The Curious Case of Indian Elections

In a welcome move four politicians in West Bengal have been booked for defacing walls of public building with Election slogans. Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Banerjee and CPI-M MP Mohammad Salim are among those charged by the Kolkata Police for violating the model code of conduct promulgated by the Election Commission (EC). For once the EC seems serious about implementing its regulations. The EC helpline for registering complaints about objectionable graffiti anonymously is a positive development. Moreover, the fact that members of both the Majority and Opposition Parties have come under the scanner highlights the impartiality of applying the model code of conduct. The Kolkata Police has done something commendable after all!

My most important concern in all this is: How did the Parties manage to find clean walls for etching the graffiti? To the best of my knowledge most the walls are already covered with notifications of protest march or declarations of Bangala Bandh artistically crafted during the past five years. Kudos to the ingenuity of TC and CPI-M.

[Photo: Graffiti in Bengali; Photo Courtesy: The Hindu, March 10, 2006]