Albeit, it is difficult to establish now whether the cash and liquor, valued over Rs 29.5 lakh, seized in Kathua District was intended for swaying the electorate during the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. This is because the district, situated at the gateway of J&K, is already susceptible to liquor smuggling. Consignments are illegally transported through this area into the Union Territory, aiming for undue gains, as alcohol rates are considerably lower in the nearby states and UTs compared to J&K.
Reportedly, multiple enforcement teams operating across Kathua district have intercepted and seized cash and liquor valued at Rs 29,51,630 since the enforcement of the Election Model Code of Conduct. This indicates that unscrupulous elements have been preparing to engage in malpractices during the upcoming election period. Such actions pose a direct threat to democracy, as election results can be significantly influenced by the decisions of voters who alter their voting patterns after receiving alcohol or cash inducements. This undermines the fundamental principles of governance, which advocate for a government “for the people, by the people, and of the people.
It is good that the vigilant enforcement teams have demonstrated fail-safe commitment to uphold the sanctity of electoral process by ensuring seizure of illegal liquor and hard cash but the big question in this whole gamut is the failure of successive governments and the one which is incumbent since 2014 in making the society aware of the disadvantages of stooping so low and casting votes in favour of those who offer freebies and cash marring the basis of democracy, which in principle batted for electing the best possible candidates for the echelons of power.
The onus of educating the masses about the importance of their votes was on all the political parties that remained in power in the last over 70 years but looking into the situation at ground, it seems that none among the aforesaid entities have accomplished their job honestly because today also there is a big section of people which can be wooed to change its stance on voting by offering bounty of free liquor bottles or a handful of currency notes.
It is unfortunate that the law implementing agencies have to stop this menace by working on war footing especially during the MCC times because ideally if the governments have worked on this issue, political parties irrespective of their shades and ideologies would not have found any takers for doing such a misdemeanor popularly known as ‘votes for notes' or ‘booze for votes'.
