If the only food items available on the menu card of a restaurant you visited don’t suit your taste, will you still order or will you leave the restaurant? The latter I hope. Though an extremely far-fetched example, electing our “leaders” should be something like that too. There should be an easily available option for those who believe that neither of the election candidates should be given a chance to power. There is an option 49(0), with which you will be counted as a citizen who has voted, but has voted for no one. That way, you are still the responsible member of a democracy who has cast his/her vote and also have satisfied your conscience by not voting for the bad among the worse.
While most citizens are still unaware of such a system, those who are, are happily denied in polling booths. I remember the first time I voted and I was not happy with the candidates. It was a different thing that my father stared at me intently right outside the secret ballot room hoping with optimism that I am voting for the party of his choice. I did vote according to his choice as does millions of others who for some social weirdness never grow up to realise things around them till their parents die. In India, you grow up only when every one elder to you are resting in heaven or hell.
The second time I went to vote was after the Nandigram disaster happened. I was confused as to whom to vote for. I didn’t trust the ruling left-front neither could I gain the courage to allow a lunatic like Mamata Banerjee to decide policies of my state. I was aware of 49(0) by then. I decided to opt for it. There was a huge discussion at home (more like a monologue where a shell-shocked father shouted at his “immature” daughter and laughing off anything as 49(0)) and my parents, if given a choice would have entered that booth to press my finger on the party symbol of their choice.
At the polling booth, when I expressed my desire for a 49(0), I was not allowed. I was told to quietly enter and vote from the choices. I refused. But then considering by “attendance” already taken I had to vote. I tried to reason with them and blabbered stuff about constitutional rights, which again according to them came from an immature brain. Frustrated, I voted for an independent cycle rickshaw driver, who seemed to have more good will than any of the national parties.
From my experience, I would like people to understand that “no show” does not count as a vote for no one. It is just not counted. But if opted for a 49(0) and that is what the majority opts for, political parties are required to change their candidates and re-election happens. We really don’t need to give a chance to people we don’t think are capable.
It’s in our hands who we vote for, including “no one”.
2 comments:
aah, but then again, the candidates they WILL put forward again....shall again not be to our tastes....
Yes. The point is that most candidates are as bad as each other. From any random selection of candidates, you will always have to choose the best one. Or, as they say,"the least of the worst one". Ultimately, you cant keep having elections indefinitely. 49(0) is a very powerful weapon. It will be effective, but it must be used sparingly, as an extreme case, and not en masse. If we keep having re-elections every where, all that will happen is that the candidates will be sent to different constituencies and they'll get elected anyway.
Plus, having a re-election is a great cost to the state treasury.
If this 49(0) becomes the norm, it'll be at a huge cost to the tax-payer.
It must be used maybe once, as an exception, to show the political parties that they can't give us tosh. Just that much.
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