Poll Waltz 2014

Bold, All Caps

The Persian origin word ‘Sardar’—just like the English word ‘captain’—refers directly to the ‘head’ to denote authority. In traditional societies, the idea of leadership was often articulated through the visual metaphors of dress—with the headgear being the most crucial element. So why do the claimants for democratic India’s top job always end up doing this bit of fancy dress? Why do Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi wear a Sikh pagdi one day, an Arunachali tribe’s hornbill-adorned crown the next? Partly, it’s to do with communicating a sense of local connectedness, of course. It’s also an ironical reminder of the feudal/monarchic notions that underlie the workings of our modern state. Anyway, here’s an incomplete ethnography of the 2014 election campaign...a caravan of circus kings.

Where Is My Bat?

Mohammad Azharuddin has secretly exp­ressed a desire to join the Trinamool Congress in the hope the party would give him a ticket to contest from a Bengal seat this time. The fact that he is currently a part of the Congress and an MP from UP’s Moradabad has evidently not been a deterrent.  Meanwhile, Congress sources claim the party high command and UP district leaders “were not too keen” to issue another ticket to him (the former cricket captain apparently never went back to the constituency after his win). Trinamool sources reveal they too aren’t showing much interest. Not only because of his poor record as an MP but also because he’s not form­ally quit the Congress.

Sunburns And Balms

Ahead of election season, there’s one woman who is coveted by every media organisation in Kerala. The lady in question: Sarita S. Nair, the buxom solar scam accused out on bail now. She nearly toppled the Congress-led UDF governm­ent after details of her “alleged” proximity to CM Oommen Chandy and his personal staff and the way it was used to cheat scores of the aam aadmi came out. After nine months in jail, she is now out and handing out selective dirt on the state’s netas. Congress MLA from Kan­nur Abdu­ll­akutty’s already got a taste, roug­hed up by DYFI men after allegations that he had moles­ted her after a meeting. Sarita has also been handing out “character cert­if­i­ca­tes”. So CM Chandy is a “pavam” (innocent); Union minister K.C. Venugopal not the illicit relationships “type”. Hmm....

The Simple Majority

Candidate Watch

At just 26, H. Pavithra Valli will be one of the youngest candidates in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The DMK candidate from Erode has an MBA degree. Though she attributes her selection to her in-laws’ long association with the DMK, she feels the voters will support her with the weight of the party behind her. Her focus? Issues related to women’s rights, especially reservation, and trying to solve the serious problem of water pollution in Erode.

Lotus Pedals

There’s a new attraction at the BJP headquarters these days. At the shop that sells varied campaign material, a bicycle has been getting a lot of attention of late. The biped is painted in saffron and carries lotus stickers and pictures of PM candidate Narendra Modi. Workers and visitors to the party office are often seen getting themselves clicked in front of the star, even taking it out for a ride. The joke doing the rounds is that the “lotus” will bloom on the “cycle” this election season. The allusion, of course, is to the defeat of one of the big players in India’s largest state, the UP’s Samajwadi Party, whose symbol is the cycle.

Gone With The Wind

"Zero plus zero is equal to zero :)"

Ram Gopal Yadav, SP
Tweet after news came out that ex-Samajwadi strongman Amar Singh and actress-MP friend Jaya Prada were joining Ajit Singh’s RLD

28,314 Number of electors enrolled as ‘others’ since 2012 when the process began

9,30,000 Approximate total number of polling stations in the country, an increase of 11.9 per cent from 8,30,886 in 2009.

“Man se hai mulayam, aur iradey loha hai.”  (Soft at heart but with a resolve that’s of steel)—Samajwadi Party slogan

OFFKEY The world’s largest democracy is a crowded place, especially for new parties seeking registration and a symbol of their own. The EC has a list of available symbols on its site that can be adopted by the new parties. Some of the more unusual ones? Carrom board, ladies’ purse, frock, grapes and a plate stand.