From Members of Parliament switching allegiance to candidates making outlandish promises, the stage is set for a captivating saga to capture power

Elections have been described as the festivals of democracy. It is the time when we celebrate democracy in its true splendour. Those who do not get seats to contest cross over to the rival camp in the hope of getting a ticket from the latter. A parliament member who represented the Hindutva party jumps ship and joins the secular party when it is known that his name does not figure in the list of his mother party. He can never think of a life without membership in parliament or the legislative assembly because he is obsessed with serving the people, though this member might not have visited his constituency even once after the results of the previous election were announced.

Earlier, it used to be the family patriarchs who led the exodus to the enemy camp when their interests were overlooked while allocating party tickets. Now it is the other way around, as there was a report about a father-son duo leaving the party in which they were working for the rival camp, which has offered them tickets. This is not a fictitious story, and anyone who reads newspapers daily comes across such reports.

There are other scenarios also. The member of parliament representing the Grand Old Party falls sick and rushes to the USA for treatment. Though elections are yet to be declared, there is a queue of party leaders to his residence to find out the seriousness of the ailment. A woman leader immediately starts distributing her CV among the electorate, though she is magnanimous enough not to mention the fact that she is after the particular seat. She has been seen by the electorate only on television news channels and never even once in the constituency as she is wary of the high humidity and hot weather. When it was known that the sitting member was found fine in the tests held in the US clinic, the lady launched a blistering attack on the system for not reserving enough seats for women!

The recent mysterious death of J S Sidharth, the veterinary science student at Wynand, is also having ramifications in the electoral politics of Kerala. Leaders of the SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M), are on a State-wide campaign condemning the death of Sidharth. But those who have been arrested in connection with the death are all activists and leaders of the SFI. The activists have put up billboards near Sidharth’s residence offering homage to the “martyr,” while other political parties stand perplexed. The situation is similar to a scene in the black comedy movie Sandesham (Malayalam for message) made by ace filmmaker Sathyan Anthikkadu in 1991.

Immediately after the change of government following a general election, the dead body of a man was found lying in the village square. Leaders of the two leading political parties claim that the dead man belonged to their outfit and they have the right over the body. The police team that reached the spot held a quick investigation and ruled that the body belonged to the dead person, and no one other than him could lay any claim over it. No wonder, even 33 years after its release, Sandesham remains the numero uno movie shot in Malayalam, and each character featured in it remains a household name in the State.

The promises made by political parties at the time of the election are also subjects of fun and laughter. In Sthaanaarthi Saramma (Saramma, the candidate), the theme is the election to the panchayat. The political party that has fielded Saramma, a young woman as a candidate, makes some earthshaking promises. They read like this: an airport on the riverbank, farmland to all farmers, rich people to be exiled to the deserts, non-gazette officials (NGOs) to get a fourfold hike in their monthly salary, and disbanding of the tax department! Remember, these are the promises made during a panchayat election!! The movie was shot in 1966.

(The writer is special correspondent with the Pioneer, views are personal)