Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Voters prefer to vote for bad instead of worse' that was published in Newsband

Voters prefer to vote for bad instead of worse

The current round of Assembly elections has witnessed more voter turnout. In the Uttar Pradesh elections, the turnout for the 40 seats was estimated to be 60.03, Manipur’s election - more than 86%. In Punjab, the turnout was 77.4%, In Goa, it was about 83%, and in Uttarakhand, the turnout was 65.64% But none of these States has come close to matching Tripura’s Assembly election turnout of 90-plus.

Today in our country's small villages, people have become aware of their rights. We should thank Election Commission for taking some effective steps to reform our voters. The psephological data really motivates one and all. The turne out of voters in the final phase of the election is really praiseworthy. Vote decides the fate of the constituency, assembly and the nation.

The predictable behaviour of voters at polling day is a serious problem for a country which has 130 cr population. Even if less than 5% of people are not participating in election it means some lakhs of people are refusing to choose their own future. Revolutionary reforms in the way elections are conducted with integration of technology will have positive outcome.

The voter turnout may be positive but is not still encouraging. The present system has many people feeling skeptical about the functioning of the system. All major political parties are opportunistic and the voter is dismayed with all parties. That is why, almost every state has the trend of anti-incumbency. There is a need for overall review.

That the Indian voter has come a long way from the initial days of independence in the fifties to 2k, down to 2017 now, is visible in the average voter turnouts in most states ranging from above 60% to as much as 90%. It is also clear that the voters are not swayed away by rhetoric and shoutings of different politicians, and have begun understanding the overall equations of Indian Politics. The final voting pattern and the results would speak about the maturity of the Indian voter

Is increase in voter turnout and the narrowing of the gender gap palpable indication of the upsurge in civic consciousness? Is it the desire to make the best use of the only occasion when the public exercises its real freedom? In the absence intermediary remedies like recall etc, voters have that as the only chance to assert till the next call to poll.

The increasing popularity of more turnout in local polls indicates the desire for identification with those we elect to manage our affairs. More removed it is from the local familiar scenario more remote it becomes and more isolated the voter becomes. India in voting in general is much more advanced in every aspect hovering around 50-90% which is commendable compared to 30-50% in mature or so called mature democracies.

The high voter turnout is a factor to be applauded for bringing more people near the ballot box and exercising their franchise to complete their democratic duty. Right or wrong they select a candidate and also way is there for people denying candidates by pressing NATO button. Also the media has created a scenario in which people get updated information in a lightning speed on the political happenings and to judge their support for a party. But he knows better that he is going to elect evil number one or evil number two and the like and not real democratic representative to hold the polity and do good to people. Days have gone off with poor turnout in booths and now people have the awareness and never hesitate to punish the ruling party for its lapses. Hence high turnout is not a wonder. Herd instinct of voting for symbol has gone and now people are clear in giving mandate on judging the performance. Our masters reign for five years, but for one day, the humble citizen is queen.