A vote is like a rifle, its usefulness depends upon the character of the voter.
India is a democratic nation whose strength lies in the quality of its citizens. To make our democracy continue to grow and flourish in the right direction, its citizens must be vigilant towards their votes. This vote is extremely important because it determines the kind of government that comes to power.
The electorate must remember that it is their duty towards the nation to vote wisely. They must exercise their right to vote without fear or favour to have a real democracy. A vote rightly cast can help in rooting out corruption. But there are also those who never care for these voters. Their only business is to earn as much as possible. They take bribes and help black-marketers. They never say ‘no’ to their voters but they never fulfil their promises.
Primarily for this reason, we, the common people avoid voting. But voting is important as it empowers people to choose their rulers or they have an indirect control over the functioning of the government.
A ballot paper is not just a piece of paper. It is a very powerful weapon. It changes a government without shedding even a drop of blood. But do people always make right use of it? It is time to realise the true potential of the power of voting by every section of the society — the rich and the poor, the literate and the illiterate, the young and the old.
In India, there are many places where we don’t have a school, water, sewer, concrete roads and proper medical facilities. People have been demanding these things for ages. But the government says there are no funds though during every election campaign, politicians spend crores of rupees.
So we, the citizens of India, do not have any control over government funds. Government’s money is our money. We pay taxes. Even a beggar on the street pays tax when he buys a piece of bread, he pays sales tax and many other taxes. All this money belongs to us. And we have absolutely no control over it? Then how exactly can we monitor and ensure its proper usage?
The only way to do this is to choose right leaders. The candidates should be accountable. It is important for all of us to rise above the considerations of caste, creed, religion and language. The citizens have to know what they should expect from their elected representatives. If they feel their representatives may not prove themselves fruitful, they have the right not to vote for them. No greed, temptation or threat should come in the way of our conscience while voting.
It is difficult to choose from among the large number of people standing for elections. This is the time that a citizen’s sense of commitment to the country’s welfare and political awareness requires great importance.
It is every voter’s duty to make it his or her business to find out all about each candidate’s record of achievement in public life, personal honesty and sense of service. He or she should be able to judge which parties and their candidates are genuinely committed to working for the country’s welfare and whether they have fulfilled earlier election promises. Once again, each vote is important and should only be cast after due consideration.
Sometimes the voters get misled by the candidates. This is highly undemocratic and against the welfare of the country. In such circumstances, the voters should be strong enough not to be taken in by self-seeking candidates. They should be politically aware and should not cast their votes under anybody’s influence. It is high time that citizens think about how the right to vote is meaningful. Everything depends on us. If we exercise this right in a right way, our country will be next to heaven; if not there is hell everywhere.
“One person and one vote can make a difference and everyone should try.”
(Contributed by Simiran Mohapatra. The essay has been adjudged the best write-up on the topic
‘Electorate in India does not have any power’)