is it possible for the voter to elect a Government which serves his interest? Ever since the first general elections held in India in 1952, the voter has exercised his right and has made and unmade governments. His choice has varied over the years. Presumably, he has evaluated the performance of the elected representatives with reference to furtherance of his interest and has sent the appropriate signal through his voting pattern to the politician. Whether the politician has been more wily or the voter has been more ignorant is difficult to determine as the politician's cleverness and the voter's simplicity are inversely proportional to each other.
It will be safe to assert that given the extent of literacy among the electorate, the level of public debate on national or regional issues, the influence of money, caste and community over a voter's choice, the Indian voter has not fared badly. Not a single major state in India has witnessed the unbroken monopoly of one political party. Whole-time politicians depend on their political career for their livelihood, advancement and recognition almost in the same way as any other professional depends on his profession.
We do notgrudge to the professional personal aims, desire for increased income and higher standard of living. However, we do not easily accept the legitimacy of the politician's desire to make the best of his life through his career in politics. Before independence, politics meant mainly gitation, processions, prison- terms and for a minuscule population of India, elections to legislatures and participation in popular ministries. A great majority of legislators had independent means of livelihood. There was no sufficient money in politics for a living. After independence, things have progressively improved for the legislators. Increase in their salaries has kept pace with that of the bureaucrats.
their perks have proliferated much faster than that of any other section of Government Organisation. There appears to be nothing wrong in their desire to get elected and continue to enjoy power by any means short Of those implying immediate social stigma. They owe their existence and survival to politics. Serving the public interest is relevant only to the extent that it helps them attain or retain power. In periodical elections, they have to sell their intentions to the electorate. If they are able to market their image to the electorate, they win; if they fail,
