In about 6 days’ time, I have to cast my vote. My precious vote that I believe is going to make a remarkable difference in the lives of my fellow Indians. And even if I did not believe so, I dare not mention it out loud – there is always someone lurking around to tell me how it is so important to vote.
The problem is, I have no clue who I am going to vote for.
Keju?
I, like many others, had pinned high hopes on Keju, firmly believing that he will bring about the revolution we need so desperately. One morning, on spotting an AAP membership camp set up on the roadside, I went and signed up by paying Rs.10 and left the remaining Rs.90 as donation. This was an unbelievable first, in my entire lifetime I had not experienced such accessibility to the people who run the show.
So I walked with my head held high, that I was now an active participant in positive change. The same week, I also ended up victimizing some of my friends by broadcasting membership invitations over instant messaging. They were polite enough not to growl back at me.
However, Keju let me down real bad. I do believe he is a man with good intent, but sadly, intent without action is of no use. It took one a few days to recover from the shock that he had resigned from CMship, breaking the promises he had made to the aam aadmi.
So, as much as I still feel for Keju, I cannot get myself to vote for him.
NaMo
The NaMo wave has failed to take me in its wake for the simple reason that I cannot disassociate Mr. Modi from my mental images of the Gujarat riots. Not that I have really tried.
My father was a firm follower of the BJP, however I have never been able to make a connection with the lotus. When Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime minister in 1998, one was a newly-wed 20 something engrossed in family life, so missed out quite a bit on what the BJP accomplished in the years that followed. Did gather that they did not do a good job and hence have been denied centerstage since then.
The day guard in my premises says we all should vote for BJP. So does my spouse. I don’t think that’s happening.
RaGa
Raga will make a handsome PM for sure, but only if he can get past the mudpit his predecessors have managed to dig for themselves in the past decade. He does not exude as much power as Mr. Modi, nor does he have the aam janta singing ‘har har Raga’ as if he was a Godsend out to rescue this country in ways only God can do.
While I do believe that young minds in power can bring positive change, I doubt if this young fellow will be allowed to function independently, or even that he will be accepted as a candidate for PM.
Not sure about RaGa either.
None of the Above?
Heard that they have built in an option called none of the above if we do not like any of the candidates. I might as well choose this option since I did not receive no bottle of illicit liquor to convince me.
But that wastes my vote, and my effort to wake up at 6 in the morning to go vote while my neighbors are still contemplating getting out of bed. Also saw a news exposé with a certain gentleman boast about supplying a chemical to major political parties in Delhi. Chemical that can erase the voting mark from one’s finger so that they can go back and vote as many times as they want.
So my vote stands a pretty good chance of being wasted.
Even then, I will go vote, even if it’s a shot in the dark. Because our love for this country must surpass the resentment corrupt politicians manage to evoke in us with their conduct, and more often, simply by opening their mouth.
The diseased must be treated as a separate entity from the disease.
I have a comfortable life so don’t want much from the government anyway. All I want is to be able to enjoy my rain and not think about how farmers and their families are driven to suicide because the untimely downpour ruined their crops. I want a leader who can reach out to them and tell them, “this too shall pass“.
I do not want to experience the disgust of knowing that a politician can spend hundreds of crores on making statues of themselves when that same money can provide shelter and work to thousands.
I do not want to hear that a politician got away with dancing the night away when he and his people needed to attend to his less important people living in refugee camps.
All I simply want is an assurance that the people I give power to are taking care of those who need care. That there is someone who will hold a corrupt politician by the collar and say, dude, get your frickin’ act together.
So I will go vote. May be we will get lucky this time!
If you are wondering about my streetlight, it does not need fixing. Thanks to Mr. Hooda. That was just a title that stuck with me like glue, and refused to leave, just like power hungry sharks that shamelessly refuse to stop feasting on us.