A lottery to decide India’s prime minister

So, let the drums roll and trumpets blare, for Indian politics is nothing if not a spectacle of surprises

K Raveendran

The issue of level playing field never came to the fore as it did during the 2024 elections. But it was mostly about political parties fighting out an unequal battle in terms of resources, partisan treatment by the Election Commission, sizzling summer heat at some parts while the heavens open up to drown whole swathes of land in flood waters in the rest. A glaring case of absolutely no level playing field has, however, gone unnoticed: the choice of prime minister.

Narendra Modi, the master illusionist, has pulled a third term out of his hat as effortlessly as a rabbit. The whispers in the corridors of power suggest he’s not stopping there; he’s got more terms up his sleeve than a magician has doves. And why not? After all, in the great magic show of democracy, who doesn’t love a good encore?

But then spare a thought for a whole troupe of political acrobats, each more eager than the other to take the spotlight and stake his claim. Rahul Gandhi keeps dropping his pins; Arvind Kejriwal, the tightrope walker, is balancing promises on a thread as thin as his muffler; Mamata Banerjee, the lion tamer, is roaring louder than her beasts; and Akhilesh Yadav, the clown prince, is honking his nose to the tune of development and jobs. But Modi is mercilessly walking away with the trophy as if there is no one else in the scene.

A political derby

Imagine a political derby where every horse has an equal shot at the finish line, where the race is not just about who has the fastest steed or the shiniest chariot, but who has the most compelling story to tell the electorate. Let’s not forget that the essence of democracy is competition, even if accompanied by cooperation, without which there is no reckoning as far as the INDIA Bloc is concerned.

Perhaps, a novel idea—a lottery for the Prime Minister’s seat —can do the trick, eminently and seamlessly as the roadside magician pulls out rabbits out of his hat. It may sound as audacious as it is absurd, but think of the days when Narasimha Rao and Deve Gowda stumbled into the role like two gentlemen who took a wrong turn and ended up in the prime ministerial suite.

Rao had packed up everything for a homeward journey, when suddenly the mantle fell on him out of the blue, although he had apparently heard with disbelief from an astrologer that he had more business to do in Delhi.

Strong audience watches with bated breath

And Gowda, the humble farmer who ploughed his way to the top, proving that sometimes, all you need to lead a nation is a stroke of luck and a strong cup of filter coffee, with his favourite ragi mudda, so tasteless it can only be savoured with a mouthful of gravy from the spicy Chettinad chicken curry.

The lottery idea has its charm, doesn’t it? Each candidate gets a ticket, and the nation holds a draw as a billion plus strong audience watches with bated breath. Will it be a seasoned politician or a dark horse who emerges victorious? Will the wheel of fortune spin in favour of experience, or will it land on a wild card, ready to shuffle the deck of Indian politics?

So, let the drums roll and the trumpets blare, for Indian politics is nothing if not a spectacle of surprises. And in this circus, whether you’re the ringmaster or the clown, every performance is a chance to steal the show. As the political lottery spins, may the odds be ever in favour of democracy, where every ticket—be it held by a stalwart or an underdog—holds the promise of a tomorrow that’s just and fair for all.

As Modi watches from the sidelines, a smirk playing on his lips, he knows that in the grand illusion of power, it’s not the luck of the draw that wins the game; it’s the magician who controls the deck.

And as for the rest? Well, they’re just part of the show, adding colour and confusion to the greatest show on earth, that is the Indian elections.