Why blame the politician for failing us

An uneasy truce hangs in the air. After a lot of name-calling, posturing and pressuring, the Reddy Brothers and their brother-in-arms B Sriramulu posed for the cameras with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and BJP state president D V Sadananda Gowda in New Delhi. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj brokered the truce and it seems that Mr Y had to give in a significant bit to bring back the adamant Reddys into his fold. And this is bad news for several MLAs in Karnataka.
Battle over, they have to return to another front – providing relief to the people of flood-hit districts. The feud provided them easy escape from the responsibility expected of them. Had the battle continued, they could have continued staying in posh hotels and resorts in Hyderabad, Goa or any other tourist destination of their liking. And you and I, the electorate, will readily oblige when these shameless creatures return to us -- hands folded and a fake smile playing on their lips – next time elections are called.
So who is to blame when a handful of MLAs hold the state to ransom? When politicians ignore the mothers who don’t have food to prepare for their children and the fathers who can’t put a roof over their heads? When nobody is worried about children who have to miss school, maybe for a year, because their buildings have been washed away?
It’s all our mistake. One should not expect miracles when all the electorate looks for when a politician comes calling is a 500-rupee note and bottle of intoxicant.
And then there is the urban “elite”.
Look at us. Just look at us. Few of us vote and we let a politician (continuing with my policy of naming names: H D Kumaraswamy) get away with making snide remarks. We select a politician not on the basis of the work he does, but because of the party he belongs to. We do not protest when he takes us for a ride. We do not get worried when we see elections being won solely on the basis of money power.
The Politician looked to the Reddy Brothers when it came to financing Operation Lotus or when money was needed to win elections. Today, The Brothers are strong enough to ignore the mandate of the people, ask for a leadership change and have their way, to a large extent – only because they have the money needed to finance the next elections.
So let’s not blame The Politician or The Brothers. It’s our doing and we shall have to bear the consequences. After all, when money talks, nobody bothers about the grammar.