Tamil Nadu elections: Kalaignar's swan song?

Those who stray from the moral path will have neither peace in success not fortitude in tribulation; their pain is like that of the palanquin-carrier who cannot put his burden away.

– M Karunanidhi in Kuraloviyam, a commentary on Thirukkural

Those with even a passing knowledge of Tamil Nadu politics know that it is an accepted practice there to bribe voters with hard cash to persuade them to vote in a particular way. Things came to such a pass in recent bye-elections that some voters even auctioned their suffrage to the highest bidder. The current inflation-adjusted rate is about Rs. 6,000 per smudged finger in a Legislative Assembly election.

So it is reasonable to surmise that as election fever grips the state, political workers crisscrossing the 234 constituencies should be carrying stashes of cash. Indeed, the election commission and the income tax department thought so too; their flying squads checked passing cars and raided the houses of political workers. And what a rich haul they made! Within a week, they seized Rs.20 crore in unaccounted money. Naturally, no party claimed ownership or asked for the cash back.