On the indian elections
The question of free and fair elections is deeply tied to the question of social production relations, premised on the basic thought that if consent is not given freely (without coercion and compulsion), it cannot be said to be consent. Free consent is a basic democratic value. The question of consent needs to be further penetrated- one needs to ask how did this democratic value historically develop? Historical analysis shows the parliament’s role as a progressive body in countries which completed their democratic revolution with the slogans of freedom, equality, and sovereignty in the era of capitalism. However, the era of imperialism under the phase of monopoly capitalism sees the Parliament differently, with the Second Congress of Comintern remarking, “it turned out to be an instrument of untruth, deception, violence and powerless gossip”.
In the phase of neocolonialism (a method of imperialism; indirect control over a country by a foreign state), imperialists have created fake parliaments in oppressed countries to deceive the masses, extract their resources and exploit their cheap labour. The declaration of independence as adopted on 15th August 1947 is fake – neither the Indian economy is independent nor is India free from indirect control over its policies and decisions. All electoral parties in India are manifestations of the ruling class interests. They are anti-people parties meant to serve the ruling classes in India i.e. the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie (people who rely on foreign funds and governmental policies in support of corporatisation to produce capital) and the big landlords who serve their imperial masters.
In the name of developing an independent nation, the ruling classes have made India dependent on imperialist powers for capital and technology. This is seen in the fact that the services sector accounts for 54.86% of India’s GVA of 266.78 lakh crore Indian rupees. At the same time, at a GVA of Rs. 73.50 lakh crore, the industry sector contributes 27.55%.
A study of the Lok Sabha voting patterns based on the relationship between caste and class reveals “the limitations of the democratic upsurge of the 1990s and the difficulties in concretizing politics of the poor and underprivileged.” This implies that the parliamentary system is not a place to gain democratic rights and development, thereby showing the futility of elections in India. This caste-class nature of voting and democracy in India is explained further in our article Indian Parliament- The Nursery of Fascism.
Even in urban areas, voting for parties is not a question of politics, but a question of money, liquor and religious and casteist sentiments.
Parliament as a Space to Breed the Hindu Rashtra
Reports have come from Wayanad, Kerala as well as numerous districts in Chhattisgarh and other areas that CPI (Maoist) cadres have been spot
