The oath-taking ceremony looked grand on television screens. Constitutional words echoed through the Assembly Hall. Cameras focused on smiling leaders, raised hands and celebrations outside party offices. A new government had formally taken charge in West Bengal.But outside the Assembly, another set of images was circulating once again across social media – old sting operation videos showing politicians allegedly accepting bundles of cash on camera.
Among the faces repeatedly discussed online was that of Suvendu Adhikari, once an important leader of the All India Trinamool Congress during the Narada sting controversy. At that time, the BJP had aggressively attacked the TMC over corruption, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself repeatedly referred to the scandal in political speeches.Years later, after shifting political sides, the same leader today occupies one of the most powerful positions in the state’s political structure. The outrage that once surrounded the sting operation has faded into political convenience.
That image – a leader taking oath under the Constitution while old bribery-sting visuals continue to circulate online – perhaps says more about the condition of Indian politics than hours of television debate ever can.And the numbers emerging from the latest West Bengal Assembly elections only deepen that concern.
According to verified data released by ADR (Association for Democratic Reforms) and West Bengal Election Watch, nearly 65 percent of the newly elected MLAs in the Assembly have declared criminal cases against themselves in affidavits submitted before the Election Commission of India. Even more alarming, 58 percent face serious criminal charges, including allegations related to violence, attempt to murder, crimes against women and corruption.
These are not allegations invented by political rivals after the election. These are disclosures made by the candidates themselves in sworn legal documents.For any democracy, this should have triggered national shock.Instead, the country moved on almost immediately.
Outrage now survives for barely a news cycle before being buried under the next political spectacle.That silence is perhaps more dangerous than the numbers themselves.
India is witnessing the steady normalisation of political criminalisation. Cases that once destroyed public careers are now treated as routine election statistics. Political parties no longer appear deeply concerned about accusations as long as candidates remain electorally useful. The language of morality changes depending on political alignment.
In today’s politics, corruption is no longer judged by evidence alone, but by political location.A leader accused in one party becomes “politically targeted” after joining another.In popular political language, this transformation is now mockingly called the “washing machine” effect – where allegations appear to fade the moment a leader crosses into the right political camp.
Yesterday’s corrupt politician becomes today’s “strong administrator.”The moment political equations change, public outrage disappears. Allegations fade, television studios fall silent, and the accused return to power with renewed legitimacy.Only power remains constant.
There was a time when a sting operation could bring down a national party president. In 2001, BJP president Bangaru Laxman resigned after the Tehelka expose allegedly showed him accepting money on camera. Today, however, videos, allegations and criminal cases often survive merely as temporary media cycles. Political rehabilitation has become faster than public accountability.
The BJP under Narendra Modi did not merely seek votes; it projected itself as a moral correction to Indian politics. From the promise of “Na khaunga, nakhanedoonga” to the nationwide “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign, the party presented itself as fundamentally different from the corruption-tainted politics it attacked for years. In one sense, perhaps it truly did become “a party with a difference.” Leaders once accused of corruption in rival camps increasingly found rehabilitation, respectability and even political elevation after crossing over. The irony is difficult to miss: the very political culture once condemned as evidence of national decline gradually became absorbable within the new order itself.This is precisely why an increasing number of citizens are beginning to fear that India is drifting from democracy toward something more dangerous: kleptocracy.
Not merely corruption, but a system where political power, money, influence and protection networks begin operating together in a self-sustaining cycle. A system where accountability becomes selective and moral standards become flexible according to political convenience.
West Bengal is not an isolated example. Similar patterns can be observed across several states and political formations in India. Candidates facing serious allegations continue receiving party tickets because political parties increasingly prioritise “winnability” over credibility.And voters, exhausted by polarisation, identity politics, propaganda and weak alternatives, are slowly becoming psychologically accustomed to it.That may be the gravest danger of all.
Democracies do not always collapse dramatically. Sometimes they decay slowly while elections, assemblies and oath-taking ceremonies continue normally on the surface.But beneath that structure, public morality begins eroding.
The consequences are already visible.Criminal allegations no longer produce public shame.Defections no longer require ideological explanation.Investigative agencies appear active or silent depending on political equations.Money power dominates elections openly.And young citizens watching all this are learning dangerous lessons about public life – that political integrity is optional, political morality is temporary and power can erase almost anything.
The tragedy is not simply that corruption exists. Corruption has existed in many societies and political systems.The deeper tragedy is that India is gradually losing its ability to feel disturbed by it.
When videos allegedly showing bribery no longer end careers, when criminal cases no longer prevent leaders from rising to the highest offices, and when parties that once attacked corruption later embrace the same faces, politics stops looking like public service and begins looking like a marketplace of power.The danger of such a culture is not limited to elections alone. It affects governance itself.
Honest officers become isolated. Institutions lose credibility. Citizens begin believing that influence matters more than law. And once a society permanently loses its ability to feel shocked by corruption, democracy survives only as ritual, not conscience.
Perhaps that is the real warning hidden beneath today’s election victories and oath-taking ceremonies.Future generations may not ask whether corruption existed in our time. Corruption exists in every age.They may ask something far more painful:When the warning signs were visible everywhere, why did society stop reacting?