes would indicate voters indignation.

A popular programme organised by the group is called Common Public Platform, where candidates are bluntly put questions by an informed audience that is in no mood to accept half-hearted replies. Within a few weeks, it has caught on in Andhra Pradesh, with Election Watch establishing branches in 17 of the 22 districts in the state.

Some of the questions out to the candidates are: Your party talks of not entertaining criminals. Then why was a person with criminal background admitted into the party recently with much fanfare? Why does your party insist on legislation to give reservation to women in legislatures; can you not provide it voluntarily? Dont you think politicians should retire after a certain age, like others...?

A similar exercise is on in Chandigarh as well, where each candidate deposes before a select gathering of voters. Each makes a statement of what they and their party stand for, and what they have done for the constituency so far. The sessions are interactive, and often place the candidates in uncomfortable situations. The audience comprises informed people from various walks of life.

However, the issue of secularism is conspicuous by its absence in such efforts, but this is sought to be remedied by the New Delhi-based Committee for the Defence of Secularism set up by 14 intellectuals. It has shortlisted 500 constituencies to ascertain the winnability of secular candidates. The list of such candidates is to be released in each state capital to help voters identify the strong candidates.

According to Syed Shahabuddin, one of those involved in the effort, the committee is neutral vis-a-vis secular parties. The committee has come to the conclusion after considerable deliberations that the Congress is a secular party while the allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party are not. The premise of the committees effort is: The voters are not captives of political parties, and have a mind of their own.

To identify criminals among candidates, Outlook, a leading weekly newsmagazine, has set up a panel of eminent, apolitical citizens, and has asked voters to pass on any information they have on dubious candidates. The panel is in the process of examining the list of candidates of various parties, and would shortlist those considered unfit to contest. The list is to be made public.

Those involved in the initiatives admit that a drastic change may not come about during Elections 1998, but surely, they could set the tone for a more transparent and fair elections in future.

Alongwith the election coverage on various channels on television, the voter may soon be in a position where s/he is not taken for granted by the candidates.

Inputs: R Srinivasan (Hyderabad) & Sridevi Srikkanth (Chennai)

ALL FOR VOTER EMPOWERMENT

INITIATIVE ONE:

Area of work: Andhra Pradesh

Organisation: Election Watch.

People involved: Former chief justices Alladi Kuppuswamy, Lakshman Rao and Avula Sambasiva Rao, former vice-chancellors A Appa Rao, RVR Chandrashekhara Rao, former Supreme Court judge O Chinnappa Reddy, Air Chief Marshal (retd) Latif, former RBI governor M Narsimhan, Finance Commission member B P R Vittal, former IAS officer Jayaprakash Narayan.

INITIATIVE TWO:

Area of work: Tamil Nadu

Organisations: The Catalyst Trust, Makkal Aatchi Iyakkam, Federation of Consumer Organisations, the Rajaji Trust, and the Satyamurthy Foundation.

People involved: M S Udayamurthy, an NRI now back in India, N L Rajah, and trustees of the five organisations.

INITIATIVE THREE:

Area of work: All-India

Organisation: Committee for the Defence of Secularism.

People involved: Rajni Kothari, Amrik Singh, T T P Abdullah, Kuldip Nayar, Moosa Raza, Syed Shahabuddin, Imtiaz Ahmad, V R Krishna Iyer, A Sayed Hamid, Rajendra Sachar, Ali Mohammad Khusro, Ahmed Hashmi, Aeez Burney, S M H Burney.

INITIATIVE FOUR:

Area of work: All-India

Organisation: Outlook, weekly newsmagazine.

People involved: former Supreme Court judge Kuldip Singh, former Maharashtra governor C Subramanium, former home secretary Madhav Godbole and social worker Swami Agnivesh.