Courtesy:OurEdublog
Criminalization of Political field has become a cause of major concern in the recent years. This cannot be prevented or avoided as long as criminals are present in politics. But who after all gives power at the hands of criminals? None but the voter.
There is no denying that in a democratic set up the electorate is behind every positive and negative development. If at all we have a grouse over criminalization of politics, then we ourselves are to be blamed for it. Had the voter been discerning and boycotted criminals, then the latter would stand no chance of wielding power. There is also an argument that a voter cannot be solely blamed for this problem mainly because many a time, an ordinary voter would prefer to just think about his own welfare and that of his surroundings, but not the entire society.
According to me, political parties too play a major role behind criminalization of politics as it is these parties which take the voters into confidence in every possible way. At the same time the role of a voter in criminalization of politics cannot be undermined by any extent.
There are a couple of points to ponder over from the voters point of view:
As criminals do exist in society, criminalization of politics cannot be prevented. Most of the rural masses who do not have enough access to media or news channels may not be able to judge the political parties and there is the possibility of them voting for the wrong candidate. There is a need to disseminate more information in rural areas. Also, if a political party has to come to power, it will need majority of seats and in case it does not enjoy majority seats, there will be a coalition government. In this case the coalition partners are sure to pull the legs of the ruling party at every point of time by wielding the weapon of withdrawal of support to the government. This leads to a corrupted system.
Yet another pertinent aspect is the caste factor. The caste factor plays a crucial role during election and many a time a voter prefers to vote for a party or a candidate based on his caste and religion, without bothering about the present scenario. Criminalization of politics can be prevented to a great extent if a voter is strict enough and chooses the best and ideal candidate.
For political parties, Voter is supreme during election times. Political parties have made their presence felt at every level. If in 90 per cent of the cases, the parties are responsible for criminalization of politics, it is the voter who is to be blamed in 10 per cent of the cases. There are also instances of voters choosing to elect those parties which lure them with cash or kind. This tactic of luring voters is effective in case of gullible rural and illiterate voters who are ignorant of the consequences of their action. It is this ignorance which is taken undue advantage of by political parties and the result-the voter is left to suffer for next five years.
Last but not the least, during every election there will be bountiful of promises by parties. But, the sad truth is that much of these promises are let to wind once a party grabs power. Finally, who is to be blamed for criminalization of politics?