Anand Teltumbde has pulled no punches in pointing out the seamy side of our electoral system based on the principle of FPTP (“By the ruling class, for the ruling class,” April 23). It cannot be said even with a reasonable degree of certitude that we have had a government elected on the premise of FPTP that has honestly striven to establish an egalitarian society. It strikes me as being a bit unfair to squarely blame FPTP for all the ills plaguing us, though the extant electoral system has serious disadvantages. No system or concept is perfect; nor does it work in a vacuum.
S. Balu,
Madurai
It is true that in FPTP, elected representatives hardly enjoy the consent of even half the voters, while the rest are not represented. After spending such a huge amount on this election procedure, all these votes are actually lost.
The said PR system should be supported even if we cannot do away with the caste system. May be a few terms down the line, all castes and classes may start receiving benefits, though the “caste labels” they bear may not vanish immediately.
Vijay Nag,
New Delhi
