State Assembly election in Karnataka is on May 12. This will be followed by polls to Assemblies in the States of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, by January next year. And, we will have the grand national election to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Parliament), by May next year.
Right to vote irrespective of any discrimination – or universal suffrage – is considered the bedrock of democracy. So much effort is made to encourage people to vote. There is celebration of democracy when there is a huge turnout. Democracy is identified with voting, and nothing else, so much so that the general feeling is that democracy begins and ends with voting.
I think differently.
Whether people vote or not is one thing. It is immaterial how many people finally voted. The ultimate success or failure of democracy has to do more with how an elected government functions (irrespective of how many people voted them to power.)
Voting is just one day's affair. But governance by the party that has been elected to power is a five-year affair. And what matter really is governance not voting.
(This post is a part of the "Blogging from A to Z Challenge April 2018.")
Excellent blog post and a great commentary on voting. I agree with you 100%. But our elected leaders have a difficult job. They have to decide if they will reflect the will of the people or implement their own point of view.
ReplyDeleteThank you, very much, SG.
DeleteSadly, many people don't seem to realize how politics really works. I have studied politics and even worked in a local government capacity long ago. It taught me that it's all a dirty business that's built on deceiving average voters. You're the exception, you understand.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alexandra, for your comment. Yes, politics is all about perception. And, deception is too a part of that game.
Delete