Election 2009: Whom Should I Vote?
Posted : March 26, 2009 at 5:53 am [IST]
In last few days I have been asking only one question, when I meet someone. “How much do you know about the candidates of your constituency who are in race for becoming MP?” Invariably the reply is negative. I, at 70 now, have been voting for so many elections till date, but I hardly knew much about the candidates but for his party affiliation. If that is the case with me, I must not expect any voter to know about the candidates to compare, judge and vote based on his personal capability. Perhaps our constitution or democracy also doesn’t want us to know about the candidate. It expects its voters to know the symbols of different contesting parties and vote for that symbol.
Why should not the voter demand a comparative data about the basic information such as education, achievements, criminal background, and work done for the community, or other necessary facts about all the candidates in each constituency from the election commission that collects the affidavits well before the election day? Should not the various agencies that are trying to bring change this time provide this information to the people? I expect media also to do the same without any bias.
And the next question comes. How much do we know about the parties and its performances? And does it help to get a strong government at the centre that we want? Should the voters go by the manifestoes? Can some agencies do a critical analysis in simple words about the promises made in the last manifesto and its achievements?
What is the use of these well done booklets, if it only enumerates promises and promises of all sorts with no commitment to fulfill them? The country couldn’t get anywhere near to the most time based promises of Bharat Nirman from a Prime Minister with professional background. The ruling party in West Bengal could not put the state in even first five states of the country on the human development parameters such as education and healthcare in its rule for more than thirty years without break.Can free electricity or rice at Rs 3 a kg be the solution of India’s poverty? And who authorizes them to offer these alms?
And then why the manifesto doesn’t talk about some basic ethics such as ‘no poaching before election’? What can a poor voter do if the symbol makes him vote a criminal, as he is a winnable candidate that changed party in time to own the right of the symbol? Will some flashy figures of celebrities of page 3 or business executives as candidates bring the change? Why can’t they join the main parties and bring change in it instead of joining the regional ones or fighting it as independent candidate? I have not been able to understand Prakash Jha fighting election with Ram Vilash symbol.
However, I liked Shasi Tharoor joining Congress and RK Misra contesting on BJP ticket. I wish many like them would have joined the main parties, remain active with it even after election and try to bring the changes in the parties’ working, particularly internal democracy for selecting the right candidates based on performance.
It is unfortunate but true. As an argumentative Indian, we keep on discussing issues of survival and growth of the country, but the political parties win or lose because of its pedigrees or purse strength. It will happen in this election too, unless some dedicated agencies take up the task of educating the electorate on a grand scale.
- Indra
Category: Indian politics |
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