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Everyone wants to stem the migration to large cities, & distribute economic growth. Everyone wants to fix education & health systems, improve productivity, & give more people a decent livelihood. But none of this can happen until governance becomes COMPETENT and DECENTRALISED.
For the moment, the opposite is happening. Voters and elected reps are locked in a tandavam of destruction, that guarantees low competence and high centralisation of power. From this combination, the chance of getting to wide-spread growth and development is quite small.
Most state leaders have ALREADY failed the test earlier, and only the cycle of desperation has given them another chance. Many others are busy failing for the first time. They've EVEN convinced themselves the problems can't be fixed, so they might as well focus on other goals.
Even parties that were smashed in the polls don't consider 'competence' and 'power-sharing' as options. They are deeply focused on figuring out how to come back to power, but firm in their commitment to keep the political system unreformed.
Competence poses a deep threat to a wide spectrum of parties, and they are united in efforts to keep this out, despite their other differences and conflicts. The voter is lured into choosing between marginally and superficially different options while the core continues to rot.
Educated voters are the extreme end of this spectrum - often choosing those less competent than themselves to lead them. It's like we're in a land of mass schizophrenia, where we keep making choices contrary to our aspirations, & yet deeply wish our hopes will come true. Swa-ha!
Citizens don't seek decentralisation, even to gain control of their own neighbourhoods. The inertia of leaving it to others is strong, and between 'who has the time?' and 'not my job', all thoughts of self-governance are banished. And with that, the chance of good governance too.
