THE TIMING OF VOTING: Deepak Budki (IPoS-Retd)

THE TIMING OF VOTING

Everybody is complaining about the timing of voting in the 2024 elections in India. On the one hand, the Election Commission of India wants maximum voter turnout while on the other hand, the temperature has been soaring beyond 45 degrees Celsius (feels like 55 degrees). 

A question arises whether this election could have been held a month or two earlier. A peep into the past shows that Narendra Modi took over the charge as PM of India on 26 May 2014 for the first time while the elections were held from 07 April to 12 May 2014, and on 30 May 2019 as 16th PM of India for the second time while the elections were held from 01 April to 19 May 2019 and the results declared on 23 May 2019. This necessitates that the next duly elected government must be ready to take over charge before 30 May 2024.

India is a vast country with approximately 140 crore population having about 70% population eligible for voting and comprises different topographic regions. The climate varies widely in these regions. The areas in the foothills of the Himalayas such as Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling etc remain cool during the summers and become hotspots for tourists to visit and ward off the heat of the plains. The temperature on average remains between 25-30 degrees. Even Bengaluru in Karnataka remains cooler than adjoining areas. On the contrary, the mercury in the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Deccan plateau touches more than 40 degrees. The temperature in these areas starts rising in March end. Hence it would be better that elections in the latter areas should be held first and that in the former areas could be held later and preferably the process should be completed by April at the most. 

Now coming to the schedule of the elections held in 2024. The election was held in 7 phases spread over 3 months as follows: 19 April, 26 April, 07 May, 13 May, 20 May, 25 May and 01 June and the result is expected to be announced on 14 June 2024. Simultaneously the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have been held. The people whosoever voted braved the scorching sun overhead besides those who had to man the voting booths and the security personnel who were required to perform duties in the open and directly under the sun. While mass media have shown some enthusiastic people, old and young, coming out of their homes to cast their vote, the fact remains that the voting percentage remained around 60 per cent and 40 per cent of people did not come out to vote. Was it due to the general apathy towards the existing parliamentary system or due to the forbidding temperatures which did not permit them to come out of their cosy homes, no one can say with certainty. This is even though the Central Election Commission left no stone unturned to woo the voters to come out and vote besides providing extra facilities for old and handicapped personnel. Even the mass media and some private sector companies helped in this regard by regularly advertising on the TV and in newspapers enticing voters not to miss their right to vote.

In the background of what has been said I feel that the Election Commission and the Government were not sincere enough to mitigate the troubles of the people. There were two options for the aforesaid agencies. One was that the Government could have resigned a month earlier and continued holding charge till the next government was elected. One month would not have made the heavens fall. The other option was that the Election Commission could have spread the election schedule between March and April (say 04 Mar, 11 Mar, 18 Mar, 01 April, 12 April, 18 April, and 26 Apr with results on 30 April 2024). This would allow the next government to take over on 30 May 2024 as required or earlier if they so wished. The elections in the plains and Southern peninsula could have been held on earlier dates while those of the cooler areas as discussed earlier could have been conducted in later phases. As a result, the dependence on the climate would have been reduced if not eliminated. 

Anyway, I hope the Election Commission takes cognisance of the above suggestions for the future and keeps in mind the lives of the voters and the supplementary staff assisting in the polls.

 

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Jumla vs Performance

The fact remains that India lost its opportunity to rebuild the nation in 1947 when it was set free. The British found it prudent to hand over power to a mild, non-violent and passive leader Gandhi assisted by westernised Nehru in order to firstly, get a safe passage at that point in time and secondly, to continue their control on its polity indirectly. For seven decades we were tamed to remain as passive slaves, fatalists and the world nicknamed our growth as Hindu Rate of Growth. 

With the rise of Narendra Modi, things have taken a drastic turn but you have to realise that we have lost the golden opportunity to integrate India and make it a nation. Today we have inimical forces all over the country nurtured by Congress since independence be it Tamilnadu, Kashmir, Punjab, North East or other states. To quote a Kashmiri saying the efforts made by Modi are like Yupis Shup Dyun Dole (To stop a flood with a winnow). 

We Kashmiris were not exposed to casteism in the valley but I have worked in many states and seen its dirty face. Shiv Sena's hate against lower castes in Maharashtra and against Goans in Goa, DMK's tirade against Brahmins and Hindi-speaking people followed by some political parties in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana, inter-tribal hate-mongering and bloodshed in North East, extinction of aborigines in Tripura by refugees from East Bengal, outwitting of Assamese by Bengali refugees and so on. Modi or Shah don't have a Staff of Moses to counter this. 

Nevertheless, what surprises me is the wrong priorities of the present government. They are wasting their energy on many trivial things to remain in power. Yes, it is a known fact that money is inducted into different channels in India like the purchase of journalists, expanding the network of subversive NGOs by vested interests to dislodge the present government and funding helpful opposition political parties. That, however, is a natural outcome of BJP's all-out efforts to ensure a Congress-mukt Bharat and follows Newton's law, "To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." 

I must frankly admit that I am not able to convince myself of Modi's soft corner for Adani, the escape of Neerav, Mallya and Choksi from the country, writing off loans of big tax evaders, tie-up with Mehbooba Mufti in J&K despite her soft-corner for Pakistan, the estrangement of allies like Shiv Sena and Akali Dal besides encouragement to vigilantes and lynching mobs. The main agenda of implementing the Uniform Civil Code, ban on proselytising, reduction of unemployment, harnessing price rise, eradicating corruption and taking cases of criminals to the logical end have become only election issues that have remained pending since 2014. Many cases against big guns have not been pursued vigorously for the last nine years. On the other hand, ED and CBI remain active day in and day out raiding political opponents for maligning them mostly when the elections are fast approaching. However, you cannot overlook the fact that India was visited by natural disasters like floods, land erosions in the Himalayas and the worst coronavirus pandemic which the government has successfully coped with. The people watch the government by results on the ground and benefits derived from.  

Time is going to decide the future of this country. The only thing I have faith in is that India has a culture that has withstood such vicissitudes for over five thousand years and will continue to do so. I quote Dr Mohd Iqbal;

       Unan-o-Misr-o-Roma sab mit gaye jahan see,

       Ab tak magar hai baqi nam-o-nishan hamara.

       Kuch  baat  hai  ki   hasti   mit-ti   nahi  hamari,

      Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara.

Vote, ووٹ ,वोट : (Urdu/Hindi); Afsancha; افسانچہ ; लघु कथा

 Vote: ووٹ : वोट      

 Afsancha; افسانچہ ; लघु कथा  

वोट 

प्रगति विहार हॉस्टल की बालकोनी से मैं नीचे मैदान की चहल-पहल देख रहा था। इतने में एक व्यक्ति ने सामने सडक पर खड़ा होकर मुझे संबोधित किया।"भाई साहब आपने अभी तक अपना वोट नहीं डाला, चार बज चुके हैं।"

मैंने क्षमा मांगते हुए कहा,"मैंने कश्मीर के चुनाओं में अपनी आँखों से धांधलियां होते देखी हैं जिसे मेरे विश्वास को आघात पहुंचा है। इसलिए अब मैं वोट नहीं डालता।"

"आप इतने बढ़े अफसर होकर भी ऐसी बातें करते हैं। वोट ढालना तो हमारा कर्तव्य बनता है। अगर हम जैसे शिक्षित लोग ही अपने कर्तव्य से मुकर जाएँ तो देश का क्या होगा? मेरी बात मानिए और अपना वोट डाल कर आईये."

"मैंने देखा है की मेरे वोट की कोई कीमत ही नहीं है। राजनीतिज्ञ लोग  सरेआम वोट खरीदते हैं, खुले आम सौदे बाज़ी करते हैं, फिर मेरी अंतरात्मा की क्या उपयोगिता रह जाती है। मैं अपनी ऊर्जा व्यर्थ में बर्बाद  नहीं करना चाहता।"

छे बजे वोटिंग ख़त्म हो गई। मैं बालकोनी में उस समय भी खड़ा तमाशा देख रहा था। वही व्यक्ति नीचे सड़क पर फिर दिखाई दिया। उसने वहीं से चिल्लाया,"भाई साहब हम अभी तक आपका इंतज़ार कर रहे थे। आप आए   नहीं इसलिए हमने आप का वोट डलवा दिया।"

मैंने कोई उत्तर नहीं दिया, केवल मुस्कराता रहा। मुझे समझ नहीं आरहा था की जीत किस की हुई।  

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