You know, an election is just around the corner when
the discussion during the dinner turns into a political debate every other day with
your family members. The campaign trail has already begun for the political
parties with candidates being announced, political deals being made and rallies
being organized all around the country. The country is just 10 days away from
the first phase of polling with 81.45 crore citizens being eligible to vote
this time around. Voters are now more informed than before and certainly the
election issues have seen a shift from the traditional caste based vote bank
politics to Corruption, Inflation and Governance issues.
There are the same old two big national players along
with some regional parties but a new competitor in the form of the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) has added spice to this. Their actions might not sound convincing
to everyone but one cannot ignore their popularity especially with the
prevailing anti-corruption sentiment in the country. They have without any
doubt changed the political narrative of this nation. And now suddenly,
everyone is trying to reach to ‘aam aadmi’ by projecting themselves as honest
and efficient. And all the talk of Third Front will disappear once the results
are announced. These regional parties will then indulge in horse trading with
the main ones.
There is a strong anti-Congress sentiment in the
country with the grand old party of India struggling to fight the elections in
the right earnest. They have failed to deliver and then they again turn back to
promises. They are like those lazy kids who fail in the exams every time they
appear and ask for grace marks from their teachers. The unfulfilled promises,
with a PM which is rarely being seen speaking or accepting mistakes and a scam
tainted tenure at the helm are the only things with which this government will
be remembered for. Rahul Gandhi has never shown inclination to take a
leadership role and this will only hurt the party’s chances in elections. The
spin doctors of the Congress have tried to put him as the face of
anti-corruption but given the track of the government which his party leads;
this is a cruel joke or sheer ignorance.
The politician who has been targeted the most and the
one who inspires outright adulation or instant hate amongst the electorate is
the PM face of the BJP backed NDA government looks confident and determined to
bring back the NDA into power. His claims of development have been put to
intense scrutiny but he has delivered in Gujarat. Business and Industry leaders
see a lot of promise and hope in him. His image of being the ‘vikas purush’ has
gained traction in the country particularly among the youth. Any young,
aspirational Indian would like to hear more about employment, growth and
development than riots or different definitions of secularism.
Indian political scene has changed quite considerably
from the politics of caste and ideology to horse trading to criminalization of
politics to coalition politics and not to mention corruption which goes hand in
hand with all of those. But this time the landscape has changed a bit and the
AAP must be given credit for making corruption as the election issue and to
take plunge to cleanse politics. It has forced other parties to bring about
some morality into their working style. As a result more and more parties are
now avoiding candidates with a criminal background; however winnable they may
be. AAP has got people involved in politics and this has led to a more informed
voter choice and opinion.
Caste based politics or that of minority is outdated.
In this election Modi has brought development as an election issue which is in
consonance with the changing India. Promises, sops and freebies, minority
appeasement policies are common during election time. But people have self
pride, and they neither want anything free nor pitied; even poor work as rag
pickers to make a living. People have now moved on, leaving behind the past,
with common demands for jobs, security, housing and healthcare for better
quality of life, and education for children's future.
For all this to happen, there is a need for awareness
amongst the citizens to exercise their right to vote. The middle class is
increasingly cynical of the electoral process. One vote is just a drop in this
vast ocean so why do people bother to vote at all? But still an ordinary
citizen continues to vote may be, that is more out of hope than conviction.
Will this election be the change which we desperately
want or are we still waiting?
