Elections India

Its Election time again in India and this election is expected to throw the most divided verdict ever. There has been a lot of talk in the media about how development is now the poll issue rather than caste and religion. I respectfully disagree with that. Although, in the campaigns there has been a lot of talk about development (to add to all that mud-slinging), almost all the major parties that has fielded its candidates has done so on the basis of which parts of the community would vote for that candidate. May be caste has been an undertone for most campaigns rather than the main poll pitch but all parties realize that without getting the caste equations right, its difficult to win in most parts of the country. We are still far from the times when caste would not be a major issue in the elections.

The Lok Sabha elections have once again demonstrated the diversity that exists in our country. The turnout trends in places with similar demographics illustrate the point I am trying to make.

West Bengal, which is supposed to be under-developed came out and had a voter turnout of 75% in phase 4 whereas in neighboring Bihar,which is equally under-developed has a combined voter turnout of less than 50% over the 4 phases.

Urban areas been more interesting than the rural centers. Mumbai especially forms a interesting case to follow. Mumbai has traditionally had very low voter turnouts. After 26/11, when the dormant public which seldom participates in the electoral process came out on the streets to vent out their anger at the government, the media predicted never-seen-before turnouts for the next elections in Mumbai. Every second day, there was some Page 3 socialite on the Panel discussions on television, confidently claiming that the rich of the city had transformed. The Media gave too much of importance to these people who were very articulate and confident on television but had no connections at all with the pulse of the city. Add to these, the vociferous campaigns like 'jaagore' etc., and in everyone's eyes, Mumbai was ready to show to the country that it is still very much a part of the Indian electoral system. But that was not to be, Mumbai recorded similar turnout of 44% this time too, not withstanding the fact that the heat factor which affected the voters at most places was not a big deterrent there. I have been for times immemorial been harassed by my cousins from Mumbai about how Mumbai contributes so much to Indian economy and gets nothing in return. The question is, is contributing economically good enough?

Contrast this with another metropolitan city, Delhi. The voter turnout in Delhi in 1999 elections was an equally abysmal 43% but that has been rising steadily and this time Delhi polled a respectable 54%. A noticeable fact is that this time has coincided with the best development phase for the city. Delhi, which was as infra structurally challenged as Mumbai is currently, is known as the city of great roads and flyovers now. Although, there are still huge number of problems in the city, but one can see that the shortcomings are being overcome gradually.

That leads to an interesting question - Did the development in Delhi lead to the increased voter turnouts or was it the other way round or was some 3rd factor responsible for this change. I guess when we find the answer to this question, we would be able to work towards greater participation in the electoral process from the disillusioned Indian citizens.

The Constitution of our country states that the Government of India is - of the people, by the people and for the people. But is that really so? When the best minds of the country decide not to enter politics, the government is hardly of the people. When only about 50% of people vote and the people coming to power do not even have the mandate of even 25% of the country, the government can hardly be called by the people and when in 60 years of independence, a majority of peope still live without the basic requirements for survival its hardly for the people.

Maybe, a lot of improvements are required in the system and I agree with a lot of suggestions given by the politicians which they are so ready to suggest but so afraid of implementing :
1. Having a fixed tenure for the state assemblies and Lok Sabha so that the country is spared of having elections every year and having them in a cooler month so that the people can come out and vote.
2. A strict policy of no criminals in politics i.e. they should not be allowed to contest and the major parties should also ensure that they are not a part of their parties as well.
3. Making postal ballot an option - as a large part of the country does not live in their hometowns (including me), which does not allow them to vote. (not everyone has money like SRK or Aamir to fly down from their work to vote)

I know a lot of what I have said has been repeated a number of times and a lot of my suggestions are very very difficult to implement, but they may be necessary if we want to have a truly Indian Government.

P.S. Any suggestions to add to the 3 I have given will be appreciated

Just and addition to the post : I feel that the only the people who vote should be given an off day and those who don't should have a paid leave reduced not not be paid the salary for that day.