Elections - The great Indian Tamasha...

The elections in Bangalore are over and the speculations are rife about who would be the MP, who will get a landslide victory and who will loose their deposits!!

Nothing new you might say, however what is interesting is the low voter turnout even after much prodding done by the NGO's, non-political movements, political parties and the many other of similar types who had surfaced in the past few months; especially after the 26/11. The billion votes or the magical figures of 70-80 % turnout still seems to be a distant dream!

Is it that the prodding was not sufficient enough?

Is the so- called literate & thinking population of India grown immune to the governance of the country?

Or is it that the current state of affairs in the country has driven them to the depths of depression and any prodding about a better change is futile?

Come to think of it, election is nothing more than a colourful event for most of us. The political parties not too different from each other continue their brickbat without any remorse. The tax payers money is wasted in billions with petty or irresponsible irregularities while conducting the election process – most of them can be easily ironed out with better processes, however nobody seems to bother. Money, booze, irrational promises and irresponsible behaviour is at its peak during this time. And at the end of it a mere 50 % of the population votes, of which atleast 20 % have been paid to vote!

So practically 30% of the population exercises their franchise. And even if any political party wins with a 30% majority there is a clear possibility that only 15% of the population was in their favor. So who is responsible for these clowns at the center?

This time, the election process played the spoilsport. There was a possibility for change. The immune strata of our population had been jerked awake from their slumber and they had decided to act. Yet our cumbersome and age old election process ensured that the enthusiasm fizzled out or rather did not achieve its desired results.

The new enrolments never saw the light of the day. Many first time voters could not get their names registered as they were missing or the procedure was not completed. People with voter Id, suddenly found their names missing. Many even found that their names were enlisted in unrelated wards/booths making it impossible to trace on the election day. Address mistakes, spelling mistakes, wrong pincodes etc were most common. Yet the election commission went home congratulating each other of conducting yet another successful election.

However the common man still wonders – who is the king maker in this country? Why is it that my money is wasted in billions and I cant cry fowl? Why is it that after paying my due I cant expect better services/opportunities or even good governance? I really wish somebody can answer this!