Contesting an election as a candidate is hard work but a walk on a laid-down path. Conducting an election on behalf of a candidate is a difficult and critical job.
Overseeing and being the in-charge of a state election on behalf of a political party is a complex task involving doing many different jobs. An election is like a decisive football match in which one coach will be the winner and the rival the loser. A party either wins or loses an election. When the number of elections lost by a political party is greater than the number of elections won, it is time to pause and reflect.
My story begins with my candidature in the 1984 Lok Sabha election. I have contested eight LS elections and won seven. I have conducted many elections before and after my own elections. I still broadly oversee elections in my district.
Times have changed
There was a time when a face, word or gesture was sufficient to win elections. No longer. There was a time when a candidate secured the support of a caste leader or leaders, that was sufficient to win the votes of the majority of that caste. No longer.
There was a time when a manifesto was irrelevant. No longer. There was a time when the word ‘narrative’ had not been discovered by political parties. That word, with its numerous nuances, is the dominant word in modern-day elections.
Megaphones, microphones, posters, pamphlets, flags and festoons that were the ammunition in elections are obsolete. The new arms and ammunition are the social media, television advertisements, fake news, and a disgraceful practice called ‘packages’, commonly known as ‘paid news’. Thankfully, some newspapers maintain their integrity. I am afraid newspapers may become irrelevant in elections in 10 years.
Some constants
I have been a witness to the dramatic changes in the election scene over 50 years but some things are constant and will be enduring, albeit with refinement. For a political party, some constants are:
City, district and subordinate committees: A party’s national committee alone that may meet once in three months is not sufficient. City, district, block, ward and village committees are necessary creatures whose hearts must beat 24 hours a day. What will you say about a political party if it did not constitute or appoint city, district or subordinate committees for many years? I would say that the political party exists only as a conceptual idea in that state.
Inclusive policies and practices: While almost all political parties preach and normally practice inclusiveness in membership and representation in executive bodies of the party, they falter during the selection of candidates. In the garb of ‘winnability’, they often exclude candidates belonging to a rival faction or a certain caste. Pre-supposing that a certain caste will support the party or a certain caste will support the rival party will skew the selection of candidates in favour of one caste and marginalise the other. My experience is that the hold of caste in elections has considerably weakened in successive elections. When it comes to women, the bias is in favour of a male candidate in practically every seat on the specious argument of ‘winnability’.
Enforcing Discipline: Discipline breaks down in every party at the time of elections. Working against the candidate is common. Rebel candidates, some planted by a rival faction, are the new and growing threats. The number of votes secured by the rebel candidate — sometimes pushing the official candidate to the third or fourth place — usually proves that the ‘rebel’ was the preferred candidate of the party’s workers. Analysis of data showed that, in a state assembly election, a political party lost up to 17 seats because of the presence of rebel candidates.
Booth committees: Few political parties have active booth committees. The pioneers were the DMK and AIADMK. Lately, with the support of the RSS, the BJP tried to copy the Dravidian parties and achieved some success. Booth committees alone can canvass for votes in the last lap of an election and mobilise voters on polling day. A party that failed to deploy booth committees will lose the votes of potential supporters.
Election Management: A person who had never contested an election or who had seldom won an election will be the worst election in-charge. An election in-charge must be willing to be physically present in the state for six months before the polling date; be technologically knowledgeable; be free of any caste or gender bias; and have the authority and ability to mollify rebels. There are some leaders across parties who fitted the bill, but many fell short. A know-all in-charge is worse than having none.
Money: Money is an important but not the determining factor. Distribution of money is a total waste because the rival candidates will also distribute money. The better use of money will be on social media expenditure and leaving a little money with booth committees for last-day booth management. Most candidates claim to have exhausted their budget before the election day.
Final lesson: A winnable election can be lost if a political party has not learnt the lessons of elections.
