And for a Friday after voting for state assembly elections and awaiting results this Saturday, some thoughts….. some musings…..
I have always considered my sacred constitutional duty to cast my vote; never missed. All these years it was at New Activity School on Warden Road Mumbai. Wednesday, this week for first time at the Nirmala English medium school, Nanjappa Road, Bangalore. I also had the privilege of being the first person to cast my vote as soon as polling opened at 7 am sharp. The arrangements, procedures, systems and citizen friendliness of the voting process is absolutely superb. The Election Commission, a Constitutionally appointed body, has immense powers and discretion to ensure a free and fair elections and I swear, they are just too good. The optimum blend of technology, human skills, organisational capabilities, state power is fully on display during the election process. The scale of the operation is humongous and the efficiency and precision of execution of the process is a marvel, truly making India better than even the most developed nations of the world in the conduct of free and fair adult franchise, where every citizen’s one vote counts to form the Government that rule for next 5 years.
Imagine conducting even a state election in Karnataka involves 224 Assembly constituencies with 26.6 million male voters and 26.3 mn female voters. Arrangements for polling are such that every voter has a polling booth within walking distance from his/her residence. For senior citizens above 80, completely bedridden voters and the disabled, unable to go to the polling booth, special arrangements are made. EC plus Security plus administrative – a 12 member Govt team comes to the residence and allow that “single” disabled voter to cast that valuable vote. For blind voters who are registered, special arrangements in Braille language has also been made. Voting is by pressing a button in the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine). It’s so simple. The most illiterate and dumbest person can also just see the Candidate name or Symbol and press the button for the preferred candidate. Immediately, the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) machine is activated and the Voter can see the symbol and name is exactly what the person has voted. Absolutely foolproof and 100% correct, the election process is impeccable.
Every citizen is duty bound to vote. It’s a tragedy that educated, knowledgeable people are abstainers on polling day. In Bangalure city only 53% voted i.e. one of two voters did not cast their vote; sad. Let’s all resolve to avail our rights the democratic way, the constitutional way, the SEEGOS way.