This refers to Nitin Desai's article "A flawed election" (May 15). The trend in Indian politics to which the author is hinting is not only dangerous but will eventually make a mockery of democracy. But it is a fact that today, all "popular" domains are won and retained by the sheer power of money. Take, for example, the promotion of a brand, being manufactured and distributed by a company. Is the company not allowed to spend as much as it likes or is capable of? Brand Modi was to be launched, distributed and sold successfully across India within a short time. Any company would have hired a renowned person to do all sorts of "publicity" in order to make the launch a grand success. In the case of Narendra Modi, he has done this himself.
And, are elections being rigged now as well? We used to hear this term at a time when the Election Commission was less empowered. Now, people are not allowed to think on rational grounds as to which political party is really trying to address issues in a practical and pragmatic way. They are just emotionally robbed of their right to choose.
Ashok Chakrabarty Kolkata
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