It is a day which ranks pretty high up in terms of importance for any young man or
woman. Who is in love that is. Valentine’s Day may be next month but plans are
afoot to make it special. Of that one can be quite sure. The ardour of one in
love can never be underestimated. This year however it could be a bit different.
That great adventure i.e. Indian democracy will reach its pinnacle with the
elections being held that very day. So what happens now? How does one manage,
will the young one spend time together in line waiting to cast their vote or,
well what do the young think about it all?
Mayanka Harlankar from Bicholim seemed
very logical about it all. She said “Yes, Valentine’s Day celebration can wait
but we get to vote wisely once in 5 years. If you don’t vote, you aren’t
allowed to complain about the government or the economy or anything. You have
ceded the future to old people who are less well educated than you are. So this
year it’s better to celebrate Valentine’s Day by casting a valuable vote”. Well
she has a point but there will always be diversity of opinions.
Aadore Mukherjee, a young professional in
the film industry based in Goa had radically different plans. She intended to
spend Valentine’s Day travelling to another country but she now seems resigned
to staying put due to the virus. She now intends to sit at home watching the
Goa elections. Viresh Vazirani, a social influencer and digital marketer smiled
when asked what he intended to do. He said “I must say the Election Commission
got everyone’s attention to the poll date by picking February 14, but we are
grounded to our constituency to claim our fundamental right, which means no
travel plans and of course only mocktails. Tough choice but I’ll probably vote
around noon, catch the sunset followed by an early dinner at one of our
favourite restaurants in Panjim.” For actress Joanne da Cunha the circumstances
meant she would not be considering celebrating Valentines Day. She said “I
doubt I will celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, owing to the ongoing pandemic
which has escalated. I would opt to spend V day at home with my family. I would
surely do my duty of voting, and spend a few minutes or hours at the polling
booth. But my actual thought process on whom to vote for would take a lot
longer before that day”.
The very erudite and logical Moses Pinto who is an advocate
mulled over his answer and then said the day was widely recognized as a day of
devotion. The 14th of February, he said, serves to commemorate the martyrdom of
Saint Valentine who was martyred on that day in AD 269. Saint Valentine was persecuted
and martyred for refusing to worship the Roman Emperor. He said “Therefore,
scheduling the date of polling on the 14th of February by the Election
Commission represents a deep symbolism which could be attributed to the
devotion that an elector ought to demonstrate upon his own governance by the
representative whom he chooses to elect to office. And just like the tyranny
which the Roman Empire stood for and which led to the ultimate demise of Saint
Valentine for upholding his own ideals, these elections serve as an opportunity
to eradicate the tyranny of party politics, consecutive terms, and elitist
governance, which plague our societal development”.
He said the day of polling held greater significance in
everyone’s lives by symbolising active choices of elected representatives to
the State Legislature, ensuring love and devotion for the State’s future and
preservation of Goa’s distinct way of life through the responsible decisions
the elected representatives would be expected to take in everyone’s interests
as Goans. He ended by saying he would endeavour to vote wisely and choose
decisively this Valentine’s Day at the polling booth.
Ishita Rao however felt that regardless of the voting day being
held on a day where there’s love in the air, if one believes that a political
party in this democratic nation is capable of governing you then nothing should
come in the way of casting one’s vote. She said “Even if you know that you’ll
be voting for NOTA, it doesn’t matter, you should cast your vote. The entire
purpose of a democracy is to have a say in the political situation, and voting
ensures that everyone’s voice is heard. This is what makes a democracy with
everyone participating in it”.
Romance
may be missing with this lot and everyone seems focused on the important job of
electing good honest candidates to govern the state which is a very good sign.
Perhaps in a way they are showing their love for their state.
