With the National Elections round the corner, we are witnessing high level of election campaigning, strategic alliances and a plethora
of election promises.
All National and Regional level political parties,
have plunged into the foray to prove their might.
Winning the election by hook or crook, seems to be every party's
agenda. And as always,
the common man is
left confused, as to whom he should cast his valuable vote.
Election is the crucial time when every citizen of
this country gets an opportunity to make a
choice, as to who should lead this country. That is the beauty
of democracy. The decision
we make, will decide the fate of the country, for the next 5 years and it is
our duty to make a sensible choice, so that we would not regret it later.
As I was deliberating, on whom I should vote I had mixed thoughts and feelings. Should
I vote for the National
party which I like? Should I vote for the State party that
I think
can bring positive
transformation to the State? Should I vote for the party
that has the highest chance
of winning? Should I vote for the most eligible
candidate irrespective of which party he contests for?.I
think all of us go through a similar dilemma. After much thought, my mind was convinced about the last option. I made up my mind to vote for the candidate who is most eligible, irrespective of which party he belongs to.
To determine this I created a simple
5 point test, which I hope would
help us take a right decision, as to whom we should
vote for.
Is the candidate
a SON OF THE SOIL : The chances are that, a person who is the son of the soil will have more concern for his home constituency than any person
who is from elsewhere. This is
because every individual has an emotional attachment to his home town and he would
be also aware of the sentiments of the people
and their needs. Also as he
would have grown up in the same town, he would
have been witnessing the developments happening
so far and also the areas of concern that needs priority
action.
Is the candidate CLEAN: This is the most difficult question, for someone to pass.
The political ambition of many candidates is to make money, by using their newly acquired power. The person may not have any criminal records against him, but still he may not be a clean person. It is easier to know the credibility of a person,
if he is from our own town because we can back track his origin and family background. Let us make sure the candidate whom we vote, is
not a greedy, small timer who is looking
at making quick money. Rather let us choose someone who has proved his concern for the society by contributing, even before attaining any political status.
Is the candidate
COMPETENT : This again is a vital question. Not all good people or competent people. Like any other profession, certain skills are needed to be an
effective leader. Let us look for educated
people, who have enough intelligence to discriminate the right and wrong and take the decision
based which is fair to all. Rather
than having a political leader, who highlights the problems, we need leaders who are able to think
about intelligent solutions.
Is the candidate able to RAISE
HIS VOICE : I have had the opportunity to see a live session
of the parliament proceedings once, when I was at Delhi.
With the amount of booing and arrogance the ruling party exhibits, it becomes difficult for a
candidate from a minority party or an independent candidate
to raise his voice, during the session. He does not get heard. Eventually the person gets discouraged and decides to become a silent spectator. The candidate should be
someone who does not give up, but endures to push his point and make sure action is taken.
Is the candidate
a SECULARIST? A secularist is one who does not have any bias or prejudice
towards any religion, caste or section of people. Caste based voted
is the order of the day. But
that is not a right decision. A good politician, should be someone who is
fair to all concerned and not indulge in favouritism to a selected
segment of people.
If someone would qualify all the 5,you
can go ahead and vote confidently. Even if not, let us vote for someone,
who has the maximum eligibility based on these criteria's.
There is a general tendency
to vote for our favourite
party,
and not for the right eligible candidate. My request to all is, Vote for the candidate you feel is most eligible
and not for the party. A good candidate, even if he is an independent, can still go a long way in
bringing about a positive difference.
Happy Reading,
Article Dated Apr 2014
