After The Elections - Omissions in Electoral Rolls

First two phases of elections are over and some other states are still to vote. 

As these elections were happening after the Mumbai attacks, there was a lot of awareness and people were in the mood to vote. But it seems Mumbai registered below 50% voting. While people lament the absent voter syndrome, people like Rajesh who worked hard to increase the awareness of the political process, couldnt vote because of his name not being there in the electoral rolls. Questions were asked if it is because his open support to BJP. I am not sure but I am far from satisfied in the preparations of electoral rolls.

The problems start with registering your name in electoral rolls. 

The process is so cumbersome. I had applied thrice to get my name enrolled in the rolls. Though some initiatives like Jaago Re have helped in making the process easy, there is a lot to be changed. 

I had to go to the registration office to give my application. I have applied twice online but there was no way to know the status of that.. The application was thoroughly unusable. They ask for username and password to search electoral rolls. Why? 

One of my friends, though unwell, but interested in voting had to scour three polling booths near her home only to find that she was unable to vote. But she has voted in the previous elections, even Rajesh Jain says that he has voted in all the past elections. How come their names were removed this time? Do we need to register again every election season? What a waste of time and resources. These things will frustrate us no end and make us loose interest in the whole process. 

Agreed they could have checked their name in the electoral rolls prior to the election day but what could they probably do if they found that their name was missing- they have to apply again and anyway they couldnt vote this time. 

How to solve this? I think it is high time the single national ID is introduced. It will make the multiple IDS redundant and making of the electoral rolls very easy. 

Loksatta advocates the use of Post Offices as the nodal agencies for preparation of electoral rolls. As post offices cover very small areas and the post man knows his area very well they can just verify if all the people belonging there are available for voting and update accordingly. Rather than people having to apply and being clueless about the whole process, this would ease the process very very much. As soon the address of a person changes, he should place a request for change in address, which the post man verifies and all the required records are updated, his name should be removed from the electoral rolls of the old constituency and updated in the new constituency. 

Before the election, once all the voters are allowed to inform about the ommissions and additions that need to be made and then after verification from the post office, these can be made. They can send mails to existing people to confirm their prescence in the constituency and if they dont confirm it their names are to be removed. This way everyone will know that their name exists in the list or not and they are not surprised on the election day. 

I think this change is not far considering the experience in this elections. If BJP comes to power in this elections, they have implementing national ID in their manifesto, hope they implement it and we have hassle free voting the next time. 

To This Government I Vote

My company is conducting a competion on 'My Vote goes to' ... As the readers of the blog know, development of our country being one of my passions, I decided to submit an entry. 

This is what I am planning to submit 

My government is one which doesn’t make me worry about security, terrorism, power cuts or bad infrastructure but provides a healthy environment where I can mind my own business.

My government is one which doesn’t fragment the society based on caste, religion or region but recognizes all are created equal and provides a level playing field for equitable development.

 My government is one which doesn’t stop with providing temporary relief like handouts when calamities strike but work towards eliminating the root of the problem to provide permanent solutions.  

My government is one which doesn’t stunt growth through reservations and quotas but gives everyone the confidence and empowerment to break the shackles and grow in the world.

My government is one which doesn’t make availing basic government services a dreadful thing but makes it a pleasure by eliminating corruption and automating processes.

My government is one where the disabled or people unable to work are not made to feel that world is a bad place to live but are given confidence that they can not only live with dignity but serve uniquely.

My government is one which works more to provide better education, livelihood, healthcare, security and faster justice to its people than thinking of each as a business to make money.

My government is one which doesn’t get caught up in petty religious or personal issues, but work on promoting sustainable livelihood and world peace.

My government is one which has grand vision for the county and is willing to lead the citizens towards it by encouraging research and innovation.

What other things can we give to the government?? 

Vote For LokSatta

People dont need pity or handouts.. What they want is confidence and equal opportunity. Each person is and has to be responsible for his life. Dont encourage parties who think they can make people live their lives without taking that responsibility.

Go OUT and VOTE... If you dont vote, you have no right to complain...

I personally prefer LOKSATTA, as it is the only party that understands that it has to make people responsible for their progress and governments only role is to create an equal opportunity ground.

Yes there are people who are needy and for whom a more direct financial help is absolutely required - but that shouldnt be the only goal, he has to develop where he should be able to fend for himself as well as become a contributor.

Vote, take people to vote and vote responsibly.

Update: watch this slideshare presentation how Loksatta is different from all other political parties

Get Ready To Vote

We all dream of a great India, an India where there is no corruption, an India which is  united, an India which is happy, an India where everyone is safe, an India where everyone is educated and is in control of his life. 

And luckily we are free, we are not being ruled by some foreign power or a ruthless dictator. Yes I do accept that we have criminals as our leaders, we have people  without right values as our leaders. 

And we all have dreamt of changing these things…And when elections come, seeing the way people get elected by distributing money and liquor etc , we are disheartened. We feel this is never going to change…We often feel that our vote is not going to make a difference… And sadly it seems to be true too

This is from Ramesh Ramanathan, the founder of Janaagraha, an organization which works to increase political awareness among the people says

 

On the politician front: many politicians have told me over the years that the urban middle class is irrelevant. Politicians are market players, they react to the signals they receive from the people. So, this observation is not a value judgement, it’s a statement of reality.

Politics in India is still substantially driven by identities of caste, subcaste, subcommunity within that. Elections are like chess games, with each major party watching whom the others are nominating in each constituency like hawks and then working to break the numbers: getting relatives from the opposition candidate’s family to stand, incentivizing some independent candidates to step up, buying off others who could swing key blocks. With each move, the calculated aim is to splinter the electoral math and nudge the needle by the barest minimum margin for victory.

But its not the right thing just to fold hands and sit… We have to make our voice felt and our vote count.  

Rajesh Jain, the person who started the famous MyToday service, says (Read the post here)

We are 400 million of us. We may not have one voice, but we have a common dream - of an India with more economic freedom, of an India with more personal freedom, of an India where education matters, of an India where good governance is the norm rather than the exception.

What can we do? If its 400 million of us, then surely it should make a difference. But it will make a difference only if we vote, if each of us votes.. We should leave our indifference and apathy and get ready to vote. Most of us think, we dont require anything from the government and hence it doesnt affect us think otherwise… 

Think of the Mumbai attacks - are you sure you are safe?

Think of any thing you wanted to get from a government office - Is the experience great? Do we want it to continue? 

If the answer you get to any of the questions is no, then you can have a shot at improving it or changing it by using the power to vote and selecting leaders with good values… 

So do you have the prerequisite for voting? Have you registered yourself? Do you have a Voter ID card? Even I didnt have it till recently but I have got one myself. Dont be lazy to get it. The people at jaagore  have made it even easier to register yourself. You just have to fill a form and submit at your muncipal office. They will even give you the address of the place you have to submit the form. Lets not lose this chance to improve India and ourselves. 

Lets make our voice heard by voting this time.