Voting is our democratic right. We choose our leaders by the issues flagged and the promises made. We, the voters, have the right to throw our leaders out of power if they fail to live up to the expectations.
If you have thought elections are meant to be like this, then you, the naïve voters, take a jump cut because this is an era of demagoguery, rhetoric and fence-mending. Real issues which affect the constituents’ survival, do not actually exist in the real world that is so full of ‘chowkidar’, ‘chor’, ‘JCB government’, ‘puppets’ and so on and so forth. And our politicians, who are steaming ahead for the Lok Sabha elections, are wise enough to understand that. Hence, they have given up on realpolitik and embraced rabble rousing.
From national to state politics, there is no dearth of garrulous public representatives who can go on speaking about absolutely nothing. In Aleya Sen’s words, “They hop, skip and jump all important issues and talk gibberish untiringly.”
The politicians’ reluctance and the voters’ patience have left Sen, a student of Political Science in a college in Bengaluru, flabbergasted.
Mudslinging is their only objective and not understanding voters’ problems. They are into short-term bargaining with voters but never forget their long-term profits, feels O Mawlong, a young professional.
“This election is all about blaming rivals. NPP is blaming the Congress and vice versa. BJP is blaming everyone. But issues like the citizenship bill, education, unemployment, bad roads are locked in the parties’ manifestos,” Mawlong adds.
For the leading party in the ruling coalition of the state, boasting about what it did in the last one year and what its national rival could not do in the past many years are important. Its agenda, which is development, remains vague. There is no concrete action plan as to what and how to develop.
Education or revamping the system has never been a priority for most of the political parties and it is understandable as educated voters can be a deterrent to their nefarious practices. So when the Centre reduces fund for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), it does not bother the opposition. In the state, the government is struggling to pay its SSA teachers for months but will not utter a word about it.
“We have not got our salary for six months. Before that we got our salary once in three months,” says Charterson Mawlong, the principal of Nabon Sawian Memorial Presbyterian Secondary School in Mawmluh.
While the chief minister had admitted last year that the Centre’s fund cut put pressure on the state exchequer, his election speech has no mention of that. Neither has he made it a poll agenda to ask the national ruling party the reason behind neglecting education.
The Centre has also reduced fund for basic research but the opposition, both in Delhi and Meghalaya, seems unfazed by the move in the poll season. It is more interested in doling out minimum income (another poll special stunt that may not materialise) than pondering over real problems plaguing the education system.
Unemployment is on the rise in Meghalaya but does anyone hear a politician speak about it now? O Mawlong says this election would have been an opportunity to raise these points but the wily politicians are only taking advantage of the naivety of the parvenus.
“As India is experiencing population explosion, issues should probably be about the younger generation and their education and job opportunities. Talking about raising the level of education, it is not just about building schools and colleges but raising the level of what currently is being taught to us so that we don’t remain confined to our state,” says Khayingwon K Shimrah, a student.
“The main national political parties are BJP and Congress. They have the power to create more jobs for the youth and yet… Congress ruled for 15 years but we did not see much change and BJP is there for the last five years and has not proved much effective. Something needs to be done,” she adds.
Yes, something definitely needs to be done but what? The electorate have no other option but to play along and vote. They know voting is their right and they are also aware that nothing right is going on and yet they want to be part of the festival of democracy, or shall we call it pseudo-democracy?
There are other issues too like road connectivity, poverty, communication et al. But none of the parties contesting the polls has any clear vision about how to go about tackling these problems.
Another important issue is coal mining in Meghalaya. Mining has done much harm to the environment and beauty of the state and it is time there is aggressive awareness campaign to make people understand the drawbacks of random mining. But politicians always find an easy way out. So again they are using coal mining as a tool to garner votes without thinking about long-term consequences. But novel thinking requires an academic brain and good intention which none has.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, which created public outrage in the North East leading to a series of protests, suddenly becomes a non-issue. This is despite the fact that the BJP is still hoping against hope that it will revive when it comes to power.
“Right now citizenship bill matters for the entire North East. I feel politicians should take up the issue seriously as the region is in a critical situation,” says Shimrah.
Issues should be an election’s raison d’être. It is based on these and a party’s road map to better the future that a voter should choose his or her leader. There cannot be any other reason for a change. But elections now are all about catchy phrases and creative name calling. If one claims to be God, the other poses as demigod. This only belittles democracy and curtails citizens’ rights.
If all parties walk the same muck-filled path and pretend they are the saviours then there is no meaning in spending crores on canvassing, advertisements and manifestos. “The voters do not have a say anyway or do they,” wonders an already disillusioned first-time voter.
~ NM