Vote Carefully - Your Vote Matters in Democracy

It is the season of the largest festival of democracy, the fever of elections has gripped the nation like never before. Social, print and electronic media is abuzz with news, surveys, opinions, debates, allegations, name calling, propaganda and you name it.

In a nation of 141 crore people, you may feel that your one vote hardly makes a difference. But the reality is different. The very concept of general elections in a democracy is to listen to the opinion of each and every citizen before electing a government. It is vital that we exercise this option after careful thought as the outcome is going to set the course of the country for next five years.

Ideally, it should be a pleasant task for the people in a democratic country to exercise their votes and elect the government that they consider most suitable for the task. This should lead to a healthy competition among the rivals to convince the voter that they are best suited. Any competition is expected to bring the best out of the contestants.

However, the reality today seems to be quite contrary to the above rosy picture. The level of politics was pretty low after constant erosion of values over the years. This led to the rise of a set of ‘new age leaders’ who came in with the promise of working differently to restore the confidence in leaders and government. However, a decade later, when these new leaders have tasted power, the political waters appear even murkier than before. This is apparent from the number of political leaders who have corruption and criminal cases against them, and some of them have even been arrested by investigating agencies. 

Worst of all, the level of political discourse has fallen to such dismal low levels that you no longer feel shocked even when top leaders like the PM and leaders of opposition party publicly call each others names like ‘chor’, 'corrupt', ‘jhootha’, etc. Even the past leaders who are no longer there to defend themselves are not being spared in this name calling, and their mistakes more than 50 years back are being discussed even by top leaders. If they were here to listen to what is being said about them today, they would have cried,

 “क्या इसी दिन और इन्ही लोगों के लिए हम ने आजादी की लड़ाई लड़ी थी?”

What is the way out of this mess? I get a feeling that the way politics is done in India has to improve, and the people who can lead this change are the elected leaders. We as voters can influence it by carefully choosing the right people to be sent to parliament and assemblies. I am not suggesting here that you vote for any particular party, but electing your local MP carefully irrespective of the party he belongs to. What criteria can we use  to elect a better MP? Let us not be influenced by religion, caste, party, reservation, or such considerations while casting our vote. Instead judge your MP on his potential to contribute towards cleaner politics.

As an example, here are six questions you can ask about your MP / MLA before you cast your vote. You can tailor this list of questions according to your own preference.

1. Does he learn everyday?
2. Does he listen?
3. Is he a team player?
4. Does he have sportsman’s spirit?
5. Does he act responsibly?
6. Does he think long term?

1. Does He Learn Everyday?
The people we elect hold the top positions in the country, hence it is a must that they have the sharp knowledge and skills needed for their role. They are our leaders, each one of them should come across as someone who we feel proud to vote for. On the contrary, most of the leaders consume themselves in low-level political bickering and rarely display the agility, knowledge, intelligence, and smartness expected from them. To realize the severity of the issue, try to come up with the names of current MPs and MLAs who inspire you.

The problem is that these leaders are violating the golden rule of regular learning and renewal. They do not take time to learn new things and update their knowledge and skills. This results in the erosion of their strengths over time. This is one practice that can bring in a huge positive change for the leaders. The handful of leaders who impress us are the ones who never stop learning and improving.

Before you vote for someone, look at him and ask this first question, “what has he learned and improved over the years?”. If the answer is negative, better drop him.

2. Does He Listen?
Can a doctor prescribe medicine without diagnosing the ailment first? How can you find solution of a problem without understanding it? Similarly, how can a leader function effectively without emphatically listening to people and understanding them? A leader can use strong communication skills to his advantage to relate better with the people, allies, opponents, followers, and media. However, it is more about listening and less about talking.

Today’s leaders seem to have forgotten the art of listening. All around you, you see leaders talking – large rallies, Radio and TV broadcast, ads in print and electronic media – all examples of one-way communication in which people have no opportunity of being heard. Our leaders seem to be conveying to us, don’t worry about what your problem is, trust us, we will make everything good even if we do not understand your issue.

Social media like Facebook and Twitter apparently allows common man to express himself, but it still leaves them unheard. All political parties have hired armies of on-line trolls who pounce on you with abuses if you utter a word against their leader. Your point gets lost in the din. If anyone dares to flag such intolerance, he is not spared either, even if he is a popular celebrity.

Listen to any debate on TV and you will know what I am talking about. Most leaders are ready to interrupt the speaker and make a counter-point even before they have understood the point made by their rival panellist. The show very soon degrades into a downward spiral of a shouting match. Listen to one such show, and you get a feeling, “how can I vote for such people?”

So, the second question to ask is, “Does he takes time to listen? Is he a good listener? Does his party convey an impression of listening to people? Is it tolerant towards different viewpoints?”

3. Is He a Team Player?
Teamwork plays a big role in everyday life, and it is even more crucial for our leaders. We elect MPs and MLAs and send them to Parliament and State Assemblies with the hope that these leaders will work as a team for our welfare and betterment. This has to be the common shared goal for all of them.

To be sure, the ruling party gets to take the decisions, and the opposition parties may have different viewpoint, but this should not come in the way of working together. The diverse views should not be a cause of conflict, but an opportunity to mutually arrive at a better outcome. Ruling party should not try to use brute force of majority to get their way, and the opposition should not resist just for the sake of it. Once all parties work with a mindset that they all need to work towards the good of country, this teamwork can become a reality.

What we see today is completely opposite to the above. Our elected leaders fail to have any meaningful discussion, the parties often work at cross-purposes, it is very rare to see any resolution being passed with consensus in parliament. Similar lack of teamwork is visible in center-state relationship. 

So, here is the third question to ask before you vote, “Is he a good team player? Has he worked well with others in the past?”

4. Does He Have Sportsman’s Spirit?
Politics these days is fiercely competitive battle which is fought in all bitterness. One can understand that every party wants to win the trophy – getting the majority and forming the government, and makes every possible effort to get there. If this competition is taken with a healthy spirit of sportsmanship, it can bring out the best in our leaders. It can help all players improve and lift the game to a new high.

On the contrary, we see our leaders maligning their opponents in a futile attempt to win the game. You see this win-lose spirit at play everywhere. Congress calling the PM chor, BJP calling the opposition liar. Ruling party claiming that nothing has been done by other parties, and opposition claiming that the government has been a failure. This mutual abuse has gradually eroded the credibility and respect of all the leaders.

We have an urgent need to reverse this trend and send only those people to positions of power who display a win-win attitude and respect their opponents.

Ask yourself before you vote, “Does he play like a sportsman? Does he take victory and defeat in his stride? Does ha believe in fair play with a win-win attitude?”

5. Does He Act Responsibly?
This is so basic, we all know that we need to take responsibility for what is happening to us and instead of blaming others, look at what we can do in the situation. The leaders we elect to the highest office, need to act responsibly at all times and take ownership. Do you see this happening in politics today? Our leaders do not want to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong, instead they will go to any extent to blame their opponents, their forefathers, or other countries for the mess we see today. The ruling party says that previous governments are responsible. State governments blame the interference by centre for their inaction. It is amusing when you hear the ruling party blame the opposition for their inability to construct the promised temple.

Let us make sure we send only those leaders to parliament who display a responsible attitude, irrespective of whether they are in the government or opposition.

Ask before you vote,” Is he a responsible person? Does he take ownership?”

6. Does He Think Long Term?
All leaders are expected to have strong vision of future and think long-term. The MPs we elect set the direction of the country, hence it is even more important for them to be guided by their vision and long-term strategy while deciding their tactical day to day actions.

When the leaders and governments think this way, a sense of continuity also follows even if there is a change of government. Aspect like foreign policy, economic policies, and development plans need to have some continuity in order to have achieve the intended long term objectives.

Instead, we see most action directed by short term criteria of winning the next elections. Loan waivers, reservation, and other such sops are examples of such thinking.

Why not elect the candidate who has a better vision. Ask yourself, “Does he think long-term? Does he convey a compelling vision?”
   
To summarize, I am suggesting that you choose your MP based on his potential to improve the political situation irrespective of his party.  While you may obviously be concerned to have a Stable Government to ensure development, and you may be tempted to vote for the candidate of the party that is most likely to win, it is equally important to look at your local candidate and elect the one who looks best to you. This will compel all parties to stop taking voters for granted and field strong candidates from every constituency.

Agreed this cannot be changed overnight, but we can make a beginning by electing only those leaders who display good potential. Once we have sent a critical mass of such people to parliament, the changes will start becoming visible.

This may cause a temporary instability and disruption at the center, but it would be a small price to pay for the fruit of improved and mature politics in the country.