Okay, let me begin by gloating- I voted!
Now that we have this declaration out of the way, let me tell you a short story (I know, I write short stories on the other blog, but bear with me for a second here)
A young girl of 7, accompanied her grandparents on election day, once. Her only task was to stamp on a symbol of their choice, as they did not trust their eyes to read relevant information. She watched in wonder as they inked their respective finger, and then proceeded to quietly tell her where to stamp. The mini adventure was banked with a sense of self-importance and she vowed to vote well for her country one day.
Now that we have this declaration out of the way, let me tell you a short story (I know, I write short stories on the other blog, but bear with me for a second here)
A young girl of 7, accompanied her grandparents on election day, once. Her only task was to stamp on a symbol of their choice, as they did not trust their eyes to read relevant information. She watched in wonder as they inked their respective finger, and then proceeded to quietly tell her where to stamp. The mini adventure was banked with a sense of self-importance and she vowed to vote well for her country one day.
Fifteen years later, here I am, having voted for the first time in the Mumbai round of the Lok Sabha elections 2014! One of the early voters, I was smug and confident as I walked out into the sun (literally) having cast my vote- my dream had been realized. But, said a small nagging voice at the back of my head, had I really voted well like I promised myself ages ago? A louder voice contradicted with, did I have a sensible choice of candidates at all?, and assured me that I had done well within the limited options. All too suddenly, I begin to fret and my initial excitement rapidly evaporated as I recalled the content faces of my grandparents, reassured in the rightness of the choice they had made.
As the day passed, I read brickbats on social networking sites slamming the low turnout in Mumbai and warning Mumbaikars of dire consequences for not voting. What dire consequences, I wondered?
As I read more views and arguments ridiculing the situation, I realized that social media is the reason I am so indifferent to a moment I had waited for since forever. It thrusts every public in my face at every point of the day, leaving no room for mystery and definitely no curiosity. I have a 360 degree access.
Constant access!
Back in the good old days, people had limited access to their politicians. They heard their argument at the start of the campaign and challenged them through voting if they failed to deliver. It was a simple system of give and take, if you may. With TV, people had a chance to scrutinize the politicians and leaders on a more regular basis with the evening news. Gradually, TV diversified into a billion channels and million NEWS channels; people could now track different strands of every strata of a political party debating on various platforms/issues/non issues etc.
Then came social media and any hope the politicians had of salvaging their image was savaged. Intellectuals (some of them) slammed them on Twitter, comedians spoofed them on YouTube and laymen continued to be confused on Facebook swinging with the flow- which now is purely satirical.
It does not help that our politicians are equally bizarre, outdated, audacious, uneducated, vain, petty (or attention seeking, you pick) and the cynics needn't look far to make a satirical comment or a video. The candidates at the forefront are immature, delusional, misguided, with no clear idea of how to go about things apart from making claims. These people are scrutinized by their every sentence, stand, opinion thus limiting any chance they may have at winning people's trust or goodwill. Today, we are aware of every little flaw of theirs, be it their diction or lack of strategies.
How can one expect any turnout for people who are ridiculed at dinner tables and all over media?
I am not sure if this overt reality check is good or bad, or if it is just an 'Urban Indian' dilemma. What saddens me deeply is that not one of us can believe completely in the power we are voting for!
