Still a crying need

If anything, the voices for Clean Election orchestrated under the platform of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) from 2012 which continues to be re-emphasized during every election, is still an unaccomplished task. It may be recalled that in 2012 the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) decided to fan out across the state to create awareness among people on the need for a clean election. Disappointingly, the clean election campaign failed in the subsequent assembly election in 2013. After that, the Clean Election campaign was somewhat more of a slogan than an actual practice at every election. It was thus unexpected that when Nagaland went to the polls for the lone Lok Sabha seat on April 19, it marked a historic day when the NBCC’s ‘Clean Election’ campaign actually took place. This happened when the negative votes against the BJP at the Centre went to the Congress and against the ruling NDPP candidate. In reality, the Lok Sabha election in Nagaland on April 19 could truly be termed as the much-desired ‘clean election’ that has always been elusive. During the campaigning and right up to the polling day, there were no feasting camps, no money transactions, no door-to-door campaigns, no lobbies, and best of all, there was no violence nor booth capturing—none of what used to be part and parcel of every election in Nagaland. The reason being that the voters had probably already decided to vote against the BJP for persecution of Christians and which caused collateral damage to the NDPP candidate. The groundswell of the anti-BJP wave seemed insurmountable and to add to the woes of the ruling party, the campaign began late and the legislators of the oppositionless government seemed to shoulder the campaign without much conviction. On the eve of the upcoming polls to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across municipality and town councils in Nagaland on June 26, various organizations, including church associations and the NBCC, have made another fervent appeal for clean elections. It seems all these appeals for clean elections have already been ignored. Voters are back to their habit of demanding money for votes, and all those practices that have made elections in Nagaland perhaps among the most expensive in the country. What would have made a difference is if the organizations had impressed upon all political parties to adhere to the principle of free and fair polls through proactive campaigns, from the selection of candidates to discouraging camps and door-to-door campaigns in favor of a common platform with the participation of voters. It also true that electoral malpractices in the form of bogus voters list, proxy voting, booth capturing, intimidation of voters through display of deadly arsenal, use of armed miscreants to abduct agents and workers, diktats, bribes etc have plagued elections since the mid-70s and spread across the state. Much has been said about electoral malpractices or evils but there has been no worthwhile effort on the ground to stem the rot. The election laws are as good or as bad as they are being enforced since no well meaning appeal can rid the system of malpractices taking place. However, when the people are vigilant in combating offences then it does make much the difference.