noted printerpublisher theatre critic and translator arun naik has for long been a sharp observer of maharashtras sociocultural scene a fellow of the graphic arts technical foundation us and publisher of pareekshan an english monthly naik heads antar natya an avantgarde theatre group his marathi translation of vaclav havels largo desolato and shakespeares othello hamlet and macbeth have won critical acclaim toi talks to him about indias political scenario q how far are we from a robust and mature democracy a we are a robust but failed democracy weve certainly come a long way since 1952 when the first polls were held managing elections was not an easy task given the sheer size of the country the hostile climate at many places and the rugged terrain weve too many religions ready to lock horns too many castes and classes plus corruption crime and poll rigging holding free and fair elections is thus a stupendous task yet the election commission has been doing a fine job and this makes our democracy robust but not mature as everything is driven by money and power q are political parties earnest to address key election issues a key issues are as always economic lack of jobs inflation corruption black money slow growth no political party is keen to address them defection is rampant as politicians aspire only for party tickets to contest polls q is the congressncpled opposition alliance in the state well set to take on the ruling saffron combine a certainly not the opposition is in total disarray many parties quit the opposition alliance because their seatsharing talks failed everything seems to have boiled down to extracting more seats there is scant concern for policy issues q what worries you a the countrys growing saffronization upsets me it seems it can no longer be contained the opposition has neither strategy nor solution for this problem many have died for opposing the saffron forces sadly religious loyalty overrides citizens duties and concerns hindus and muslims take pride in their religious identity and not in their role and responsibility as citizens even those who support the present government want economic stability however voters are by and large naive and political parties take advantage of their gullibility q how are regional parties faring a very badly they have no constructive role to play almost all are inefficient corrupt ignorant vicious and careless q how do you find the political discourse a what discourse its just power and money theres plenty of money in politics and polls and the money comes from the poor who are deprived of all benefits q what will be the elections outcome a stable regime or a ragtag coalition a ive of late been getting nightmares who knows which political combination will get a clear majority actually i would prefer a fractured mandate let there be no stability even a ragtag coalition which enters office will maintain a semblance of democracy