Why Do We Keep Making the Wrong Choices? A Mirror to Our Society
In a remote village in Bihar during the 2020 Assembly Elections, political workers knocked on a widow’s door with a promise: “Vote for us, and you’ll get a free gas cylinder and ₹1500 cash.” Her kitchen had been running on firewood for months, and the promise of even a single cylinder felt like relief from smoke and tears. She asked no questions. She voted. So did thousands of others like her. That election saw not just cylinders, but sarees, smartphones, even goats being offered in exchange for votes. The Election Commission seized over ₹1000 crore in cash and material freebies across India that year. In Bihar alone, more than ₹100 crore worth of liquor, gold, cash, and food items were confiscated before polling day. It wasn’t an exception. It was a pattern. This is the ground reality of Indian democracy: freebies work because hunger is real. Political parties know it, and so do the people. That’s why despite our growing awareness, voters repeatedly choose corrupt leaders and sh...
