Your vote matters!

10th May- Vote you must! The ballot is stronger than the bullet.

Bengaluru, May 9: Voting is one of the most important rites of citizenship. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society. One person, one vote” democracy with equal voting rights is necessary to ensure that government gives equal consideration to everyone’s interests. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

It’s your constitutional right but optional. Voting is an honour conferred on the citizens by the founding fathers. People should vote out of free will. Many vote in return for inducements. it is immoral to buy, trade, or sell votes.

Research across India has shown that those who spend the most do not always win elections. In fact, the voters often accept the goodies from all parties but vote for one they have in mind.

Elections after elections have seen ineffective governments come to power that have done more harm than good. However, not casting one’s vote will only worsen the condition. It is our duty as responsible citizens to make informed decisions and choose the best candidate from those presented.

Yes, electoral reforms are imperative!
If merely a third of registered voters participate in the election, and just over half of them vote for, he or she will gain office with the formal endorsement of only one-sixth of the electorate. It is likely that over 15% of all adults are either left out or excluded from voting lists in India.

The problem in India is we have too many politicians, with no statesmen at all. We have too many Trumps and Reagans and no Mahathma Gandhijis or Roosevelts.
We should be voting to those who can provide us with that “ease of living” and not look at ease of power, position and ill-gotten wealth!

At election time we inevitably hear earnest pleas for everyone to vote. 100% participation is the goal. But we rarely question this belief, or objectively consider whether everyone who can vote ought to vote! Is it not irresponsible to encourage the unawares to put their ignorance into action so aimlessly. “Just vote” does it express civic virtue?

No one doubts that corruption and poverty are the bane of democracy in India. Corruption affects governance and the delivery of the dividends of democracy; it also affects the dispensation of justice and the sanctity of the electoral process.
A deeper worry is that even the will of a majority may have little or no influence on how the country is governed. There’s a widespread conviction that rich people and corporations determine government actions, and recent research by political scientists offers at least preliminary support for that conclusion. Ease of doing business precedes Ease of Living!

If one votes, one participates. If one participates, one condones and endorses the process, and subsequently, what those elected ‘representatives’ do and say in your name. Electoral promises are meaningless because politicians are able to lie to gain the favour of the electorate, and then do exactly what they want once they have it. Then there is no accountability or recourse, other than waiting another 5 years or so to vote them out and replace them with someone else who will follow the established template and do the exact same thing.

Still vote! Your vote matters!

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