Case registered against two leaders in cash-for-vote case. But strange money in elections is a much bigger story
Police have registered a case against BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and BJP Maharashtra election candidate Rajan Naik after cash was recovered from a hotel in Virar. A viral video on Tuesday showed his political opponents throwing wads of money at him, accusing him of distributing money to voters. This video seems to confirm that well-known characteristic of our elections – they are rich in cash. True, voters can take cash from every party and vote as they wish. But money distorts results. More money indicates more strength, it can strengthen interpersonal bonds. This raises the bar for everyone else in the field, and hinders candidates and causes without easy access to money. This may mean that elections are not a fair snapshot of the balance of power between different interest-groups and ideologies. In the patron-client model of politics, parties target specific groups to entice with resources and services. But today, the transaction has become even more transactional, when parties view voters as individual customers whose support can be bought.
Indian elections are the most expensive in the world. The gap between sanctioned and actual election spending is one of our worst-kept secrets. Candidates spend for covert projects like staying in the game, expanding their networks and motivating their workers, appeasing party bosses or state officials, and fielding dummy candidates. Parties lean more toward candidates who can raise their own resources, and possibly cross-subsidize others. Electoral viability is often measured in terms of money, thereby reinforcing distortions in the system.
Once in power, candidates and parties expect returns on their investments, as do their financial supporters. Collusion between business and political elites has deepened, as parties seek rents to offset electoral and operational costs, or as leaders line their own pockets, and serve the business interests of their donors. For voters, this Maharashtra-style last-mile generosity is the least of the problems. This is perhaps the least the parties can do, given how regularly they sell out the voters’ interests to themselves and their rich friends once they come into office.
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