Caught between the devil and deep sea?

There is a sense of fatigue among people with these elections. Won't be surprised if the voting percentages reflect that. The last elections was a watershed in Indian history since it showed that people can vote with a purpose. However, the nation today is highly fragmented on issues, and people are generally fed-up with politicians. Not many really trust or expect their representatives to do much for them or for the country.

They are generally looked upon as greedy, manipulative,shameless and with no real committment to the nation or people they represent. This is evident in the ruckus seen outside party offices during ticket distributions which resemble scenes from "Gold Rush". Each candidate will have his own bandwagon of supporters, who are basically minor aspirants and expect to benefit if their leader "makes it."

Many aspirants are also "career politicians" - those who pursue politics like a career looking for promotions at the first opportunity and then seeking to climb the ladder by hook or by crook. Sixty years after Independence, the whole system stinks. For the poor, the election means another TV or food rations which will keep them alive till the next elections. The middle-class are status quoists who wouldn't want to rock the boat too much. The rich are too busy with parties of the other kind and the super rich are busy calculating how much they will stand to lose or gain by backing a particular candidate. The youth doesn't exist as a homogenous class like politicians would like us to believe, so they cannot really make or break an election.

This report sums up the elections very nicely:

http://election.rediff.com/column/2009/apr/14/loksabhapoll-election-2009-seems-like-543-mini-elections.htm