It’s an even greater pity that prominent opponents like Lalu Prasad choose to respond with similar hate rather than rational argument — hardly a sign of mature leadership on the other side. Then consider how opportunist politicians like Mayawati choose to further politicise (in a negative way) the issue and polarise the electorate by unjustifiably invoking the draconian National Security Act on Varun Gandhi. Like it or not, this has become the big issue of the campaign.

The immaturity of the political leadership was also on display in the response of the Akali Dal to grant a monetary award to the journalist who flung a shoe at the Union home minister. While the issue of justice to the victims of the 1984 riots is a very important one, it hardly gains credibility on the back of an immature and illegal act of shoe-throwing. The Akali Dal could surely have taken up the issue without rewarding the person behind that ugly incident.

In the midst of all this, you could be forgiven for thinking that there are no pressing issues facing the country. Anywhere else in the world, the economic downturn, which has now also hit home in India, would be the focal point of an election. Yet, none of the major parties has much weight in the sections on the economy in their manifestos. That is perhaps why there isn’t much debate either — how can there be in the absence of substance? There is barely a passing mention of new economic reforms — perhaps that because parties think that reforms don’t get votes. But smart populism surely does. Still, none of the major parties have come up with any new populist ideas either — old ideas like subsidised rice and wheat still dominate. The one exception is perhaps TDP’s proposed direct cash transfer scheme for the poor, but that too hasn’t sparked the kind of debate a proposal like that ought to. It’s a great pity then that even a serious economic downturn has failed to spur fresh thinking in party leaderships.

... contd.