The developments in Tamil Nadu over the past two weeks have made a mockery of notions of democracy, constitutional propriety and accountability to citizens. Nothing exemplified this more than the conduct of the ruling AIADMK. A convict, VK Sasikala, in prison for illegally amassing wealth, continues to head the party. Is this the accountability that a political party in a democracy owes to citizens? Sasikala’s nominees will also run the state administration and the party in her absence. Unfortunately, AIADMK MLAs continue to do her bidding despite the highest court of the land concluding that she is a criminal. The DMK, the purported alternative, also disappointed with the violence on display in the state assembly. The Constitution of India, a noble document that prescribes the rights and duties of citizens and public servants, is also intended to act as the moral compass of the nation. But it is a long time since the political class dispensed with constitutional morality.

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Sasikala deserved to go into political oblivion but even ordinary AIADMK workers adopted a strangely indifferent attitude to the happenings in the party. In contrast, social media, a convenient barometer of public opinion in these days of mobile and internet penetration, erupted with criticism and memes, with even celebrities weighing in. Those dependent on AIADMK’s politics of patronage have acquiesced tamely to the rise of Sasikala. The critics, predominantly from the upper and middle classses or belonging to Opposition parties are predictably outraged, but to no avail.

For real democracy to be practised in India, it was important that political parties function democratically. However, political parties are wary of internal democracy and prefer centralisation of power. This is the condition of every major political party in India, including new entrant Aam Aadmi Party. Without internal democracy and transparency, political funding becomes a black hole that facilitates corruption and generation of black money. In recent years, parties are also auctioning tickets, which, in turn, prompts MPs and MLAs to use their stint in the Assemblies and Parliament to recoup their expenditure. The mute surrender of the AIADMK MLAs and their willingness to submit themselves to the indignity of being holed up in a Chennai resort cannot be a coincidence, considering that Sasikala was in charge of ticket distribution in the last assembly elections.

Last year, Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan made a startling statement that an additional Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore of cash entered public circulation before the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal. It is not coincidental that the illicit cash seizures from Tamil Nadu alone crossed Rs 630 crore,  ten times more than the total seizure from the other three states (Rs 50 crore). Considering that the Election Commission is able to nab only a small fraction of the illicit cash in circulation and factoring in the illicit cash seizure, it is possible that Tamil Nadu accounted for a bulk of the currency that entered circulation as reported by the RBI. Not surprisingly, the likes of Sasikala hold great stakes for the political economy and her legislators. For a state that rose in protest over Tamil pride on an issue like jallikattu, it is surprising that pride has not been dented at the naked subversion of the democratic mandate.