Ugly Elections

The elections to the state assemblies of Tripura and Meghalaya, whatever their immediate impact on the overall political scene in the country, have exposed some of the ugliest aspects of the country's electoral set-up. In both states vicious pogroms directed at particular sections of the people were launched with the calculated purpose of playing upon in the one case the chauvinism and in the other the sense of insecurity of large sections of the electorates with a view to influencing their voting behaviour in the election.