V- Vote

V- Vote

Mobile musings - the theme for this A to Z
challenge features a blog with pictures
clicked by me on my mobile phone

The elections to the lower house of parliament are on, all over India.

I must confess I did not vote this election.  I am away from my home where I am registered as a voter. 

Had I been around I would have definitely voted. 

In the coming years, very similar to the concept of ATM or cash machines, we should have a system of voting from anywhere within or outside the country.

Voting ink*
Picture clicked on Blackberry curve ,
 After voting in May 2013

(* For the benefit of my non -Indian Readers - in India every voter who casts his vote is marked with an ink on his / her index finger as a mark of having voted. The special ink takes about a week to disappear. This is necessary because as the largest democracy of the world, India is notorious for some highly undemocratic activities like Booth capturing, voting on false names, voting against other people's names etc. Sadly not more than 60-65% of the country's citizens Vote. Notably the educated and well-to do ones do not bother to vote. 
Things are changing and this blog is a small attempt to change that mindset. )

I would have voted for any candidate that I believe is the least corrupt, or rather holds up to his ideals and has a clean record. 

For I know it is not easy being a politician.  No matter how much you do, the politician is always looked upon as corrupt and opportunist by the people of the constituency. 

There are a whole lot of them - the corrupt and opportunists, but not all of them are corrupt and inefficient. Many of them mean well and mean business. 

When your drainages work well, roads are motorable, water supply is safe, vegetables cost reasonable, public transport runs adequately you do not think of all the effort that has gone in by your local politicians and the government machinery to keep all this working.

It is only when things go out of hand that the cynical, pseudo voter who does not even bother to Strutt his butt to get out of home on the election day gripes over all that, that is not going right.

Voting is not our right, it is our responsibility. If all of us voted and voted responsibly, we could hold our politicians accountable for what they do with the tax payers money.

Here is my favorite politician who for the first time in the history of India sends out  a half term report to all the voters in his constituency via his website in both English and the local language about the projects that he has initiated and their progress. (Nope - my blog does not support any political party.)

How many of us even know or dictate a job description and KRA’s  for the members of parliament that we elect to office ?

As citizens of the world’s largest democracy we should feel proud about voting and electing our members to parliament.
Voting is important. 
Take it seriously.