MUMBAI: Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) has responded to the Supreme Court’s recent observations on mandatory voting by questioning the very foundation of India’s current electoral system. It acknowledged the court’s intent to strengthen democracy and argued that such measures are futile as long as the system remains "trapped in the jaws of a dictatorial and corrupt" regime.
An editorial in the party's mouthpiece, 'Saamana', on Friday follows comments from Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi, who suggested that mandatory voting might be necessary to ensure democratic robustness. The judges noted a concerning trend where "educated and affluent voters" in urban centres participate less frequently than their rural counterparts.
The Thackeray camp agreed that the court's observation of the "voting paradox" is realistic, noting that despite decades of electoral reform programmes, the turnout gap has not significantly changed. However, it raised a sharp counterpoint: “Will democracy in our country be strengthened just by making voting mandatory?"