Just Asking : Level Playing Field

Hello LikedIn Community !

I am planning to start a series , " Just Asking" from today and try to make this as a daily feature on various issues that impact all fellow citizens. I do not belong to any political party and whatever I will try to post in this series would be in a rational perspective. Whenever you will read it my request is not to react but respond and while responding keep aside your political affiliations and look at it dispassionately. I know it is a tough ask but I am pretty sure many of you would be able to do so.

Yesterday night while surfing english national news channels, I came across a debate about a certain scheme put on hold by the EC in the Telangana elections. I just heard a small part of debate( I find it progressively difficult to listen to any debates now a days for obvious reasons) and saw how each of the spokesperson was trying to defend their electoral promises. The word "freebies" became very popular I guess when Mr. Arvind Kejriwal made free electricity upto 200 units and free education and primary medical care. I am not getting into the politics around it but if one takes a critical look at it, it still is very well connected with the basic needs of citizens.

What is being promised now? Scooters, free gas cylinders, 10 grams of gold, fixed deposit of 2 lac whenever a girl child is born and so on. Now except the gas cylinders none I daresay qualifies as a basic need. It is absolutely another matter that how can a very basic commodity like cooking gas can cost differently in different states. To me at least , all other items look like unadulterated "bribe" to get votes.

The larger point I want to address here is Are elections level playing fields ? They certainly do not look like so. The elections off late have become so very expensive and we all aware about the on going case on the Electoral Bonds. Some political parties are getting so rich that it would be progressively difficult to compete with them ( remember, today it is party A in power and tomorrow it will be B). Is there a way to curb this? Is is even remotely possible to break nexus between Corporates and political parties ( especially so in the context of Electoral Bonds where their donations are supposedly anonymous). If party A is in power at the centre and same party is in a state ( Double Engine Sarkar!! ) then it becomes very easy for the ruling party to mobilise all sorts of resources to favor them. Another BIG factor is the media. If one party has almost unlimited money and news channels owned by Corporate friends, how easy to influence any narrative in favor them. The debates are now so blatantly partial that I do not know how many really listen to them. The list seems endless.

Now friends, if the process of electing a state or central government itself is not a level playing field, how one can expect a level playing field/ fair play in our day to day affairs in a state. Have a great day ahea