The
aim of the Election Watch campaign this time around is to
reverse the process of criminalization. In pursuit of this
goal, Lok Satta constituted a screening committee under
the chairmanship of Justice Jeevan Reddy (former chairman
Law Commission of India and Supreme Court Judge) and comprising
of eminent personalities from various walks of life to screen
the antecedents of prospective candidates. The screening
committee wrote to all major political parties in AP, informing
them of Lok Satta's Election Watch campaign and its goals.
The parties were informed of the criteria adopted for screening
of prospective candidates and were requested:
Campaign
against criminalization of politics
Lok
Satta launched a massive and high decibel media campaign
to solicit information from the public on criminal antecedents
of prospective candidates. All major television channels
in AP broadcast public service messages produced by Lok
Satta, requesting information from public. Lok Satta also
produced and broadcast similar public service messages on
All India Radio. Campaign advertisements were also put up
on hoardings at strategic locations. Tens of thousands of
posters with catchy and evocative slogans were pasted all
over the state. Hundreds of thousands of pamphlets were
distributed through out the state to mobilize public opinion
against criminalization of politics. The campaign was hugely
successful and caught the imagination of the public at large.
Senior leadership of Lok Satta participated in public meetings
through out the state urging the people to reject criminal
elements in politics, and to hold their elected representatives
accountable.
In this day of all pervasive commercialisation, the high
impact television campaign, costing tens of millions of
rupees provided at no charge by all TV channels is a testimony
to Lok Satta's credibility. However, larger campaigns at
the national level will require resources to reach millions
of households across the country.
Effecting
Public Thinking and Discourse During Elections:
The
release of the list of prospective candidates with criminal
antecedents by Lok Satta has created a political storm in
the state, and there was a huge public uproar. For almost
ten days, the entire public discourse in the media was only
on this topic and nothing else. None of the political parties
questioned the authenticity of the information. The parties
protested feebly that their hands were tied as they have
to field only "winnable" candidates. In 1999 when
Lok Satta had released the list of candidates with criminal
records, it did not affect their candidature as they already
secured nomination of major parties. This time, years of
sustained campaigning, and public outcry meant that many
could lose party nominations, ending their political careers.
Thanks to the overwhelming public protest, the major parties
did respond and did not field approximately half the candidates
whose names figured in Lok Satta's list. In the final tally,
29 candidates who figured in our list were nominated by
the major parties, of whom only 11 could manage to win in
elections.
