The election commission’s bold act of cancelling the election in the Vellore constituency of Tamil Nadu is a strong warning to the political honchos who feel that they can buy democracy with money
There is no doubt in the fact that all believers in democracy whole-heartedly welcomed the action of the Commission at a time when the Tamil Nadu is preparing for election. It is for the first time in India that an election is being cancelled for illegal money traction.
The president also didn’t have a second thought over the Commisison’s recommendation.
The petition filed against this was also dismissed by the Madras high court.
It was Rs 11.5 crore that was seized from the godown of a leader linked to DMK Vellore candidate Kathir Ananth. The money was sorted in different packets with booth numbers so that the money could be distributed in various boths without fail.

This is not a phenomenon seen only in Tamil Nadu but the money flow is there throughout India during the election. The money seized during raids in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh is proof of this.

Though Kerala is an exception to this to some extent, during this election time, Rs 18 crore black money, gold worth Rs 1.65core and 500 kg ganga/drugs were seized by the police deployed by the election commission when the above items were smuggled into Kerala.

In a Lok Sabha constituency the maximum money a candidate can spend is Rs 70 lakh but candidates of prominent parties have been spending between Rs 25 crore to 20 crore. The assets of candidates who had won previous elections were also found to have massively increased.

Among the MPs in 16th Lok Sabha, .442 were ‘crorepatis’.
This state is very unfortunate. This money flow can be controlled only by the election Commission’s strong interference. But, the raids to find out the black money should not be used as a tool of political vendetta.
The Indian democracy conceptualised by Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar is a role model for the world itself. Indian democracy should not be allowed to be swallowed by Moneycracy. The responsibility to ensure this rests not only with the election commission but also with each political party and citizen.