People's Democracy

IN parliamentary democracy, who will form the future government will be decided by the number of MPs that a particular party or a combination wins. It is the people who will decide on who will get a majority. In that sense, the people’s verdict is supreme in a democracy. Therefore, before the elections, no one can be sure as to who will the people elect and who they will defeat. Before the people exercise this sovereign right by casting their votes, it is wrong to project someone as the future prime minister. In fact, doing so would mean showing contempt to the people’s verdict and preempting their decision. Remember, Atal Behari Vajpayee had, on two earlier occasions, lost the elections to the Lok Sabha. Even Indira Gandhi lost the elections in 1977. Hence, to project somebody before the people give their verdict is contrary to the democratic spirit. Even if such a projection were to be done, it can surely not be implemented if the concerned individual is defeated in the elections. Hence, the only correct thing to do is to elect the leader from amongst the MPs who have been elected by the people. This can only be done after the elections.

Further, the CPI(M) firmly believes that in a parliamentary democracy, the people must and will vote on the basis of the policies and perspectives of different political parties and candidates and not on the basis of personalities. In a democracy, it is the policies that merit a more important consideration than individual personalities. Hence, the CPI(M) concentrates on the issues before the people in the elections and not on the personalities contesting the elections.