The history of elections in India can be divided into two neat compartments: Those conducted prior to 1994 and those held after the Election Commission realised it had an intrusive, supervisory role. The 1994 Assembly election in Karnataka was the first democratic exercise conducted under the heavy-handed scrutiny of TN Seshan. Regardless of the other benefits of austere, tightly-regulated polls, the assertion of the EC deprived democracy of its carnival-like atmosphere.

The initial impact on politicians was quite severe. I recall meeting a Central Congress observer for Karnataka in 1994 -- a spirited leader from eastern India with a robust approach to election management. He couldn't believe that electioneering in a southern State had become so incredibly insipid. "Wait till I tell folks at home of my experience", he chuckled.

He didn't have to wait too long. The Karnataka experience of 1994 soon became an all-India phenomenon. Gone were the post-midnight meetings, the 100-car cavalcades, the maddening din of loudspeakers, the graffiti and gigantic hoardings and the surfeit of party flags and buntings. So far, four General Elections and countless Assembly elections have been conducted -- and very successfully too -- under the Seshan guidelines.

This month in Karnataka, the EC has gone a step forward. The restrictions on what a candidate can do have become more severe. For example, flags and buntings are disallowed without written permission from the local returning officer; only cars with permits are permitted to ferry campaigners; crossing constituency boundaries can lead to offending cars being impounded; wearing of caps, badges and T-shirts are forbidden without permission; even door-to-door campaigning has been banned in the 48 hours prior to voting; and, TV commercials are subject to draconian censorship.

The restrictions are quite draconian. Over-zealous bureaucrats, accustomed to being kicked around by politicians, are having a ball getting their own back on the political class. Democracy, it would seem, is being permitted under an authoritarian cover.

The consequences are quite curious. You can travel the length and breadth of Bangalore without realising who is the local candidate, which party is strong in which area and, in fact, without knowing that there is an election on. Candidates and campaigners have narrated to me innumerable instances of petty tyranny. In Mysore, representatives of the local pollution board were on hand to check the decibel level of loudspeakers at LK Advani's public meeting. In a Bangalore constituency, a candidate was told that he couldn't have more than 15 people in a padayatra. Sushma Swaraj's poll telecast was censored because she blamed the Congress and the Centre for economic mismanagement and inflation. So far, the EC hasn't insisted on a pre-censorship of print ads but, if this trend persists, it will be the logical next step.

If the EC's over-intrusive conduct was dictated by the need to reduce the influence of money on the democratic process, it has not succeeded. In the past, an election resulted in spin-off benefits to many local entrepreneurs: Printers, banner artists, taxi operators and decorators invariably benefited from an election. Today, these petty gainers have been eliminated. So, how do candidates get their message across in a cost-effective way? Apart from the print media, they have no outlet. Therefore, like good Indian innovators who find loopholes in every regulation, the politicians have taken the simple way out -- they are bribing voters with hard cash and hospitality.

There are stories in the local media of the mushrooming dosa and biryani camps where 30,000 or more people are being fed daily. Presumably, some of them are also distributing liquid refreshments. On top of that, individual voters are being offered cash incentives of Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 to vote a candidate. Conversely, some are being paid to abstain.

The costs of this election in Karnataka have risen exponentially. According to estimates of party fund managers, the average cost incurred by a "serious" candidate is anywhere between Rs 0.75 lakh and Rs 1.25 crore.

Some "resourceful" candidates are spending Rs 3 crore a seat. In one particularly notorious Assembly constituency, the total expenditure by all candidates is likely to touch Rs 50 crore. In the past, the amount would have been enough to fund the election in an entire State.

Society is on the verge of being horribly corrupted. The head of a polling agency narrated a story that struck me as revealing. His agency was conducting a pre-election opinion poll using dummy ballots and a sealed box to elicit views from a sample. However, in a large number of places, particularly slums, he was told that he would have to pay for their participation: "The candidates are paying us, so must you."

This mismatch between petty austerity and undercover profligacy will have a profoundly distorting effect on the future governance of Karnataka. Politicians fear a loot raj in case there is another coalition Government in the State. However, even if a single party forms the Government, there is fear that pressure from MLAs to recoup their poll costs will impose unacceptable pressures on Ministers. The rigidities of the anti-defection law rules out splits but soaring election costs are certain to make a mockery of governance.

Most Election Commissioners, barring a black sheep, mean well. So do local officials. However, it is time they realise the horrific consequences of trying to put all manner of restrictions in the path of normal electioneering. The EC has driven money power underground and made future governance near-impossible. The road to democratic degeneration has been paved with very noble intentions.

Courtesy: www.dailypioneer.com, May 11, 2008