Well!!! The elections have concluded. Not even 50% of eligible voters exercised their franchise. We have another term for a Ms. Sonia Gandhi de-facto government and the face of the government is still Mr. Manmohan Singh. As such there is no change at the helm of affairs. Some stability at last, instead of having a left government, which is never right or the saffron party which does not seem to understand what secularism means.
As a response to my earlier blogs, many readers mailed back that we have educated and learned people coming into the election foray now. Typical examples being Meera Sanyal, Captain Gopinath or some of the IIM grads, who want to make a difference (or at least have the intention). We should cast our vote for them. The governance of our country will be in good hands if such people went to the Lok Sabha. Agreed ! Definitely these are learned people, who give up the cushion of the corporate sector and air conditioned offices and want to do something for our country. But how many such people have got elected to the Lok Sabha? How many of them have been given an opportunity to do something? How many of them have got a chance to make a difference? The answer is none. None of these so-called learned people got enough votes to enter the parliament. This is not just a one off case. In previous elections also, a few learned people stood for elections but none of them could secure enough votes. They could not and did not make a difference.
First reason is, most of them stood as independent candidates and did not have the backing of the congress, BJP, BSP, SP or RJD or any other political big-wig. Secondly they did not have deep pockets to buy votes in return for a colour TV, rice at Re.1 per kg or distributing currency notes to the electorate to secure votes (lets face it, this is what happens). That was the battle lost even before it began. The majority of the vote bank does not care if a candidate is from IIM or a corporate sector big-wig. The main question for them is “kaunsi party se ho”. The answer is “independent candidate “or “nirdaleeya umeedwar”. Back comes the reply “voh kya hota hai?” You have lost the election there itself.
Statistics speak for themselves. 0.5% of the total independent candidates won the election in their respective constituencies. Who are these guys who won against all odds? These are not from the group of IIM grads or corporate big-wigs wanting to make a difference. These are candidates who use to be a part of Congress, BJP, BSP or RJD sometime in the past and have broken away from them due to difference of opinion. These guys are not amateur politicians but seasoned candidates who know how to play their cards during elections.
A lot of people have told me (read criticized) that if I do not vote then I should not complain about the government. If I had a chance, I would have voted for someone like Meera Sanyal, but are we in majority to take someone like her to Lok Sabha? No and probably never will be. The truth sucks, but the reality is majority of the vote bank was and is people who live a life of subsistence. People, who are below the poverty line, people, whose income is less than $2 a day, people, for whom school means nothing or is just a part of their memories of childhood. Such people, who are in majority, cast (read sell) their vote for a TV, food or money. Then how does the educated class (like us) make a difference, even if we vote or stand in elections? Do these so-called sellers of their votes even know the meaning of exercising their franchise? No, but numbers speak. They are in majority and that’s what democracy is. Majority wins…….
So my friends, who cast their vote and criticize people like me for not voting to make a difference, let me tell you a secret. “desh ke logon ko sarkaar aisee hee milthee hai, jaise vo khud hain”. In our country, majority are uneducated, illiterate and are willing to do anything for money. So we get leaders, many of who are uneducated, illiterate and shell out money to buy things which seem beyond their reach due to their own deeds.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, the truth sucks. Unless the majority of the vote bank is educated, we cannot make a difference. Unless the majority of the vote bank has enough wisdom (read common sense) to decide who to vote for, we cannot make a difference. Unless there is fear in the minds of the politicians that if they do not perform, the public will vote them out, we cannot make a difference.
Till then either we should be patient or keep voting for the best out of the worst. Now hasn’t that has been our tradition? After all that is what our ancestors have been doing since 1947?
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