Issueless elections- the tragedy of Indian politics

Every election in India (and perhaps elsewhere too) is characterized by some degree of finger-pointing, mudslinging and washing dirty linen in public. But it seems to me that every political party has outdone itself this time. There has been so much rabid talk that it is distressing and even nauseating.

Why can we not have politicians talk about issues that are important to the electorate? Drinking water and sanitation, healthcare, primary education, urban and rural infrastructure, the economy, the threat of terror, energy security and environmental protection, integration with the global economy…. there are so many mega issues we as a nation face.

I ask myself why educated people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s do not enter politics and try to make a real difference. Surely they can bring more energy and enthusiasm than political leaders who are on the wrong side of 60- or even 70! I realize that I am as guilty of this apathy as anyone else… I am like an armchair critic at say a cricket match- it is much easier to sit in the relative comfort of a home and suggest how a batsman should have played a shot (or not) or what the bowler should have done (or not) than actually implement it on the field yourself. I gripe and complain about politicians, their marriages of convenience and their insipid, patently populist election manifestos, but do nothing to see how I can change the system by being a part of it.  But where do I even start? Even people like R K Mishra, who won the Lead India campaign, have chosen to join one of the mainstream, “national” political parties, instead of contesting as an independent candidate. Is anyone listening…?