It has become conventional wisdom to describe general elections in India as a national carnival. There is no doubt that some features of a carnival are visible when the people of India cast their ballots. It has been noted that carnivals mark that brief moment in time when the established social hierarchy is turned on its head. During elections, the people, even the poorest and those that are at the very bottom of the socio-economic ladder, decide the future of the country. The power to decide is thus reversed, albeit for a short while. Once the elections are over and a government is put in place, politicians decide the fate of the people. During elections, the people decide the fate of politicians. This is perhaps the most important similarity between elections and carnivals. The other similarity is that both represent a symbolic and illusory reversal of the existing power structure. In spite of the number of people who participate in the electoral process in India, it would be foolhardy to say that elections throw up a government that is genuinely of the people, by the people and for the people.

Politicians and political parties have become a separate group by themselves with their own interests and aspirations, which necessarily do not always represent those of the people who elect the politicians or the political parties. There is no denying that since the time of the first general elections in 1952, Indian democracy has deepened. Groups that were previously not conscious of their rights have become empowered and they do often use their votes with decisive effect. Numerical depth and political sagacity do not always co-exist. It is noticeable that political leaders or parties that claim to represent the newly-empowered social groups are often confined to projecting the interests of the caste or community to which they belong. Thus elections in India or debates preceding elections are often not focused on issues or policies or influenced by larger vision but are driven by interests. The idea of India has slipped through the trapdoor of interest-based electioneering. Elections sans issues are often seen as a reflection of politics minus maturity.

Another phenomenon that points to immaturity is the huge mobilization of the law-and-order machinery that an election entails. This predates the present threat of terrorism. There are large parts of India where votes cannot be cast freely and fearlessly without the presence of para-military forces. Political parties often use violence and intimidation during the actual polling process. This is inconceivable in a developed democracy. Free polls and violence are two contradictory terms; the elimination of this contradiction is only possible through the presence of gun-toting policemen. The irony inherent in this certainly takes away from the carnival spirit that is supposed to mark Indian elections.