In democracy, voters are the heroes—the empowered masses who shape nations through the ballot box. But politicians across countries—India, the US, and the UK—view voters as transactional tools, a “bank” to be tapped during election seasons and discarded afterward.
This perspective isn’t unique to any ideology or region; it’s how power operates.
Why Rage Over Bonuses and Hikes But Not Crumbling Roads?
We fume over a denied salary hike or bonus, blaming our boss for incompetence or greed. Yet, we shrug off pothole-riddled roads, rampant corruption siphoning taxes, or failing public services. Citizens treat government failures as inevitable, like bad weather. Corruption scandals rarely spark sustained anger equivalent to personal financial slights.
This pattern echoes in the West, where voters decry corporate greed but tolerate government waste, like national debt or inefficient disaster responses post-Hurricane Katrina. Governments condition voters to low expectations, framing systemic issues as “complex” while personal grievances feel immediate and actionable.
If people directed the same energy toward holding politicians accountable for misusing funds and bad behaviour, real change might follow. But as long as voters remain passive outside their wallets, politicians have little incentive to deliver.
A convenient excuse is politics is a dirty business. What’s stopping politics from being clean? Are those factors or reasons impossible to overcome, like going to Mars?
Essential Only at Election Time
In election mode, voters are courted with promises, rallies, and freebies. Post-victory? Ignored until the next cycle. This “bank” analogy fits globally.
In India, parties dispense cash incentives to withdraw votes. The US sees super PACs and donor-driven campaigns, where ordinary voters are secondary to big-money “deposits.” The poor and marginalized, often the most reliable voters, are prime targets. It’s frequently the economically disadvantaged who show up, lured by tangible handouts.
In India’s recent Bihar assembly elections, the BJP-NDA government’s Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana transferred Rs. 10,000 to over 75 lakh women just before voting, a move credited with boosting female turnout to record levels and securing a landslide win. Critics labeled it a blatant vote-buying tactic, yet it worked, highlighting how politicians exploit vulnerability rather than empower through policy.
If majority voters are no longer vulnerable, and their needs are met, they shift to the non-voting armchair-commentating educated, academic or business classes. They become useless to any political party. These are citizens who only worry about tax rates and the visa policy for going abroad.
Post-Election Contempt: Abuse, Threats, and Intimidation
Once in power, respect for voters vanishes. Party workers and leaders often treat citizens with outright disdain.
VCK party workers in Chennai assaulted a lawyer and damaged his scooter after a minor collision, chasing him into court premises in a brazen display of thuggery.
In West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, TMC party affiliates threatened Hindus, rigged polls, and intimidated dissenters. Cases of rape, murder, and destruction of Hindu homes and shops were recorded.
In theory, there are accountability mechanisms. In practice, there are ways to smoothen a cycle of exploitation. Voters remain the ultimate dupes in this democratic farce, across India, the US, the UK, and beyond.
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