Civic polls in Maharashtra: Mumbai leads the disgusting tamasha!

Raju Korti
If politics were an Olympic sport, the scramble for municipal tickets would qualify as synchronized swimming, except that everyone is drowning, flailing and dragging others down with them. The civic polls, once meant to be about drains, roads and local accountability, have degenerated into a dirty rat race where ideology is negotiable, loyalty is seasonal and principles are strictly optional.

Every party claims to be shocked by rebellion within its ranks. Every party also engineers it. Chest beating loyalists suddenly discover that loyalty is an overrated virtue when the ticket goes to a recent entrant who until last week was abusing the same party on television panels. Grassroots workers who spent years pasting posters and organising ward meetings are politely told to wait their turn, preferably for another lifetime. The defector, meanwhile, is welcomed as a visionary mass leader with deep local connect.

Guess who is the lead culprit here? The BJP, which prides itself on discipline and an iron organisation, Its candidate selection in several civic wards has raised eyebrows even among its own faithful. Old faces are dropped without explanation; new ones are parachuted in without logic and the party then acts surprised when rebels file nominations as independents or quietly cross over. The Congress complains of betrayal while quietly accommodating turncoats where it suits arithmetic. The various Shiv Sena factions accuse each other of ideological treachery while distributing tickets with the same ruthless pragmatism. The NCP factions do not even pretend anymore. Loyalty is measured not by years of work but by immediate utility.

Mumbai offers the most grotesque theatre. The same corporator who swore undying allegiance to one party yesterday appears on posters of a rival today, complete with a fresh smile and recycled promises. Old wine is poured into a new bottle and sold as a bold alternative. Voters are expected to forget the label they read last week. They are also expected to clap.

Who exactly is at fault here. The easy answer is that everyone is. Parties are unable to handle dissent because they have trained their cadres to believe that power is the only reward for loyalty. Once tickets become the sole currency of recognition, rebellion is not an aberration. It is a logical outcome. Leaderships centralize decisions, ignore local feedback and then express outrage when the ignored locals revolt. This cycle repeats every election with remarkable consistency.

It will queer the pitch, fragment votes and turn civic elections into personality contests rather than party battles. Rebels will cut into official candidates’ margins. Independents will mushroom. Alliances will suffer silent sabotage from within. Governance, if it comes at all, will be an afterthought negotiated post results.

And what about the people? The ordinary voter watches this spectacle with a mix of disgust and helpless amusement. Everyone knows that becoming a corporator is widely seen as a sure path to amassing money, influence and leverage. That unspoken truth fuels the mad rush more than any burning desire to serve. Parties shout lofty principles from rooftops while quietly auctioning relevance at street level. Credibility evaporates, cynicism deepens and voter apathy grows.

The greatest tragedy is the absence of rationale. Why this candidate and not that one? What does he or she stand for beyond personal ambition? Is expediency the only criterion? Is one-upmanship the sole ideology? When the same individual oscillates between parties within days, the voter is not choosing between ideas. He is merely asked to endorse a familiar face wearing a different scarf.

Municipal elections are supposed to be the bedrock of democracy. Instead, they have become its most embarrassing mirror. Until parties learn that loyalty cannot be demanded while being constantly betrayed, and that voters are not fools with short memories, this farce will continue. January 15 will come and go. Chairs will be occupied. Money will change hands. And the people will once again be told that this time, truly, it is different.