Polls are a celebration of democracy, particularly so because they decide the fate of governments, which affect the day-to-day lives of ordinary people. National parliamentary elections are about the big issues, while local elections deal with problems such as clogged drains, ration cards and errant officials. State assembly elections are a mix of both, in which issues such as education, health, law and order, corruption and taxation ignite fierce debates.
Then there are the problems, and in India, state elections have something for every segment of society. Yet despite the localisation of issues, four of India's six upcoming elections – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, in addition to Mizoram and Jammu & Kashmir – will be a straight battle between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the Bahujan Samaj Party attempting to gain a foothold. As such, in these states largely devoid of strong regional parties, the two major national parties are moulding themselves to local sentiment.
Given their importance, the assembly elections in these six sensitive states – ultimately affecting about 170 million people – are getting surprisingly little attention in the metropolitan media of India, let alone elsewhere in Southasia. Islamabad did raise customary queries about the legitimacy of elections in Jammu & Kashmir, though these were promptly condemned by New Delhi. But these diplomatic spats were predictable. If anything, the tone of accusations and denials was less strident this time. Elections in J & K may even highlight the urgency and inevitability of rapprochement between India and Pakistan – if they attract enough voters to the polling booths, despite the boycott called by militant groups, the record number of security personnel deployed, and the violence that has accompanied the polling. At the beginning of the month-long phased polls, the picture is yet unclear, and the jingoism in the mainstream Indian media has little to offer by way of analysis.
Elections in Mizoram are turning out to be a testing ground for heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi. From Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi down to Rajiv, the Nehru-Gandhi family had enjoyed a measure of acceptability and legitimacy in the marginalised states of the Northeast as 'representatives' of the mainstream, with whom local elites could deal in confidence. In a way, Sonia Gandhi is sending a message to the people of Mizoram: the Gandhi family is back.