Cash For Votes: A Sham In The Name Of Elections In Tamil Nadu

Voters in the R K Nagar constituency in Tamil Nadu have been twice blessed. Or else, why should they see fortune smiling at them in the form of cash within a space of seven to eight months? The by-election to R K Nagar constituency, which fell vacant following the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, has again brought to fore the issue of cash for votes. The Dravidian parties seem to have decisively concluded that votes can be bought and money power is the key to winning elections in the state. Otherwise, there is no reason why this phenomenon, revived in 2009, has been made a feature in each and every election since then.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and other opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been raising a hue and cry over distribution of money to voters by both factions of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Reports say even the DMK is paying cash or is ready to pay the voters. An election observer in the constituency has been reported to have, unfortunately, commented that “it is easy to catch a political party bribing voters but what can we do when voters themselves seek cash for votes?”

Voters Look Forward To Windfall

Even as the Election Commission (EC) announced the rescheduling of by-elections to R K Nagar constituency, local media reported that voters were eagerly looking forward to a windfall. Allegations against T T V Dinakaran, the rival AIADMK leader and nephew of Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala, are that his camp was paying an advance of Rs 4,000 for each voter with an assurance of more payment later. Tamil daily Dinamalar reported that the Dinakaran camp was willing to pay Rs 1,000 more per vote than what the official AIADMK was paying. The going rate per vote is between Rs 6,000 and Rs 7,000, while some voters have also gained in kind like household articles. Authorities have carried out search operations in shops selling household articles, but with little success.

There are also allegations that to beat the Election Commission’s vigilance, voters have been asked to come to places outside the constituency like Kasimedu or Anna Salai to get their share! An AIADMK veteran said both factions of the party are spending a lot in the constituency. He said some women have assured Dinakaran that they would vote for him for the Rs 4,000 he had given them in April. “It is an interesting logic that I hear but the women have also been promised coupons to buy household articles,” the leader said.

The DMK will soon begin to open its purse strings with two senior leaders having been asked to foot the bill, if sources are to be believed. The senior leaders have been promised rewards as and when assembly elections are due in Tamil Nadu. The Dravidian parties seem to be unperturbed by the events that happened in April, when the EC cancelled the by-election after search operations by the Income Tax Department revealed that voters were bribed. The EC had cancelled elections to Aravanakurichi and Thanjavur constituencies in May 2016 after voters were paid cash for votes. All these actions have had little impact on any party in Tamil Nadu.

A Congress-Pioneered Move

Veterans in the Dravidian movement tell you that the practice of vote for cash was pioneered by the Congress in the 1962 elections in the Kanchipuram constituency. Recalling the Congress strategy in a report in April 2016, The Hindu said the Congress government led by Kamaraj found DMK leaders like C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi a thorn in its flesh. So, Kamaraj nominated powerful candidates against 15 DMK candidates, including Annadurai and Karunanidhi. In Kanchipuram, the owner of a bus fleet, S V Natesa Mudaliar, was nominated to take on Annadurai. “Natesa Mudaliar was desperate to win. He gave voters Rs 10 with a photo of Lord Venkatachalapathy. He made the beneficiaries swear that they will vote for him. We all worked for Annadurai but Congress won with its wealthy bus fleet owner,” said a DMK old guard. Data from the EC show that Natesa Mudaliar defeated Annadurai by 9,190 votes.

This practice was revived by the DMK in 2009 when by-elections to the Thirumangalam constituency were announced. M K Alagiri, then a minister in the Manmohan Singh government, out to prove his strength to his father and DMK president Karunanidhi, resorted to paying cash to voters to ensure his party’s victory. “Alagiri even took care of the liabilities of some voters,” said the AIADMK veteran.

Since then, cash for votes has become a factor in any election in the state. The unfortunate development in Tamil Nadu elections is that voters have fallen to promises of freebies and cash since 2006. The DMK came to power in 2006 promising free television sets to voters. In 2011, the AIADMK came to power promising free wet grinders, mixers and laptops for students. (Jayalalithaa was also helped by voters’ anger against DMK cadres’ land-grabbing in the southern parts of the state.) The assembly elections in 2016 were not decided on freebies, but cash for votes played a very important role in the outcome. The general comment after the DMK lost a close race was: “Had the DMK spent another Rs 100 crore, it could have won the elections!”

A leader of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), who later switched over to DMK, pointed out that during the 2014 elections to the Lok Sabha many people in the rural areas voted for the AIADMK accepting Rs 200 or Rs 300 as bribe. During one of my visits to Tuticorin to study elections trends for the May 2016 elections, I came across some people who said votes were there for the asking at Rs 500 per vote in Tamil Nadu. “Don’t see as Rs 500 per vote. If a family has four votes, then it stands to gain Rs 2,000. In rural areas, this is something big and can meet several needs,” said a local in Tuticorin.

AIADMK leaders and cadre say they have made it an art to distribute the cash despite enhanced vigilance. “What can the Election Commission do when its resources are limited? How many places can an observer watch when we hand over to one person the responsibility of distributing money to a cluster of 25-30 families in a street?” challenged an AIADMK worker. Distribution of money is a hush-hush affair, far away from the prying CCTV cameras and there is little that the EC can do. There is so much of money involved in Tamil Nadu elections that the Dravidian parties are confident that it will be an uphill task for anyone like Kamal Haasan or Rajnikanth to launch a political party. Anyone starting a new political party will require at least Rs 300 crore, going by what leaders of AIADMK or DMK tell you. The other problem for Tamil Nadu is that there is no charismatic leader in the state who can cut across the cash and caste barriers to end this farce.

An individual, Vanangamudi, tweeted succinctly on Monday after the Gujarat elections on the state of politics in Tamil Nadu: “No colour tv; no mixers; no wet grinders; no cookers; no Rs 6,000; no cinema-inspired dances; no vulgar campaigns; no Valarmathis; no Saraswathis; no pushcart leader; no Kushboo to join hands; or Nagma to give a hand. There is just Modi.”

This then leads us to the question: Is there no way out to find a solution to the sham that is being enacted in the name of elections in Tamil Nadu? This also leads to a series of queries.

What has the Election Commission done to check that parties, which have indulged in bribing of voters do not repeat?

• Why has it not taken up the issue with Parliament?
• Why has not the EC appealed to the President or Supreme Court on this?
• At least, the Election Commission should have had the courage to bar the person/party indulging in such unethical practices at least in the constituencies concerned. Had the Election Commission done something like this, the issue would have reached the courts. We could have had, hopefully, the courts intervening? Why didn’t the EC think of such measures?
• At least when the Madras High Court ruled that by-elections to the RK Nagar Assembly constituency should be held by 31 December, the Election Commission could have sought a clarification on the issue of voters being bribed?
• Alternatively, the courts themselves could have taken a proactive stand on the issue.
• What is the follow-up action after the Income Tax Department provided clues on cash paid to voters in RKNagar constituency in April?
• The BJP and Congress may not agree with the Dravidian parties on bribing voters. Why can’t they do something against this by taking a united stand and bringing around other parties like the Communists, Janata Dal, Paatali Makkal Katchi and fringe Dravidian parties like Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and MDMK?
• Why hasn’t the Finance Ministry tried to find out the source of the cash and from where it is being moved? In April this year, the Finance Ministry found out the movement of cash for RK Nagar by-election and asked the I-T Department to conduct search operations. Shouldn’t it continue doing this?

Unless one of these measures is considered, the act of cash for votes in Tamil Nadu will continue. Till then, elections in Tamil Nadu can only be a sham. This will result in candidates spending crores and trying to get the money back through bribes and cuts. (In fact, a candidate is nominated by DMK or AIADMK only if he/she can spend crores of rupees in the elections.) The practice also leads to higher economic costs for project in the state since cuts are demanded for any plan that is proposed. Somewhere, someone has to put an end to this. The one who is best placed to do this is the Election Commission. Can it?