The voters are regarded to be the kingmakers in a democratic society. In a true democracy, all citizens come together to decide the future of the country and, by extension, their own. One of the most important pillars of a democracy is the responsibility of voters to vote wisely. Because voting is not made mandatory by the government, it is the moral obligation of all citizens to come forth and do this duty voluntarily.
The voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was 67.11%, the highest in India’s history, while the voter turnout in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly was 75% in 2018. It shows that people are exercising their right to vote.
Democracy is all about accountability however, over the past few years or decades, despite the many situations we may have come across in the state’s newspapers or electronic media regarding issues such as proxy teachers, backdoor appointments, schools protesting against lack of teachers, an incomplete High Court building, an incomplete medical college, potholes in highways, and non-payment of salaries to government employees among many others, we have yet to hold a politician accountable.
In fact, it is an open reality that all 75% of voters including the rest of the more than 20% seems to have essentially turned a blind eye to the dishonest actions of the politicians that did not deliver. Moreover, there is a significant likelihood that the public will go to extraordinary lengths to support the “alleged corrupt politicians” even in this assembly election, even if it means risking one’s life. But why?
It is often assumed that even when presented with very trustworthy facts, individuals will opt to overlook corruption if they favor other aspects of the candidate. According to research, voters may be willing to tolerate corrupt leaders since there is no ‘viable and clean alternative’. Perhaps all of this rings true for Nagaland.
Corruption is a complicated phenomenon that is frequently firmly established in a society’s cultural and political norms. However, former RBI Governor of India Raghuram Rajan has wonderfully articulated why corrupt politicians win elections in India.
“The poor and the under-privileged need the politician to help them get jobs and public services”.
“The politician does a little bit to make life a little more tolerable for his poor constituency– a government job here, an FIR registered there, a land right honoured somewhere else. For this, he gets the gratitude of his voters, and more importantly, their vote,” he added.
“The crooked politician needs the businessman to provide the funds that allow him to supply patronage to the poor and fight elections. The corrupt businessman needs the crooked politician to get public resources and contracts cheaply. And the politician needs the votes of the poor and the underprivileged.”
It all sounds too familiar. However, none of it should undermine the value of a voter and a vote.
Elections are far too important and valuable to be left exclusively in the hands of political parties and politicians. Now is the moment for society to participate in the democratic process, and for that, one should get out and vote wisely.
