I read one article and thought to share with all of you.Most of the people ask why 'we need to vote' and hope after reading this article they may change their views.
- No vote is a vote for the winner
It is critical to understand this. If you oppose a particular person, go and vote against that person; else you will
be helping him / her to win. Hence the email that is doing the rounds regarding Article 49 (0) of the
constitution — the Right to Vote for Nobody — (which is factually incorrect anyway) is a bad idea.
2. What information do you need to vote?
In depth profiles of all candidates standing for election are available on the website of the Association for
Democratic Reforms. There is no further information that you need to vote. Even if an ordinary Independent
candidate wins, it is better for us and the system, as he / she will be able to work for the country without
interference from a political party, and the bureaucrats are also able to work better without pressure and
influence from political parties.
3. Voting encourages good candidates to stand
Good candidates must be supported, irrespective of whether they may win or not. It is essential that good
candidates get a respectable number of votes, so that next time around, more good candidates are
encouraged rather than embarrassed to stand for election.
4. Your vote is valuable because voting is voluntary
If voting was compulsory, you would have had to vote. But then your vote would have been even less relevant
than now (when a lesser number of people are voting).
5. Your voting upsets political calculations
Political parties know how many votes they are going to get from their constituency, and they know how to
get them. Hence they don't really want you to vote, as you can upset their calculations, being an unknown
factor. Hence, politicians themselves perpetuate the myth that it makes no difference if you vote or not. It is
simple arithmetic that the fewer the people who come out to vote, the fewer the votes that are needed to win
an election.
6. Remember, we run the country
We run this country. We seem to have collectively forgotten this important point. If we chose not to vote and
give up that role, it is taken up by default by those who do vote and elect their own representatives.
7. Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand
Not voting means wanting rights but not fulfilling responsibilities, which is the same thing we are saying
about the politicians.
8. Voting connects you with all other citizens
At the Gateway of India peace rally on December 3, each of us individually were irrelevant, but the 1 lakh
crowd was hugely relevant. It is the same with our vote: our single vote is not important, but collectively, all
our votes make a huge impact. (In fact, it would be scary, if one vote made a difference!)
9. Your vote connects you with the country
It's only when you vote, that you will connect yourself with the community and the country. You need to vote
to understand the change that will happen inside yourself and to feel the immediate connect with the larger
picture around you.
