Half time report – Disappointing first half?
With elections for about 265 constituencies done by April 23rd, its a good time to do a half time report – to keep things consistent with the other big event , the IPL – that Indians seem to be engrossed in.
The biggest disappointment off course is our middle class and youth didn’t show up in these elections – the so called civil society , the group that has been the target, subject and participants of and in so much communication, advertising, debate and general noise , and who were expected to result in increased turn out didn’t come out – the turnout remains in the low 50%s even in youthful cities like Bangalore! Aamir Khan, Times of India, Karan Johar, The Band from Bangalore with their song ‘Shut up and Vote’ and the endless breathless and frantic debates on NDTV and CNN-IBN , essentially came up to nought.
Interestingly many responders to my early blogs where I had mentioned this so called youth and middle class turnout – were quite dismissive of my expectations and they were right and I was wrong ! How can we expect anything but being underwhelmed by the kind of I am good, they are bad kind of campaigning run by the political parties - that we all have been subjected to so far.
The other disappointment has been the political debates between the Parties and therefore the backdrop to this election vis a vis the voter. Given all the focus on these elections and the increased involvement of the so-called educated set, I had expected the media to push the debate in a more intelligent direction. But the media has established that independent Media doesn’t necessarily mean competent media. Big problem with our English media is that news has been replaced by Views. And Views that are put forward despite being lacked by little or no research. A media analyst or political commentator in Indian media used to mean something before, now it means anyone with half baked knowledge and the ability to string a sentence together in front of a camera! May sound harsh and a bit exaggerated but not by very much! Not one channel has really put together anything that sounds like an agenda for Political parties to debate on. The fact that Dr Manmohan Singh continues to duck a debate with LK advani also means this lack of a coherent set of issues around which Parties can position themselves to the electorate eludes us and so we continue to hear about Varun Gandhi, Imran Kidwai, Lalu Yadav and other ‘exciting’ issues while Development and governance remains in media’s twisted logic ‘unexciting!’.
If the second half of Elections 2009 remains bereft of issues and Political parties continue to hide behind rhetoric like secularism and terrorism, the odds are the first half will be repeated and turnouts will be low and the wise Indian instead of being inspired to participate will continue the trend of being underwhelmed and running away from voting!
I had put together sometime ago and circulated privately to Political parties what I believed was the agenda for debate and discussion amongst Parties. Have a look at India Agenda 2009. Development and Governance need not be ‘unexciting’!
28 Responses to “Half time report – Disappointing first half?”
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DPKarkara on April 25th, 2009
It is sad that the leaders, the Media and the intelligensia have failed the nation not only now but previously also. WE always harp on independent elections, equality for all, Rule of Law, and that disgraceful slogan Gribi Hatao but keep al these pious thoughts on the back burner when we seek power or vote. With the flip flops Advani has been doing during the last five years and the subservient service of Manmohan Singh to Gandhi family and service to his American bosses does any one of them deserves to be a Prime Ministerial candidate. Where does Rahul stand? And what would you say about Laloos and Paswans? How independent is our Election Commission and how fair are Law enforcing agencies is well known.It is because of this helplessness that the understanding middle class and the educated youth have no interest in the countries politics. The Media has failed to enthuse these classes because as you say our correspondents either have half baked knowledge or are acting as committed representatives of parties. If the situation is to be improved you have to start an apolitical movement to educate and draw these classes towards the political system and make it strong.
yashwanth on April 26th, 2009
Hi Rajeev,
Looks like Im the first to comment on this piece, clearly shows the focus shift from general elections to IPL
My father and I went early in the morning to cast our votes, the only others in the line were my neighbours who are well past 60. Later in the day, we drove around South bangalore armed with my camera to shoot the long queues, what we saw was quite shocking.
This time, with campaigns like jaagore, lead india, ADR and many such ” go and vote ” campaigns, i really thought we’d see a surge in the voting percentage.
A couple of days ago, one of my friend was mentioning that, voting is a choice, its my choice to note vote and be OK with another person’s choice, you canoot force me. All I said was, i agree with you, but you lose the right to complain against the system, since you choose to stand out and not exercise your right.
I completely agree with you when you say development and governance need not be boring, but its the people who have made it boring.
Your agenda has covered 4 aspects of nation building what would your agenda be on education and health care. I think its an important area which, if ignored, will lead to a larger socio- economic crisis. The only way we can bridge the gap between rich and the poor.
lowtechgal on April 27th, 2009
Rajeev-
Don’t you think the political leaders should take the blame for the low youth/middle class turnout? After all, they really did not try to get that chunk of voters on their side! They were still trying to reach people using the old ways- megaphone strapped on to a truck going through the streets. That does not appeal to the educated and progressive youth and middle class.
They (politicians) all got on the bandwagon of getting up to speed on ‘technology’ and online campaigns but they did not stop to think that in India, ‘online’='mobile phone’
And then too- just being online does not do the trick. They had to start communicating on the level of the voters and be available to actually ‘run’ those campaigns.
The politicians really need to change their attitude and their tactics so that they can start understanding the voters and make the voters feel that they are understanding their hopes, fears and dreams for their nation and are willing to listen to them and not just continue the old style of ‘Hum chahte hain’ aur ‘Hum kardein ge’. We are way past that stage.
The politicians need to come out and project themselves as well educated, confident, articulate and well informed.
The voters are often left wondering why they don’t have a choice of ‘non-of-the-above’ on their ballots!
If you want the educated middle class and the youth to vote, try to reach them in a setting they are familiar and comfortable with.
The social media/networks on the mobile phone (like RockeTalk- which gives the audio/video/no language barrier advantage) are the best way to reach the voters but this needs a dedicated effort and enough time to actually gain momentum within those circles.
Maybe for the next election, the politicians need to start building advisory and working teams right now- teams that consist of the youth and people with experience in social media/networks so that they can advise them about the hotspots, trends and the language the youth speak.
Hmmm how many politicians do you think know what ‘ASL’ is? or ‘brb’? …….
Exactly.
I rest my case.
Rajeev on April 27th, 2009
i think the political parties and indeed the media have to share the blame for ‘turning off’ or ‘not turning on’ the interest of the youth vote…and the reasons are not how to reach the youth (mobile phone, internet etc)..this time around there was an unprecedented amount of advertising and communication and on the ground initiatives that targetted the youth..and urged to come out and vote..but the most important determinant of this wouldve been the political debate itself..! thats where the media and political parties failed..when that aspect of this election remained exactly the same - full of negativism and not much of positive, inspirational messaging - things failed right then and there. if the young have to participate in our democracy in larger numbers, they have to hear more than the usual political nonsense! and its not enough that some so called youthful leaders go around and presenting their youth as the main proposition ..youth need more and unfortunately didnt get it this time from the political parties..the media too has a strong responsibility for allowing this drift of debate back to the usual!
so with greatest respects its not just about how many politicians can understand brb or lol …its a lot more than that ! and it should be as well !
Nand Dani on April 27th, 2009
I sincerely feel today’s India does not deserve democratic rule at
all! India is not yet matured enough to enjoy the fruits of democracy.
Democracy in India has always been a farce enacted by absolutely
incapable leaders. Unfortunately India got very very few capable
leaders like Lalbahadur Shastri and Sardar Patel. Unfortunately their
rule did not last longer. India yet missed longerlasting leaders like
Abraham Lincoln who, with their vision and foresight contributed a
great deal to their country. Indian democracy is a sumtotal of utter
selfishness, greed and corrupt attitude. Indian democracy is a ’so
called’ democracy because common Indians are very selfish, childish
and servile in attitude. They have not understood and will never
understand what is meant by democracy. Indian democracy has always
been old monarchy/autocracy under the veil of democracy.
The solution: There should be an all-powerful centralised Hindu
military-dictatorial rule and all the states should be converted into
old princely states once again as they had been existing during
British Raj. These princes (kings) should be given freedom to rule.
These princes should be the descendants of their royal forefathers and
not any so called princes. In order to find them and reunite them a
great amount of historical study related to ancestry should be done.
These royal rulars should be given complete authority and freedom to
rule. However, there should be a permanent warning that if these
princes fail to rule effectively and justly their states should be
annexed to the centralised military power. The main aim of every state
should be to produce soldiers and military commandants of great
quality dedicated to the defence of nation. Extemely cruel punishments
should be given to corrupt people. Military education must be
compulsory.
Ultimately Indians have ‘Rajah’in their minds when they look at their
leaders. For Indians the word (political)’power’means the power of
leaders, politicians and burocrates and not at all the power of common
people. It is a coward, impotent,sterile,pessimistic,sapless and
third-rate democracy. Unfortunately not a single Indian military
general has shown the courage of taking over the corrupt democracy. I
remember the poet Yeats’lines_”…things fall apart centre can not
hold/mere anarchy is loosed over the world/The best lack all
conviction whilst the worst are full of passionate intensity”. This is
today’s India and it will always remain as that; like her age-old
mountains unless any miltary general or visionary king like Shivaji
shows courage to take over the country by literally butchering all the
corrupt leaders.
Bangalore Boy on April 27th, 2009
Rajeev
I would like my 2 cents on this.
First reacting to a previous comment that political leaders should take the blame for the low turnout: This time round I accompanied my grandmother (aged > 80) to vote. After voting she remarked that she had done her civic duty for the day. Now, if a person over 80 feels a sense of civic duty to vote, I think its a shame that younger people do not. We need to remember that democracy is not free - and however boring it might sound all of us have our duties too.
Secondly, reacting specifically to Bangalore South - I think regardless of political affiliation we will have to concede that there were good candidates - I had the chance to attend a recent debate of the leading candidates and each of them seemed to be articulate, well informed and had at least a few good ideas on how they could improve Bangalore. So in this case, our political leaders have perhaps not failed us.
Lastly, I’d like to suggest that the law (I think its The Representation of People’s Act) should be amended so that if a constituency has < 50% turnout (it could be raised to 65% progressively), then it should be unrepresented till the next election. That way, there is an automatic inducement to political parties to coax people to vote - and they will have to find all means available to increase turnout (including perhaps putting up better candidates!!) Rajeev, since you are an RS MP, why dont you move a private members bill for something like this?
Thanks for reading.
Dr.G.Srinivasan on April 27th, 2009
It surprises me that even after what politicians did to our country , people believe that things are alright and everybody should vote and go in large numbers. I had started thinking a lot about the country after the fiftieth years of independence.Did a lot of search and soul searching and came to the conclusion that the constitution needs to be rewritten because in order to be called a democracy democratic practices should be respected.I wanted a Presidential form of government not the Westminster type of representative democracy and a republic at that– it is a masala.Seeing the arguments for and against this over the years and the reasons given by Ambedkar for choosing this representative democracy / republic , it does not seem to be the way he expected it to work.Proof of the pudding is in eating!!!! People may say we failed the constitution and not vice versa, but the fact remains that we did not choose this system for ourselves anyway. There is not much of an enlightening on the constitution itself , one of the reasons why “Vote or shut up” gained ground.Citizens have a right not to vote in as much as they have a right to!!!!! I began to see that over the years the wings of democracy being cut ” A Jatayu which cannot fly” A President who is appointed by the Congress, A PM who is also appointed by the Congress , a CJI who is appointed by an already appointed President, A CEC which is undermined and partisan, A CBI which is also subservient. The latest pricking point on the whole erosion of democracy and constitution (Which itself was imposed rather than put to a referendum)and nothing left for the people to do except return after another five years to vote!! Nobody cares for their opinion and the country is under undemocratic so called democracy!!! Under such circumstances if I vote it is an approval of the things that are going on . The question is how do you throw out an appointed PM and truly Elect one ? So the dilemma made me think I should not vote. My conscience the hook as Palkhivala describes was overbearing — by voting for these I would have taken part in killing democracy given approval to a constitution (an altered one which purports to be a democracy /republic) and thereby not only killed my rights to oppose this but would have killed others right to oppose this.I did not vote my conscience is clear I have not done anything wrong to the future generations. It was Dr.Manmoahn Singh who by agreeing to be an appointed PM who trampled on my rights along with congress party and those supporting an appointment of a PM.He should always be an elected one!!!!Anything else is undemocratic, imposing and trampling of ones rights by others and that is not what democracy is all about!!!! Jai hind
lowtechgal on April 28th, 2009
Rajeev-
You got what I was going to say next! The Media.
Well, there are ways of keeping the ‘middleman’- the Media out of the equation when needed. And you are using one well. We should open the channels for conversation- that is the only way the youth will start trusting the politicians.
The Media have a responsibility - to not just sensationalize one little tidbit they get hold of, but rather turn toward responsible reporting. They need to start respecting the citizens and their intelligence and give them better reporting. They have to understand that they play an important role in how the political leaders and the working of the government as viewed by the common man.
But more importantly, we need some good leaders to take responsibilty and start changing things. And we need to start grooming the next generation of leaders- our youth. Let us try to win the confidence of the youth- before they actually turnout to be the ‘lost’ generation of our Nation. Let us work towards making them feel that they matter. That what they say is being heard and taken in to consideration by policymakers.
To catch the attention of the youth, you have to let them at least start trusting you. Open dialogue along with an open mind is what works with the youth. It is really not that the youth don’t care- in fact the problem is that they don’t think that their ‘little’ effort or ‘vote’ will count! That is what we need to work on. Small things, the changes the youth wants- let us invite them to open up and tell us about their greatest fears, their greatest joys and their ambition.
My point of the politicians not understanding the lingo is in no way to put down the politicians but just a gentle reminder that the times have changed. And we really need to move from talking ‘at’ the public to ‘listening to’ and reacting to what we hear. It may mean coming down to their level, but in most cases, we’ll all be pleasantly surprised by the ideas, innovation that comes from the fresh minds.
I also believe that behind each ‘leader’ there needs to a big team of volunteers who make sure the message reaches a growing number of people and that the peoples’ voices reach the ‘leader’. This is the team that keeps the conversation flowing. More importantly, we need the leader to acknowledge that he/she heard and will act appropriately. That is when we can get to the point where the youth feel that their vote counts- that their vote just might be the deciding vote
Believe me, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised to see people like you and a few others, who take the trouble to actually put forth their values, their beliefs and their hopes for the Nation. So hang in there. The effort will pay off. I know all this takes time but, I think, collectively, we can make it happen.
As always- I do not support any party- only individuals. Does not matter who is in power as long as they do the right thing by my country.
Jk on April 28th, 2009
“If the second half of Elections 2009 remains bereft of issues and Political parties continue to hide behind rhetoric like secularism and terrorism, the odds are the first half will be repeated and turnouts will be low”
Frankly, I was surprised to see this reasoning from you. (I am a student of IIMB. Once I attended your guest lecture in IIM Bangalore. You were a guest invited by Prof. Rajeev gowda. I was impressed by your argument about various economic issues)
Instead of expressing disappointment in unequivocal terms and fixing the blame on the citizens who did not vote, analyzing and guessing what would have been the reason for low turnout is surprising. The logic that we have low voter turnout because of rhetoric by political parties does not convince me.
A society, in which citizens don’t do their basic duty, will end up getting a leader who will not do his basic duty. Irresponsible citizens deserve an irresponsible leader. Caste calculations will dominate the election process, till citizens chose their leader based on caste.
I understand your concern for a debate between Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Advani. I don’t see anything wrong in Dr. Manmohan ducking the issue. The call for debate by Mr. Advani has some political calculations in it. The position of PM on the debate has political calculations in it.
1.) Mr. Advani is a good speaker than Dr. Manmohan (PM has said this also). Good speaker necessarily doesn’t make good leaders. Advani feels that it will be good platform to convert that advantage to votes. We have seen how parties including the BJP has used parliament for debating. A debate at this point will work to the advantage of BJP (at least Dr. Manmohan and Mr.Advani thinks so).
2.) BJP is the opposition party, and is in a better position for reaping a debate now. If Advani believed in debate, he could have called for a debate in 2004. Timing favors the BJP now.
3). What about other PM aspirants? It is highly likely that both the current PM and the self proclaimed PM-in-waiting will not be the next PM.
So it will politically wrong choice for PM to accept the debate. I think any one in his position (even if it’s you) will think all this.
We have seen the work of both Dr. Manmohan (as FM, PM) and Mr.Advani (as home minister and Deputy PM). We clearly know what BJP stands for and Congress stand for albeit roughly. Is this not enough for the citizen to make a choice?????
I did not expect you to fix the blame (even partly) on the political parties and media. Political parties need votes and media needs ads. If the people for the country speak, they will hear. Let’s not find excuse for low voter turnout. It highly reflects on the kind of government we deserve.
D.K.GAJRIA on April 28th, 2009
Attn Mr Rajeev,
You have mention about disappointment from middle class and educated urban class as they are not turning for casting their vote.Will you please try to understand reason behind it.We know our politician ,their quality and their performance.Most of our politicician are corrupted inspite of taking oath and getting good salaries,pension and funds which they are misusing.Their aim is only to make money. How can u expect from educated class to cast vote for such politicians?
Rajeev on April 28th, 2009
i agree with u ..thats what ive mentioned in my blog..that finally the responsibility for the low turnout is squarely on the political parties themselves and the media ..
Rajeev on April 28th, 2009
well ur not wrong in ur basic conclusion that a country where most people dont vote will get a govenrment thats unresponsive! but the difference is that i am trying to move beyond that logic and push to fix the problem and not simply state the problem..the problem is of low turnout and therefore a incomplete representative democracy..
If you take this problem and try and frame the answer to this, ie what the reasons for this are - (and the reasons despite all the advtg and come and vote messaging in the last few months) - you will come to the conclusions that i have ..which is that people are not being excited by the messages from the political parties and are not excited by the choices available! If you agree with this, then you will go further and come to the conclusion that the reason for this turnoff is the fact that political rhetoric and messages/slogans are telling people - that its the same old same old political choices and agendas at play today - same as before , and this in an era where the younger and newer voters want to see and hear something different.! Media is responsible here as well because they should be the ones pushing the political parties and leaders with a new set of questions and agenda!
Your hypothesis on why manmohan singh should duck the debate is a bit weak in my opinion ..! in a democracy, the Prime Ministerial candidates of the country has to make it his responsibility to stand up and speak his mind and outline his vision for the country and all of us. In more ways than one, India and an increasingly young population needs to hear fresh and clear thinking and a firm resolve to address our challenges..This is only a fair thing that our people deserve..How long can we keep on listening to slogans and spin and not be allowed to question our leaders directly and hear their responses and make our decisions to vote based on this clean and clear access to their thinking..This is what makes the US democracy so mature. Whilst you cant avoid spin and propaganda, there is considerable direct talk, questions and answers in that political process..we need that as well ! Thanks for your response
Rajeev on April 28th, 2009
Lets accept one reality about India..there are many many of us who dont think of our obligations and constantly talk about their rights! Look around us and you will see how this is distorting so much..theres a constant clamour about traffic but a reluctance to use public transport or obey traffic laws. theres a constant clamour about corruption but no hesitation on bribing..thats a dichotomy that we operate in.! So the basic starting point is that if we position voting as a duty, then only those with a well developed civic sense end up voting…but if those large numbers of non-voters have to be brought out then they need to be excited by the change or future thats been envisioned by the political leaders seeking their vote..thats just a reality! and sooner the political parties come to realize that the same old same old will not get the new voter out, the better it is for all of us.! I agree with u completely , that all in the political class arent bad..i speak with personal experience that I have met some of the wisest and most brilliant men/women in politics over the last 3 years..people who know India and its problems at a level that I hadnt even realized! so yes we are fortunate that Bangalore south had a good choice!
I agree with your suggestion..that the first past the post model (inherited from the British) isnt working in India, because it was designed for a two-party or 3 party system.in our system where there are so many parties, its clear that the winner is sometimes a person with very little popular support. sometimes as low as 15% of the constituency- making therefore a mockery of the concept of representative democracy.! In a multi party system like ours, we should have a run-off between the top two in the first round.. This requires constitutional amendments - which i believe should be comprehensive and there are many changes required to reflect this peculiar and unique situation we have of so many political parties! As you know constitutional amendments require 3/4 majority in the house and the key is the need for political consensus amongst the national parties and at least a couple of key regional ones! - this is easier said than done! RS private members bills are ineffective because it really depends on the Government in power whether to pursue the bill.. Eg I have introduced in the last 3 years about 7 bills including 4 of them being constitutional amendment bills..all of them are sufferrig from a disease called government inaction and continue to be pending !
lowtechgal on April 28th, 2009
Rajeev-
Perseverance.
The change will happen. Just hang in there. We don’t want people like you to get disheartened and leave.
The Media… well I have my ‘thing’ I want to say to them but that is not appropriate for here so I shall just hold my peace.
@ Nand Dani NO we do not need a military coup to prove that our military generals are people with backbones. That is not the upbringing we have and is not the leadership we want to glorify. Please let us not even start on a ‘Hindu’ rule. We are a democracy, let us remain one in the true sense.
However, I do agree with you that most Indians have a very childish, selfish attitude. There is an overall lack of patriotism. We need to bring that back. That pride in what we are and what we do, has to come through. And first and foremost we are Indians and then something else.
‘If everyone swept the street infront of their house, the whole street would be clean.’ - is what we need to keep pushing. We have, somehow become selfish and care only for what happenes once inside the gates of our homes. That we need to change.
Unfortunately, the attitude of we’ll do what we asked to do and stop thinking independently, shows through even in work. We have stopped taking pride in our work, in our civic duties. The attitude of ‘if I don’t do it, so what? It is the company’s project, not mine’ translates well in to what we do as a nation. If I throw out a banana peel so what? It is not as if I make a change and that will contribute to a general improvement in everything.
My fear is that we have on our hands, a well educated (translates to reasonable) but a rather ‘lost’ generation. We need to stop and see what we can do reach out to the youth and turn things around.
Biju on April 28th, 2009
Well lot of my friends in the age group of 25 to 32 did go and vote a few of my friends who hail from mangalore are actually going down to mangalore to ensure they vote ..
Which is a marked change , but a lot of us still have not voted because as a common using common sense we did some research on our candidates … and even the so called change looked like a good marketing of the heir in a new way.. let u say a good re branding exercise ..
well a few others were outright criminals in the garb of politicians ..
we had a few who were trying their luck and who was worth a vote but the passion and commitment displayed by them to garner votes was not that you would expect from the man of such caliber …
Which makes us to think and then we have other choice but to abstain from voting and praying my vote is not misused, there are a few who went down and voted for some unknown independent candidate for the sake that the vote is not misused …
Well so i would disagree partially to your article ..
well as citizens of India we are free to share our thoughts .. this are my thoughts which does not agree with yours …
We are probably looking at the coin from the opposite sides and we need to agree to disagree…
Rajeev on April 28th, 2009
ive heard this ‘lost generation’ explanation/theory before…im not prepared to accept that as a given..i think generations tend to be lost or disattached because there isnt enough effort put into making them involved..getting them interested and excited is exactly the key …and the essence of what ive been saying .!
JP on April 29th, 2009
The fact that we see a very low turnout in the polls attributes to most of the educated mass not going for polls for various reasons. If we look at cities the turnout is less than 50%, this is because most of them who have come to cities do not have their voting rights in these cities. Government needs to bring some mechanism so that these people will also be able to vote even if they are not in the consitutency where their names are registered.
I wanted to putforth an idea to a forum, which can look at ways to get this into action. Hope this forum would help.
Govt. should bring in an incentive scheme, like those who vote would get an IT benefit of say 10,000 per year, then automatically all the educated would run to their respective consituency and vote. Only then we would expect atleast 80% of voting until then we will never see any figure beyond the present.
Most of the political parties would not be ready to buy this idea because, they would like to bank on vote bank where they can promote by various means. I hope collectively all MPs should look at other means too to achieve real representation of MPs from most of the citizen rather than banking on only 50% of population.
Subramanyam on April 29th, 2009
Hi,
Yes, this is uttelry disappointing that the world’s largest democracy does not respect the importance of franchise lagging half way in its efforts and it’s more painful to see youth avioding elections. One of the primary reasons for this failure is the low importance accorded to issues before the nation and their public debate in India. Rural India is more active in debating an election issue be it active discussion or passive gossip. Leaders should put efforts in energising debates in india and the right medium could be internet or television. Many of the times we feel very sad in which political speeches are made which have a style so inimical to call it as fake and withoput any conviction. I have always wondered why can’t our netas speak the language we normally speak while delivering an address. Oratory does not arouse debate but speaking on an issue categorically and taking a stand arouses a debate. We can certainly admire the way Obama spoke during his campaign on several issues and it was pretty categorical and straight. Speaking from the heart is what our netas should do if they were to atract a crowd that actually listens and is not transported for cost. Your efforts are really commendable and we should see more of such leaders who have performed in other areas before claiming a rightful place in political office and have the ability to talk straight. May be this mode of communication does not reach the rural electorate immediately but would do so eventually and democracy would i am sure succeed.
Subramanyam
mkunal on April 29th, 2009
Urban India, I guess is, too urbane to go to vote.
While the rural India goes to exercise its franchise in huge numbers, urban India cares two hoots about the same.
JJ on April 29th, 2009
Another best for the Indian democracy, that can happen is to bring section 49-O to ballot paper.
The All political parties, leading activists organisations, election commission has a role to play in this.This will bring every one or say most of them, to the polling booth to vote.
I hear that there is a provision in the Indian constitution, to vote against all, if all the candidates fielded by the political parties are not fit, section 49-O. Is this correct.
I also hear that the process is very cumbersome and hence ineffective.
I am not sure how correct this is as well. I have not verified on this with any knowledgeable persons in constitution.
Having said that, what we should have is a provision in the ballot paper (EVM) where the voter can cast a vote for “None of the candidates” (- a negative vote, if that is the best fit among the candidates.
If the negative votes polled,
1) say gets maximimum or above a certain percentage of the total electoral votes.
or
2) any other parameter set by EC, after serious debate/discussion
the the verdict should be treated, that the people has rejected all candidates.
None of the candidates should be allowed to contest any election for the next six to seven years or hold any office during this period, from which they will derive any benefit from the tax payers’ money.
Pray for our politicians to get the courage and wisdom to enact this in to the election rules.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on April 29th, 2009
Dear Rajeev,
Like you, I was very disappointed at this callous display of uncivic behaviour on the part of our educated young as well as our professional classes who did not cast their vote. Call it what you like: apathy or skepticism, this is a socially irresponsible act which does deep and irreparable damge to our civil society. How can we as a nation ever hope to get rid of the shackles of poverty and ignorance if we don’t believe that every one of us can bring about change individually and collectively. I really was naive enough to believe that this time around, things would be different, that media blitz would increase voter turnout, that political debates would induce the intelligentia to vote and that politicians would feel more morally obliged to be more accountable and performance oriented!! Nothing has changed. Money still buys votes and the communal card still decides election outcomes. Development issues have no role whatsoever in deciding elections!! Can we really aspire to be a global economic power without addressing political stability, communal harmony and corruption? Let’s see what the next coalition has in store for us as a people and us as a nation! Keep up the very thoughtful blogs Rajeev. REgds, Kiran
Madhu on April 29th, 2009
I would like to tell about my experience. I got a mail from Mr.Anathkumar’s office with a helpline telephone no. (I had not recevied my voter’s id card), we could call the no. and find our booth for casting votes. I was very happy and called the no. I got the answer as well. Next day at 7:00 AM, went to vote only to find out that my name is not available in the list (and so was the case of several people). After searching for my name in the list without fruitful reslut, came back home. Called the BJP office again. They confirmed that my no. is available in the list that they have and they also mentioned that the voting booths may have older lists those may not be updated. It was very dissappoiting to know that corporation can provide an out dated list and many voters can be stolen of their right. Being a tax paying citizen I felt cheated at that moment.
rishi on May 1st, 2009
A few things Rajeev-
1) Look at the timing of elections. The Election commission should have timed the elections not at peak of summer but two months before. Feb/March would have been right time. Agree that still people are at fault but who considers voting more important than falling victim to heat wave.
2)Migrants: People registered in one constituency cannot vote in another. Today people originally from one city(and registered there) live and work in another city. Now who is going to take a train to their native place just to vote!!! These are missing people and part of cause for low turn-out. Let anyone registered in any constituency vote anywhere.
JJ on May 2nd, 2009
What Madhu said is absolutely correct. In the same lines, in polling booth 175/21 (Bommanahalli- HSR Layout)the electoral list that was available at the booth was Old comparing to that announced by and published by election commission in the web as a pdf document dated 1Jan 2009. Fortunately our name was there in both list, only the serial number was different in the Old list. There is a lot of room, for improvement for the election commission administration as such.
Shashidhar Bhat on May 4th, 2009
After indipendence, every election had some issues or some issues became election issues. Indira gandhi known for her approach for reaching out the people, she successfully used defferant issues for her benefit.for example, Rothi kapada our Makhan was one slogan that made magic and she own the elections.v p singh used political corruption an election issue and became prime minister. always election issues are most important and politcal parties should take it to the people. but now elections are not being fought on issues but on money power. bjp tried to make weak prime minister as an election issue but it didnt clicked.Congress was in a pathetic situation, they didnt know which issues should be taken. in this situation youths are most frusturated lot and they are not coming to voting booths. i dont blame only politicians for this situation, powerfull media also should take the blame. but problem with media is, they lost commitment towords causes. most of the news papers and tv channels is being run by marketing departments and trp. editors are became middlemens between politicians and management.most of the editors who run the show has become agents of political parties or system made then ineffective.salablitiy took over credibility and commitment. I agree, marketing is most important thing any media house, can not ignore it.but still i hope for good.
Shashidhar Bhat
K.S.Ramanujam on May 6th, 2009
dear Mr. Rajeev,
It is good to read your writings and responses to it.
In every election, standard slogans are shouted - Your valuble vote for … ; Vote for the leader for the poor & down trodden people, ..etc. No sitting MP / MLA declares what he could achieve and what he could not . A frank submission. When such a situation occurrs, may be the voters get convinced in turning to vote. Will that submission comes truly ( May be happenning in small pockets )? Where is the accountability for his previuos elected term ?
One of the response indicate ( Mr. D.K.Garia ) that the young & educated doesnot vote because all are corrupt and no use of voting. But this is giving oneself to allow quacks to vote favourably for their mentor/ leader . We are doing mistake in absenting from vote. How Bangalore educated elite cannot see the point and look up to to skies later ? A movement to urge people to vote in the Hyderabad Metro has made some impact - a turn out of 64 % voters. Look at Bangalore . Even after big, big ads in paper, corporates also urging to vote and lead India discussions , did not make an impact !!. Then the city residents should not grudge for any thing .
I had a look at the Bangalore Task force agenda . Lots have been indicated . But where is the performance evaluation crieteria of the Corporators & officials ? In its absence, every thing is taken for granted .
Instead of talking loud on Lead India,.. slogans, let the descipline and accountability be discussedin every forum. Then the responses of people will be different.
prasad gopathi on May 12th, 2009
HI Friends,
This elections in a.p Megaster will play a MEGA Role.
in my point of view is the CM in andhra pradeesh
in centrel Adhavani is the PM
sandra407 on September 9th, 2009
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.