Mumbai, Feb 27 (IANS) Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) has responded to the Supreme Court’s recent observations on mandatory voting by questioning the very foundation of India’s current electoral system. It acknowledged the court’s intent to strengthen democracy and argued that such measures are futile as long as the system remains “trapped in the jaws of a dictatorial and corrupt” regime.

An editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, on Friday follows comments from Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi, who suggested that mandatory voting might be necessary to ensure democratic robustness. The judges noted a concerning trend where “educated and affluent voters” in urban centres participate less frequently than their rural counterparts.

The Thackeray camp agreed that the court’s observation of the “voting paradox” is realistic, noting that despite decades of electoral reform programmes, the turnout gap has not significantly changed. However, it raised a sharp counterpoint: “Will democracy in our country be strengthened just by making voting mandatory?”

“The credibility of the Election Commission has declined. Due to confusion in voter lists, manipulation of voting figures and percentages, theft of votes, and EVM scams, the transparency of the election process in our country has been lost, and the breath of democracy is being stifled. The Supreme Court’s idea of making voting mandatory is not wrong, but what about the fact that elections from Delhi to the local lanes are trapped in the jaws of a dictatorial and corrupt system?” asked the editorial.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena asserted that for democracy to be truly empowered, the election process must be “completely cleaned”. It called for a return to ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), posing a direct question to the judiciary: “My Lord, will this happen?”

“Since independence, every small or large election has seen debates over the difference between urban and rural voting and the fact that the voting percentage does not increase beyond a certain limit. Despite implementing many programmes and initiatives for electoral reforms, this picture has unfortunately not changed much. Therefore, it is not wrong to link the constitutional right to vote with the necessity of strengthening democracy. There is nothing wrong with thinking that making voting mandatory will empower democracy,” observed the editorial.

The editorial further criticised the ruling party for its alleged “Sama, Dama, Danda, Bheda (persuasion, temptation, punishment, and division)” tactics. It accused the government of branding anyone who opposes the BJP as a “traitor” and systematically working to ensure “no opposition party remains in the country”.

“Today, neither democracy nor its four main pillars remain intact,” stated the editorial, lamenting that legal challenges to these issues often result in nothing more than “Tariqh pe Tariqh (endless court dates)”.

The Thackeray camp argued that while mandatory voting is a noble “dreamy idealism”, it cannot be effective until the “hammer” falls on the current corrupt system where machinery — including the Election Commission — is perceived to be “in the pockets” of the rulers.

–IANS

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