In India, politicians across party lines treat the electorate with open contempt, viewing voters as gullible cattle to be herded, manipulated, and milked every five years. Lavish, utopian promises flood manifestos during elections, only to be discarded like trash the moment power is secured. Core issues—inflation, unemployment, agricultural distress, crumbling infrastructure, and widening inequality—are deliberately ignored in favour of divisive nationalism, religious polarisation, and personality cults. Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA and the opposition Congress-led INDIA alliance, along with every regional outfit, exemplify this shameless hypocrisy. They lie without remorse, field hardened criminals as candidates, and rely on a complicit, servile media to amplify their propaganda while burying scrutiny. The voter is reduced to a disposable vote bank in a rotten system where power, patronage, and plunder—not public welfare—are the only prizes that matter.
The ruling BJP’s track record is a masterclass in brazen deception and economic sabotage disguised as “bold” governance. In 2014, Narendra Modi promised 2 crore jobs annually, the return of black money abroad (with ₹15 lakh in every citizen’s account), and doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. A decade later, unemployment is a national crisis, youth joblessness has hit record highs, black money repatriation was exposed as a cruel hoax, and farmers’ incomes remain stagnant—real agricultural growth is anaemic, MSP enforcement is selective, and farmer suicides continue unabated. Demonetisation (2016) was sold as a “surgical strike” on corruption but crippled the informal economy and achieved nothing against black money. GST was rolled out chaotically, crushing small businesses under compliance burdens, with revisions coming only after mass protests. The abrupt 2020 COVID lockdown stranded millions of migrant workers in misery while the connected elite profited. Yet the BJP treats voters with arrogant disdain, confident that emotive appeals to nationalism—Ram Temple, Article 370, “Viksit Bharat”—will erase all memory of these betrayals.
The opposition is equally culpable, peddling populist fantasies they know are fiscally impossible. Congress’s 2019 NYAY scheme (₹72,000 annual income for the poorest 20%), nationwide farm loan waivers, and promises to scrap sedition laws vanished into thin air even in states where they held partial power. In Karnataka (2023), free electricity, ₹2,000 monthly to women heads of households, and unemployment allowances were announced with fanfare but implemented patchily, straining finances and leading to delays and dilutions. In Himachal Pradesh, restoring old pensions became mired in hurdles. Rahul Gandhi’s critiques of crony capitalism ring true, but the INDIA alliance’s protests are cynical, selective, and short-lived—timed purely for electoral optics. Regional parties like AAP, TMC, and DMK promise the moon—freebies, subsidies, handouts—but deliver only patronage networks, corruption, and family rule. Every party treats voters as fools: announce impossible schemes knowing delivery is optional, then blame “fiscal constraints” or the Centre once in power.
This contempt flows from a deeper, festering rot: the complete criminalisation of Indian politics. According to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) data, 46% of elected MPs in the 2024 Lok Sabha (251 out of 543) face criminal cases, many involving heinous charges like murder, rape, and kidnapping—a 55% jump since 2009. At the state level, nearly half of all MLAs have criminal records. A 2025 ADR report on ministers across union and states found 47% (302 out of 643) with declared criminal cases, 27% facing serious charges. Even in the post-2024 Union Cabinet, nearly 40% of ministers have criminal backgrounds. Parties field these candidates deliberately, prioritising “winnability” through muscle and money power over any shred of morality. Voters, divided by caste, religion, and freebies, elect them anyway. This nexus turns democracy into a cruel joke: criminals write the laws, shield their own rackets, and ensure public issues remain permanently ignored.
Compounding the looting is the media’s disgraceful complicity. Much of mainstream Indian media—mockingly called “Godi media”—has abandoned all pretence of journalism to become a full-time propaganda machine for whoever holds power. Primetime is devoted to hyper-nationalism, Hindu-Muslim binaries, and fawning coverage of leaders, while economic failures, farmer protests, and Manipur violence are blacked out. Opposition voices are branded “anti-national,” investigative reporting is extinct, and sensationalism and fake news rule. During elections, paid news and biased panels drown out any real debate. Even supposedly neutral outlets chase ratings through divisive poison, manufacturing consent for the powerful and polarising society to distract from soaring food inflation and shrinking real incomes.
Politicians treat the public with naked contempt because the system actively rewards it. High voter turnout is cynically read as endorsement rather than desperation. Dynasties—Nehru-Gandhi, Yadavs, Thackerays, Badals, Abdullahs—dominate while merit is crushed. Alliances are forged and broken purely for power-sharing, ideology be damned. Nationalism is a weapon: BJP’s Hindutva versus opposition’s hollow “secularism,” both meaningless when governance collapses. The poor sink deeper into poverty, billionaires multiply (India’s centi-millionaires exploded during COVID), and parties continue to loot through crony contracts, opaque electoral bonds (now scrapped), and subsidies diverted to the organised elite.
India’s democracy is not merely resilient—it is being actively murdered in broad daylight by a criminal-political mafia that spans every party, every alliance, and every state. These are not representatives; they are predators—parasites who grow fat on public money while the nation starves, who field rapists and murderers as candidates because “winnability” matters more than decency, who weaponise religion and nationalism to distract from their own looting, and who rely on a shameless, bought-and-paid-for media to bury every scandal.
The voter is not just taken for granted—he is treated with open contempt, reduced to a gullible herd to be milked every five years with empty slogans and freebies that are promptly forgotten once the votes are counted. High turnout is not hope; it is collective Stockholm syndrome.
This is no longer a malfunctioning democracy. It is a sophisticated criminal enterprise masquerading as governance. Polite calls for “scrutiny” and “accountability” are meaningless when the entire system is designed to protect the guilty. The only realistic response left is mass rejection: boycott criminal candidates, starve dynasties of votes, dismantle vote banks built on caste and religion, and refuse to participate in this rigged charade until the political class is forced to its knees.
Until then, every vote cast for the usual parties is not just wasted—it is active collaboration in your own exploitation. India’s politicians are not failing the people; they are succeeding spectacularly at robbing them blind while laughing all the way to their palaces. Wake up, or accept permanent servitude.
2024, nearly 40% of ministers had criminal backgrounds. Parties field such candidates knowingly, banking on “winnability” through muscle and money power. Voters, polarised by caste, religion, or freebies, elect them anyway. This nexus mocks democracy: criminals make laws, protect their interests, and perpetuate a cycle where public issues are sidelined for personal gain.
Compounding this deception is the media’s shameful role. Much of mainstream Indian media, derisively called “Godi media” (lapdog media), has abdicated its watchdog duty, becoming a propaganda arm for the ruling dispensation. Primetime shows amplify government narratives—hyper-nationalism, Hindu-Muslim divides, or celebrity-like coverage of leaders—while blacking out critical stories on economic failures, farmer protests, or Manipur violence. Opposition voices are demonised as “anti-national,” and investigative journalism is rare, replaced by sensationalism and fake news. During elections, paid news and biased panels drown out substantive debates. Even supposedly neutral outlets chase TRPs through divisive content, manufacturing consent for the powerful. This media collusion deceives the public, shielding politicians from accountability and polarising society to distract from real issues like price rise (food inflation often double-digit) and depleting incomes.
Politicians take the public utterly for granted because the system rewards it. High voter turnout (over 66% in 2024) is misinterpreted as endorsement, not hope or compulsion. Dynasties dominate—Nehru-Gandhi in Congress, regional clans elsewhere—while merit is secondary. Alliances form and break on power-sharing, not ideology. Nationalism is weaponised: BJP’s Hindutva versus opposition’s “secularism,” both hollow when governance fails. The poor grow poorer, billionaires boom (India’s centi-millionaires surged during COVID), yet parties loot through crony contracts, electoral bonds (now scrapped but opaque earlier), and subsidies for the organised sector.
Voters must reject this charade. Blind loyalty perpetuates betrayal. Scrutinise candidates beyond party symbols—reject criminals, demand proof of promises. Support independent voices, civil society, and judicial interventions. True nationalism means prosperity for all, not temples over toilets or slogans over jobs. Until the electorate asserts itself, politicians will continue their deception, laughing at the naivety they exploit.
India’s democracy is resilient, but its politicians are parasites. Awakening is overdue—vote for accountability, or remain pawns in their power game.