Why I care more about US elections than Indian elections

The last one month has had me following the run up to the US presidential elections on all media — TV, Internet, print — that I consume. I’ve woken up early in the morning to watch the debates, I’ve relegated the English Premier League live coverage to second place when there’s an interesting discussion on the US elections on TV or if I see something of note on a website. Yet, the moment there’s an Indian election, whether to a state assembly or to the Lok Sabha, I switch off. Not completely; I do watch TV and follow developments on websites so that I am informed enough to know what is happening, but I do it without being happy about doing so, without enjoying the consumption of the news, the analysis, the panel discussions and the comments. That’s confusing. Except to the extent that, thanks to globalisation, who becomes the president of the United States impacts the global economy, and, as a consequence, impacts all of us in India, surely, who becomes the Indian prime minister or the chief minister of an Indian state should concern and impact me more? [caption id=“attachment_516067” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] No, it doesn’t, going by what one reads and hears. When I follow the US elections, I am exposed to Obama’s and Romney’s views on the country’s economy, on the global economy, on the environment, on ecology, on outsourcing, on global warming, on medicare, on job creation, on interest rates, on their housing policy, on education, on research, on technology, on taxation, on exports and imports, on their foreign policy, and so on. When I follow any Indian election, I learn each party’s views on how corrupt their opponents are. I hear of the scams everyone is involved in, I read about the criminal records of the candidates, I learn of their religious and caste affiliations, I learn about their parentage. When I do hear of what they plan to do for the state or the country, I am reminded of all the past election manifestos of all the political parties and quickly come to the conclusion that nothing in any manifesto is worth believing – and, therefore, worth reading. When I see two opponents on a panel discussion, I am exposed to vitriolic attacks, often with both making unsubstantiated accusations about the other, secure in the knowledge that libel and defamation laws are such that nothing will happen to them. Each time an election approaches, I am reminded of the shamelessness and impunity with which corrupt politicians walk around and claim to be better than their opponents. I switch off from the elections because I do not believe any candidate from any party deserves to come to power. Following the elections in India is not even entertainment. Following the US election campaign is informative and educational. Following elections in India is tiring, depressing and a waste of time.