R. K. Nagar by-poll- Pandora’s Box for Psepologists

It is widely alleged that money that has won in R.K. Nagar and not democracy. Even if it was money that had changed the election result but still the poll outcome opens the Pandora’s Box to psepologists all over India.

Even since the DMK was formed in the state, it was strongly believed that the cadres of the party shall always remain with the party and that is how the vote share of the party has remained stable election after election irrespective of the poll outcome whether DMK had won or lost. But the story of the recent R.K. Nagar by-poll shares a different narrative which needs to be understood and analyzed in the premise of ‘neo genre’ politics that may be emerging in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Assuming that the voters in R. N. Nagar have voted a particular candidate owing to the money that they have received, does that mean even the DMK voters also have changed their voting behaviour? The results show that vote share of DMK has shrunk miserably.

Does that mean people are slowly moving away from party politics to a neutral continent where immediate benefit becomes paramount value to people than foolish binding onto some political parties/leaders?

Let us keep the benefit per se away from the discussion for a while. The shift of people from party based politics to ‘neutralistic level playing habit’ must be seen positively and optimistically. The possible under current for such shift in the mind and belief system of people could be their aspiration for change, looking for newness and want to change the status quo.

This shift in the mindset of people points towards bright future for the state. Till date, the two main opposing parties only could form government alternatively because people of the state are left with Hobson’s choice. But the R.K. Nagar by-poll indicates the fact that people becomes wiser and they do not want to be a part of any particular party and instead are willing to elect a new candidate even if such candidate does not have great party machinery at ground level.

Till date it was presumed that the continuous quarrelling and regular in-fights in AIADK would naturally favour DMK. But such possibility looks not only evasive but also evanescent.

The R.K. Nagar by-poll also re-invokes the ancient Hindu belief system of Karma and its effects in drawidian party dominated state. All those makes the allegations that money only has changed the election outcome in R.K. Nagar, then the question would be, who has started the money game in Tamil Nadu politics for the first time by introducing the great ‘Tirumangalam’ formula?

What those who cry foul today had brought and legitimized in Tamil Nadu politics only is defeating them, it means own karma is giving its dividend.

Victory by default is not going to happen in the state and therefore those who wait patiently or angrily for the immediate fall of the present government may have to wait permanently if they are not willing to change their poll strategy.

The changing mindset of people moving away from party bound politics to neutral level playing habit clearly beckon the entry of Super Star and Kamal Hassan to politics. Both of them can certainly change the political landscape of the state, its future and fortune from the drawidian rule dominated by linguistic superiority and fooling people in the name of region-ism and language superiority rather than development, quality education and employment generation.

Dr S Ranganathan