BENGALURU: We are in the throes of the largest spectacle on earth – the Lok Sabha elections. Dance of democracy is a popular sobriquet for this humongous exercise under which all Indians – the eligible voters – dance. There is no rhythm, no symphony and no synchronisation to any particular meter or anthem. There are no steps or notes of music to guide you to dance in a particular manner or genre.
There’s sound and cacophony, enough to render the loudest blast docile; there’s enough colour, sycophancy and sloganeering to dumb down any doubt that you as the voter are god and the man genuflecting in front of you with his frenzied followers is the one who will redeem you from your mundane sorrows if you were to elect him. Every five years we all break into this ritualistic dance.
There is so much hungama around it. From the fans, followers to media; each one shelling out their wisdom on the prognosis on who will walk the ramp and win the crown. Everyone bets their best bet and others checkmate it. You cannot escape the political goss in closest informal friendly meetings, even those glossy weekend getaways with the classiest single malt can turn ballistic if who you uphold as the person who can steer India to its glorious destiny (in your imagination) is ridiculed and rubbished by others. Be prepared to get cornered and know how to show your fangs on such occasions.
Learn a trick or two to be vile and safeguard your sanity. A learned advise is to know some facts, if not prehistorical then at least a little before and post Independence. But where will you get your facts right is not an easy question to answer. The pedagogues also come with a baggage. So you make a pick and place your bet. And if you have been an aware citizen you may not err.
The Parliament elections in India are indeed the world’s biggest exercise of active suffrage and each of us voters is an important player. Listen to the cacophony, watch the charade around you, participate in the frenzy and festivities of the once-in-five-year-festival, which ideally is meant to be celebrated in the spirit of the Constitution but let the histrionics not jade you. Behind every promise that is tied to an inducement there is dishonesty and moral corruption.
We know our rights and shout out to claim them. Do we know our duties? If we do then let’s deliver them as awakened voters and watch our votes perform. Get your voter ID, check if your name is registered with the Election Commission and go out and vote on the polling day. Don’t use the holiday given to you to vote to scoot out of the city on a leisure trip. If you do then don’t crib on who you get to rule you.
Flaunt the voter’s ink on your finger nail as a statement of your right. It’s an irony that celebrities have to be pooled in to make you aware that you have a sacred right – the right to vote. Enough of the sermon! The countdown has begun. There is no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter. I agree with former US president Barack Obama on this. Every vote matters. Yours, mine and theirs. Only if we vote.
(The writer’s views are personal)