VOTING EMPOWERMENT

Two days back I was campaigning for Aam Aadmi Party's Trivandrum Loksabha Candidate. As I was distributing party manifesto to the localites in the Devaswom Board Junction, Nanthacode I saw two ladies aged around 65-70 and I approached them and told them that I am from a new political party and we need your valuable votes to change the current system. Suddenly both ladies exploded at me and said - “During the last election you people promised us that we will give you drinking water, till now it has not arrived. You promised us about giving electricity, where is it? What about ration you have promised? Nothing happened and now you want our votes? Do not you have self respect to ask for vote from us!!”. They were very angry and their emotional outburst attracted nearby people which include auto-rickshaw drivers and people who came to the nearby milk shop. Just for a second I got stunned and nearby people were looking at me for my 'answer'! As I was not a seasoned election campaigner and a 'political worker (paid or unpaid)' and this is for the first time I was involving in a political party, this sort of experiences were new to me but somehow I got my orientation back and replied them - “I am not from the old political parties but from a new one, its name is Aam...” They did not even given me time to complete my reply, and once again they verbally attacked me - “Do not you feel ashamed to come in front of us. Everyone will come and take votes and vanish from this area and then after five years, they will come back to us begging for votes. We have been fooled by you for so many years, but this time we will not vote”.

Then I said - “Do not waste your votes, at least vote for NOTA”! Then one of the lady shouted at me - “We do not want him (NOTA) too, he will also be the same!” I was speechless. I wondered how I would make them understand what NOTA or 'None Of The Above' is. How important it is to cast vote in democracy. But our system have been failed since independence regarding educating people about what really democracy means and how important people's participation, at least casting vote, in democracy.

Election Commission (EC) and government will do some campaign during the election time regarding the importance of casting vote, but the rest of the years there will not be any kind of such activities from the EC or government. Virtually common citizen will not get empowered about their rights to cast vote and its power. This will benefit 'third-rate political parties and their political leaders' who does not want to see people get empowered.

We must come up with some out-of-the-box ideas which will make sure that each and every citizen in our country get empowered about their rights and understand the importance of voting in democracy irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, or social status. If this is not achieved, people will not understand what really voting is and even who understand will cast vote for a particular political party which they have been forced to believe upon but not for themselves and their future generation!