The Parliamentary Election: 2009

The Parliamentary Election in India in close by. The election will decide who rules the Centre. It is very natural that every single political party will try to put its best foot forward. There will be an advertisement blitz, and the media will be full of stories counting virtues and performances of one party or the other. Appeals may probably be made – directly or indirectly - on linguistic, religious and ethnic lines. Under such a scenario, how will a voter judge the suitability or otherwise of a candidate? What are the criteria the voter would determine for accepting or rejecting a candidate? Whether the political affiliation is the only factor one has to keep in mind before casting the vote? What other factors do we need to consider before we vote? What, if a candidate is suitable enough, but has been contesting as an Independent?

These are some of the very pertinent questions, a voter may justifiably ask. An attempt has therefore been made by the Jantaraj to help the voter – especially the one voting for the first time – decide his MP for the next five years. The list is only illustrative, and is not exhaustive, and as such one is free to add his own factors before making up his mind.

The first element is the candidate’s political affiliation, i.e. to determine which party has nominated him, and to study the ideologies and past performances of the party concerned. The voter has to assess his own commitments to those ideologies, and determine if the performances in the past satisfy him. He may as well find out the activities and role of the party in the backdrop of the Constitution, its people and the society at large. He should ascertain if he finds himself comfortable with these factors. It may however be clarified that the need for a political affiliation is not a mandatory requirement – the person may be as well be contesting as an independent candidate. In such a situation, the voter has to assess the candidate on the basis of his inherent qualities and virtues.

The next step would be to see that the person is the right person, and suitable for being elected as a Member of Parliament. Under this head, it has to be seen if the candidate is adequately qualified, has the right attitude, approach and temperament to represent his constituency. His honesty, integrity and dedication should be beyond question.

The accessibility of the candidate is also an important factor to be considered before casting one’s vote. If he had been an MP in the past, his record and performances – especially the way he has nourished and taken care of his constituency - should also be considered before arriving at a conclusion in this regard.

The suitability of the candidate can also be judged by looking into his past records as an individual. No one with a criminal record or of a doubtful or shady character should be able to represent your constituency. The quality of your parliamentarians will determine the efficiency of governance. One has to be careful in electing the right persons for our Parliament.

Mind it, your vote is very valuable. Further, every single vote counts. One need not therefore be casual in casting his vote. The parliamentary democracy demands that the people should cast their votes judiciously and after due thoughts.


Thanks

Editor
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