India Votes 2009 : Options for the deeply cynical
So we have elections coming up soon, and I start wondering. Great, there is the drive for online petitions, voter enrollment and a general push to a jaagore. Its nice to know we are all waking up in even more numbers. But there is a problem. Its a rude wakeup. A blissful icy dream protected by ignorance and disinterest is suddenly a raging inferno of cynicism searching for a target with the hopeless realisation that there is no one to blame and probably no one who is blameless.
So having woken up, and finding a vote to spare, how does one use it ? And what are the options ?
- You have a favourite political party. It could be accused of pandering to one or more of populism, communalism, communism, regionalism, casteism. So what if its leaders come grace your TV screens every news night and indulge with their peers in ‘barkism and bitism’. You rest your hopes in the party and you vote for its candidate. The great thing about it is often one vote can buy you so many isms. The difficulty is that many of the leaders put their rivals down rather than India up. You can’t get Indianism. Its tough to get truism. Even though I don’t expect it, its virtually impossible to get altruism. Ho Hum.
- You have a favourite candidate who you believe is honest, incorruptible, dedicated and probably even skilful enough to survive the rough and the tumble should he make the grade. The problem is that he may even do great at the hustings, but just may not have what it takes to reach the winning post first. Any vote cast here seems like a vote squandered
- Use the 49-O protest vote. The trouble with that is it makes no practical difference between that and not going to the polling booth at all. Sure it is an explicit protest vs. an implicit protest, but is the distinction really important ? I can’t quite buy it.
- Don’t vote at all. Seems attractive, but I don’t consider being fatalistic as a virtue even when the chips are down.
Amongst these choices “2” seems to be the least unattractive. But a more dominant feeling seems to be the need to hear a ‘lori’ n go back to sleep hoping that jaagore might just have been a dream.
Note : This post is not to encourage you to not vote. I will vote. It is just to indicate that voting requires votability, a sorely missing commodity at the moment.
Very well put Dhanajay!!
I would just like to add one more scenario to your options and that is –
When you see your favourite Bollywood stars coming out and standing for the Vote Bank of some party or the other. Then you vote for the star and the party and its ideals capitalize by camoflaging their crime record by the popularity and fan following of the star. So, the new trend is a vote bank competition not to vote the party best suited for the state but the party with th best star. Soon we'll have blockbuster elections…after all its a bollywood fight!
ipsita
12 Apr 09 at 5:43 am
Sorry for a late response.
I just wanted talk about the so-called 49-O protest vote. There are emails being forwarded around the internet that imply that this 49-O non-vote will somehow have some effect on somebody. Some emails even go so far as to say that if the number of 49-O votes is a majority, then election will get canceled. All of that is pretty much wishful thinking, and not true.
The 49-O vote is pretty much a waste of your time and effort.
Yes, you can choose to exercise your right to not vote under 49-O. But, no, it is unlikely to have any effect. Your non-vote is only recorded to ensure that after you non-vote, nobody else can vote using your identity. As far as a protest is concerned, only one person, the election officer, will ever know that you protested. Sort of a pointless protest, don't you think?
The only requirement is that the election officer makes a mark against your name in the voter roll. There is no requirement that the total number of 49-O votes be computed and sent to higher ups. The winner of the election will still be the person who got most valid votes – and 49-O abstains do not have any effect whatsoever. All the talk about election getting canceled and the candidate not being able to re-contest is just, as I said, wishful thinking.
Navin
29 Apr 09 at 4:34 am
Nice article , though i reached here late ! as almost half of voting is done, a good way to push to vote.
Dagadu
30 Apr 09 at 5:15 am