Well aren’t we all set for the great battle of 2014! Everywhereyou
go, the debates and discussions are same, INDIA 2014! Who will rule?
Whowill win? Who will be the next big thing? Will the degrading and
corrupt democracyfinally take a turn for good or will we be on a darker
path? I can feel theexcitement buzzing already…….don’t you? But there
will be always a few who arestill a wee bit away from it all ....with
questions and doubts, with perceptionsand blind hatred, with decided
agendas and clueless minds, but they too arevoters who need to come out
and vote, so here is a little straight upfront attemptto help iron out a
few complaints and doubts,1. I won’t vote it’s not worth it: It is worth it!! Ifyou do not vote, someone is going to cast a bogus vote in your name and earn500/- to -3000/- from it, plus a seedy labeled ‘quarter’ and a Biryani packet!!I mean charity is good but should never be foolish!! So know and keep your votesworth and vote! Please note: you can avail the Biryani packet even if you castyour vote to somebody else, they don’t check much there! ;)
2. I want to vote but my name is not on the voter list: Aaawwww! That’s so sad! Well youknow what…….move your ass and fill up the voter registration form on http://eci-citizenservices.nic.in/frmForm6New.aspxor visit eci.nic.in for more details……evenif that does not work get it touch with socio-political NGO’s http://www.parivartanbharat.org/,etc
3. The online registration doesn’t seem to be updated or working: then you can even getin touch with the shakhas/political offices/karyalays of any of the politicalparties in your areas. You will be surprised at the information about the system;you will receive from the volunteers/Karyakartas (whom many think to be uneducated or inferior) over there. They will be glad to help you out from paper work togetting your voter id.
4. All politicians are crooks & no one is clean: kya baat hay!solid yaar! oh but you have to understand that even by saying this won’t make a difference unless you show some active citizenship…..ifPoliticians are crooks then who has stopped you from being the Police orMonitors?? Politicians are a very part of the system in which citizens live,they are not Aliens or Mutants, and they are people who rose from the society,with the support of the people in the society to lead the society. They are areflection of the society and a live example of democracy….an active citizen isa part of the same democracy too, so where did u fall short? Not clean enough?
5. The Candidate given by the Party of my choice is a Criminal: well then don’t give himyour vote! ….look for another contestant who has a clean record and give yourvote to him…..he might not be as popular as a Party candidate or might not evenwin but an addition in his votes will encourage him to carry on his good workand the decrease in the vote percentage will make your party superiors rethink aboutthe candidate the next time….even if the criminal candidate wins he will haveto be on his toes to increase his vote base….that’s the power of a vote!
6. I don’t believe my one vote will make a difference: if you think selfishly, yes you are right, you are but an insignificantspeck! But Remember, a 10 of you can turn the tables at the society elections, a100 of you can decide a new board in a mohalla committee, a 1000 people likeyou can change the fate of a Corporator/Nagar Sevak, a 10,000 of a MLA/Amdar, a100000 of a MP/Khasdar and a billion of the Nation!! Its only works, if youwork and work together! that’s the power of a vote!
7. What if I want to exercise my right but want to use the ‘none of the above’ option: No!! there is no ’none of the above’ buttonat the bottom of the EVM .The ‘right to reject’ voting option has yet to be passedby our system so don’t live in a false world…but do vote. (Note from @tanmay kanitkar) we still have an option of not voting any of the candidate! Under rule 49-O (its O not zero) you can go to the election booth, get your finger marked and then declare that you don't want to vote. The officer, in his register, mentions that you rejected to vote and takes your signature against that remark.
Now the only draw back of this system is that, your vote of 'don't want to vote' does not remain secret. But still better than avoiding the voting completely!( in my case I wouldhave closed my eyes and just blind pressed!! )
8. It’s too tiring to wait in the long voting queues: liar! We have one of the bestworking election teams in South Asia…you can check your booth in yournewspaper, election commissions website or even on the slips distributed byvarious political parties….vote day is a holiday for all major sectors and evenprivate sectors have to give you time to go and cast your vote….so work, studiesand being busy is not an excuse….senior citizens in their 90’s and even thehandicap cast their vote, what’s your excuse??
After hearing so much from me, I know I am not going to get manyvotes for being a nice person but anyways I rather be a good citizen with a rudeattitude than a nice person with no sense of responsibility for the country!!
