The Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday, coming after the dishonourable Chandigarh mayoral polls, reveal a crisis in India’s electoral democracy, especially the party system which is its cornerstone. All three states that held RS polls reported cross-voting of legislators. In Himachal Pradesh, cross-voting has led to the disqualification of six Congress MLAs. It has snowballed into a major political crisis for the Congress. The events in UP can be attributed to the decline in the authority of the SP and the BSP leadership.
In Karnataka, the ruling Congress was the beneficiary of cross-voting. But the malaise is more than a reflection of infighting within the parties or weak leadership: The events suggest a moral corruption perpetrated by unscrupulous leaders and legislators, who have scant respect for the processes in a democracy and the mandate. These elected leaders have no respect for the mandate given to them by the people. They were elected based on their party ideology and policies. But for their gain, they are throwing away everything. The people of India should teach a lesson to such leaders who have scant disregard for democratic values.