The election campaign saw promises made, candidates killed, alliances broken, allies switch sides, Left turning Right and Right going ultra-Right. The real issues which bother millions of Indians were pushed away in the dark. No one talked of health, education and poverty. No one wanted to discuss development. There were no takers for issues like female foeticide (sex ratio in some states have dropped to 800:1000), women's rights, farmers' debts, child labour, crimes against Dalits, corruption, civil rights or ecologically disastrous projects. Issues, if redressed, could change the way people lived in India. Probably, our politicians do not want to change the way our masses live. Not a sane voice was heard. In fact even humanitarian crises were addressed with an eye to votes (AIADMK and DMK did talk about the massacre of Tamils in Sri Lanka).
The worst is still to follow. Come May 16 and there will be an unabashed struggle to form the government. The true faces of those who talk about secularism, morality and issue-based support will be seen on every news channel. There will be horse trading, charges and counter-charges. Indian democracy will be in full glare for the world to see.
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