It is indeed very sad that even after 70 years of Independence a 16th general elections most Indians depend mainly on election symbols and scarcely on the names of candidates contesting elections. Furthermore in rural areas and tribal villages, even the choice of symbol on which the vote will be cast is left not to their will, but to the decisions taken by the village elders or tribal leaders.
Just the other day, I happened to listen to a reporter covering election news in some rural areas in UP. The voters there are in a utter state of confusion. In the last election they were asked to vote for the symbol Elephant and not to vote for the Bicycle. This time they are being told that there will be neither Elephant nor Bicycle symbols on the EVMs but instead they must look for the Handpump symbol and cast their votes accordingly. Unfortunately not many understand or are yet to understand the idea of Gathbandhan or political alliance between SP, BSP and RLD.
Another interesting case was in the State of Telengana where, in the recently held State Election, TRS party swept the polls while Congress managed to win just 19 seats. What surprised and shocked the voters is that 10 out of 19 Congress MLAs have now defected to TRS party, allegedly at a price of Rs 25 crore each. These MLAs are now asking their voters to vote not for the Cong symbol on which they had won but for the candidates of the TRS party which they had earlier opposed tooth and nail. When asked for the voters’ reaction they were quick to remark, that it would be foolish to vote for the Congress candidate because even if he wins, he too can easily defect to TRS and become a crorepati overnight.
Now coming to Goa’s election scene, read what this man from Shiroda, a mason by occupation but well versed in the nitty-gritty of elections has to say about the strange manner in which election is being fought there. “The man whom we voted on Congress symbol ‘hand’ in the last election is back, but with a different symbol ‘lotus’ of BJP party asking for our votes and the one who sought our votes with Lotus as his symbol now is pleading for votes for Hand as symbol. We are at a loss and can’t understand how such things happen in Goa? Should we chose the individual or the symbol? We are confused”.
It’s very clear from above incidents that political scenario in India is experiencing a dramatic but dangerous shift. Indian election that once upon a time was considered as a means of getting various important issues resolved, has lost its significance, its power and potential to bring about a change to better the lives of Indians and a new dimension has been added that is completely devoid of morals, ethics and conscience.
Greed for money and power has become the most dominant factor. The net result being that the voters who are the main stakeholders are left to fend for themselves in a state of mental confusion. What is more perplexing is that these defectors who contest the elections shout from the rooftops that they have done this act of ‘treason’ only for the sake of the voters, to bring them more progress and better developmental schemes, but never having the gumption of revealing what extraordinary benefits they themselves have received.
