Elections 2024: Let’s Talk Protein, Ethanol & Cash

If you still believe elections are about ideology, performance, trust and hope, you must be a Jurassic Age creature roaming the present for no apparent reason. It’s possible you are a romantic idealist who believes democracy means big ideas, healthy dialogues and innate human goodness, and the process of election burnishes it. Now, please wake up and smell the coffee. In the real, baser world, it is about much mundane matters. Let’s have a look at a few:

PROTEIN & VOTING

Election heat is peaking, and protein is in the air. For more than a month, meat, both red and white, would be on the plates of a significant section of voters. In some ways, electoral success in our democracy is linked to protein. The eventual winner is more likely to have delivered more of it to the voters.

If you find it odd, then better visit slums in urban India and villages in rural areas for a reality check. Chicken is in circulation but it is no big deal anymore, unless the breed is special. The sale of Kadaknath chicken, for example, went up around 40 percent during Madhya Pradesh assembly elections last year. The real demand is for mutton and candidates are ensuring a good supply of it throughout the election season. Those required to participate in rallies and meetings carrying party flags won’t budge without the promise of the red meat. Candidates can ignore the demand at their own peril.

Goat-rearers in certain parts of Odisha, according to media reports, have reared male goats keeping the elections months in mind. They are having a good time as sales have skyrocketed. This could well be the story in the rest of India.

Poor goats cannot be happy though, but they should feel proud that they are doing their bit for the country. Protein matters in a democracy. And they are making sure its supply is adequate.

ALCOHOL: WHAT’S AN ELECTION WITHOUT IT?

Meat is not enough. It often requires to be combined with spirit to sink agreeably to the stomach, and stir positive emotions about parties and candidates. The days when desi stuff used to do the job is long gone. Indian Made Foreign Liquor is in demand and only a loser can offer lower end liquor and expect to sail through. IMFL worth over a thousand crores rupees are seized during every election across the country – this year it is Rs 489 crore so far. And we know this is small change compared to what actually reaches people.

Chandrababu Naidu, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, has promised quality liquor at affordable prices if voted to power. This should tell us about the importance of alcohol in our elections. The Election Commission has introduced many moves to stop the use of alcohol in elections, including a close tab on the spike of business at liquor vends during election time, but that is no deterrent. Resourceful people find a way around.

DRUGS: MORE THAN THE ROUTINE FIX

Liquor, however, is fast losing ground to drugs as a significant driver of our democracy. Drugs worth over Rs 2069 crore have been seized in the run-up to the general elections since March 1, according to the Election Commission. In comparison, liquor seizures are worth only Rs 489 crore. Opium and heroin are the favoured drugs although all kinds of narcotics are in circulation. Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and the North-eastern states are more in the news for drugs seizures, but the unfortunate reality is, elections are getting influenced by the banned substances in more and more states.

Drug addicts, if we get the message from the seizures right, have turned into a vote bank. Parties desperate for a win won’t mind pandering to them. In some ways, elections are normalising drugs.

COLD CASH AND HOT DEMAND

Cash is always king. Alcohol, meat and drugs are fine, but it still has to be cash to win the favour of people. Not everyone in homes is a lover of meat and liquor. So they have to be won over through real money.

Parties normally calculate and distribute cash per head through a group leader. But the real task is to deliver it to the point person. It’s not easy whatwith the agencies keeping a hawkeye on the movement of money. However, it’s managed.

Cash seizure so far, according to Election Commission data, is worth Rs 395 crore, a huge leap of 114 percent compared to 2019. Considering the total amount required to be delivered, around Rs 400 crore is peanuts. Obviously, a humongous amount passed under the radar undetected.

Precious metals, including gold, also feature in Election Commission’s seizure list. But let’s not go there. The point is Indian elections are getting more about bribing voters. It’s also about the ordinary voter getting smarter. They know their votes are precious for the parties. And after elections they would be quickly forgotten. So why not work out the best deal out of the situation?

(By arrangement with Perspective Bytes)