The Verdict | Vote Chori goes global: From India to Israel, Brazil and the US

Vote chori seems to be the flavour of the election season, not just in India, but globally.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Arab parties of stealing elections. In fact, Israel's election head has asked the intelligence agency, Shin Bet, to probe suspected Qatari influence on the voting.

His friend, President Trump, is also claiming vote theft, ahead of the midterm elections on November 3. He says the Democrats are manipulating voters and stealing votes to ensure that his Republican Party loses the crucial polls.

But that's not all. Just a few miles away, Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost the recently held elections to

President Lula, has accused him of vote theft in the last few hours of voting. and he didn't stop here. He fled Brazil, reached America and declared himself the president-elect of Brazil.

So essentially, all those who lost or fear losing elections are claiming vote theft.

But here's the important point: when election results come out, the winner says, “The people have spoken!” The loser claims "vote theft". And the citizen says, “Excuse me, I voted for better roads. Can somebody please get me those?"

On a more serious note, an allegation of vote theft is not proof of vote theft. But dismissing every allegation without a transparent investigation also does not build public confidence.

If votes have been manipulated, investigate, establish the facts, and punish those who are responsible...and if the allegations are false, expose the falsehood with evidence.

Citizens must never lose trust in the democratic process. Here in India, or in Israel, or Brazil, or the United States.

No party owns democracy, and no politician has ever owned people's mandate.

Let the losers gracefully accept defeat and make amends. Let the winners ensure that probes reach their logical conclusion.

The ballot must be protected because the citizen must never become the casualty of political warfare.