LG Polls

Who benefits?

There are many reasons for the deadlock over local government elections. Not many political parties are in favour of them, for obvious reasons. They don’t like dilution of their power base. And they like parting with development funds even less. There is a strong tendency to resist decentralisation. It is, of course, more evident in some parties than others. The ruling party at the centre and in Punjab, for example, is a good example. Both Sharif brothers display a visible disregard for sharing power. Both continue to hold on to a number of ministries, refusing to share power even within the traditional setup.

But there is a reason that they are able to sell their particular brand of politics to the people. Not many people, it is becoming increasingly apparent, are too interested in local body polls either. It seems that while our political stalwarts have been ‘fighting for democracy’ – sometimes in parliament, sometimes in the streets – they have forsaken the common man to the extent that the latter does not place much trust in the political system. They have become used to politicians bending the system to their own advantage. The country has far too many problems that affect common people to argue otherwise.

However, it is in the interest of both the people and politicians to ensure local body elections and transparent devolution of power to the grass root. The people will benefit because some from among themselves will be responsible for their immediate welfare, and they will be far more accessible than those in the assemblies. And the government would benefit because people will begin trusting the system again. Only when those in power show that their fascination with political power and development funds is not greater than the welfare of the people will they entrench themselves firmly in the seat of power. Local government is the essence of democracy, which is why much of the developed world has turned to it. We, too, must make necessary effort to devolve power to the people.