With or without her

Jayalalithaas boycott of the Tamil Nadu bypolls is bad politics....

Hubris is the bane of politicians. AlADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa earlier rebuked the Indian democratic polity and electoral mechanism by deciding to boycott the by-elections to five Tamil Nadu assembly constituencies in August. Her declared reason was the alleged use of money and muscle power by the DMK alliance and the Election Commissions inability to prevent it by any account,mystifying reasons for a politician to boycott polls. Now,the AIADMK chief has questioned,reportedly with a pinch of sarcasm,the need to conduct the bypolls at all,since major opposition parties are not contesting.

Instead,she argues,the DMK-Congress alliance could be declared winners and public money saved thereby.

The former Tamil Nadu chief minister must learn where to draw the line. No matter how major a party is,an electoral process cannot stop because it has chosen to opt out of the same. The essence of democratic polls is the recognition that all players are equal before the electoral process. Political parties are made or unmade by elections,and political engagement makes it a partys duty by the people to compete for their votes. However,once a party decides to stay out,it shouldnt then claim that the polling exercise is worth nothing without its participation. Jayalalithaa is wrong therefore on two counts.

By not participating,Jayalalithaa has forfeited the legitimate tool she had of challenging her political adversaries. Whether or not the results of the bypolls are a foregone conclusion,the AIADMK and its allies have chosen to lose even before the contest began. It will be even more cynical now for them to question the validity of the results.