Everybody loves a good election. The ‘carnival of democracy’, as elections are often called in India, leaves everybody—or almost everybody—richer, even if the system is left impoverished. It is a win-win game for those who stand for elections, those who win, and even mostly for those who lose.

Let us desegregate this lucrative game. First, what comes into play with a new vengeance during elections is the established nexus between unaccounted money and politics. The unfortunate truth is that over successive elections this nexus has only got further strengthened. More money is spent in Indian elections than any other democracy in the world, even if these democracies are far richer than ours. An estimated Rs 1.35 lakh crore was spent in the 2024 parliamentary elections, almost double the spend in 2019.

The money to finance this stupendous sum comes partially from over-the-counter donations to parties, but far more vastly from underhand cash payments. Parties often coerce business persons and corporates to shell out this money. But many of those so coerced also see this payment as a good business investment. If the party they financially back wins, it is likely that their return on investment would be well-worth the initial risk. Political parties become richer, and the corporate sector gets an inside track to the levers of power. You can’t have a happier........

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