ELECTIONS TODAY

The present elections in India have been accompanied by a huge media campaign that one must vote and participate in the political process. Elections do generate a lot of excitement in the country. People are interested in the political process, still there is voter apathy. Actually there is no choice before the voter. Whether it is BJP, Congress or the Third Front, they all are the same. Whether we choose one or the other, we know that there is no party in India that can tackle the issues confronting the people of India: corruption, caste-based reservations or affordable education and healthcare. Rather than talk about these issues, every party is spewing forth poison against one community or the other. Even the young leaders are no better, as was shown by the Varun Gandhi episode. Parties are talking about the Kandahar episode or the demolition at Ayodhyaunfortunately these are not issues that affect the people. The electoral process in the country has fragmented the population in a way that even the British could not. Can you blame the voter that he is apathetic? Vote or not, he knows that he will have to pay a bribe to get things done from a government office. So it may seem that elections in India are a wasteful exercise. Having said that, the elections still remain the backbone of our democracy. Even if the system is flawed, can we say that elections do not make a difference? Look at the countries that do not have elections: they are dictatorships or ruled by armies. Whatever the flaws, it is glad to know that we are not in that category. We may not have a part to play in selecting the Prime Minister, but we certainly have the power to throw out leaders whom we do not like. That is quite a big thing. We are counted today with great countries like USA, UK and France, because we are all democracies. We have citizen and human rights, unlike people in China and Russia. There is accountability of the elected leaders towards the electorate. We cannot and should not wish it away. Despite all the flaws, elections do serve a very important function. Most people agree that there is apathy among the people and we also know that voting will not change the exploitative system. So, while we are not against the democratic process, all of us feel that if some basic laws are implemented, people will be more willing to take part in the political process. The voice of the people has been lost in the electoral din. It is time it is recovered, to save our democracy.

We want to be a vibrant, modern country, but our leaders are holding us back by talking about caste, region and religion. If we can eliminate these three non-issues from the political life and are able to get a leader who can address the real issues of the people, it is for sure that people will respond to him. Unfortunately, for the past many years we have not had even one leader who could rise above narrow electoral gains to address the issues affecting people. That is why people feel that elections do not make a difference. I just hope that some leader realizes this in the future and puts us on the path to growth, as also above all narrow non-issues. Chinmay Wanmali 8CS-2(Y 3) 479 A2305208211