Disillusioned voter

On the way,I saw a poster ‘If you don’t vote on 30/4,consider yourself handicapped for the next 5 years’. Very true… but I was already handicapped for the right choice.

The candidates in my constituency either had criminal records,or were 60 plus or had not even completed their graduation. I felt terrible at the thought of having to choosing a candidate who had nothing to offer and someone who practically made no effort to come and interact with the people of his constituency. At that moment a sticker my caught my attention: ‘Acche ko chune,Sacche to chune’ (vote for the good,vote for the truthful)… and felt shaken. Where are all the good and truthful candidates? I wondered.

At the booth,I tried interacting with people at the stalls of different political parties. Unfortunately,at one stall,the workers started convincing me that I should vote for that person because he was from a particular caste. At another,the volunteers at that stall were not even sure about the candidate’s background. I felt let down again.

Inside the booth,I asked the presiding officer if I could register for Form 17-A and cancel my vote. The officer requested me to co-operate since this would cause unnecessary trouble.

I was confused! Silently,I went behind the partition and cast my vote on the Electronic Voting Machine. Yes – I voted,but I am still disillusioned.

I wonder… will this vote be against corruption,against terror,against inefficiency? Will this vote change the future of our country?

Well,it would — if only we consider this vote as the beginning of the process of change and not the end.

– Kanan Dhru,Ahmedabad