A new era in politics is unfolding with traditional Parties fading away: Lok Satta

The Lok Satta Party today congratulated all the candidates who won in the by-elections to the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly. It also congratulated the people on exercising their franchise calmly and peacefully without succumbing to inducements and the Election Commission on conducting free and fair elections, although the atmosphere was emotionally surcharged.

Talking to the media, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said the by-election results have demonstrated that the era of traditional parties, which believe in deploying money and liquor to influence voters and pursuing power at any cost is ending. The results constitute an unequivocal indictment of traditional parties which believed they could get away by manipulating voters through traditional inducements. Both the traditional parties – the Congress and the TDP –in Andhra Pradesh today are in total disarray.

“We are on the verge of a new era in which there will be two types of political parties. One type of parties will be rooted in personality or family, caste, region or religion. Bereft of any ideology worth the name, they seek to promote narrow, sectarian interests. The other type will be parties which stand for rational and ethical politics, are national and secular in outlook, and seek to promote general public good through empowerment of citizens and ensuring quality education and health care,” Dr. JP said.

Dr. JP said that if parties based on pursuing narrow and sectional interests are allowed to gain the upper hand, the country faces the threat of disintegration and anarchy. “Every thinking individual should therefore strive to empower parties that pursue rational and ethical politics.

“There are sane elements in all political parties and outside them, civil society organizations and idealistic youth who are all fed up with the way the country is governed. It is time they stopped grumbling in silence and shouldered the responsibility of ushering in a new era of rational and ethical politics” Dr. JP said.

Dr. JP announced that the Lok Satta Party would take the initiative to bring about a realignment of political forces and prevent the country from sinking into a morass. In reply to a question, he said that Left parties can be counted among parties that pursue ethical, rational, national, democratic, and secular politics.

In reply to another query, Dr. JP said the Lok Satta respected the verdict and had no reservations in conceding that the sentiment in favor of a separate Telangana State is strong in the constituencies which went to the polls. The Lok Satta, however, stuck to its firm belief that the formation of a separate State would neither be a panacea nor a disaster.

Dr. JP was flanked by party leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao and Bandaru Rammohana Rao.