Choosing the right candidates

Aton Lunghar *

Having had alittle collegiate background in political science, which deals with government and politics, I am urged to share my personal viewpoints on the current trends in electoral politics. Many are learnt to have come out to be the candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections, 2022.There is now explosion of intending candidates in almost all the constituencies.

The first irony in my observation is that, most of the so called intending candidates are either superannuated bureaucrats or voluntarily retired bureaucrats. They are those who retired from their service of bureaucracy or who took their retirement earlier when it had approached. Now we have seen the intending candidates with their willingness to serve the people in a better way as elected representatives.

But they have retired from their former jobs after having attained or neared retirement age! What they could have done for the society was done when they were in service in the prime of their life. One doesn’t have the prime of life twice. A retiree is officially an old person.

Mr aged candidates, can you make the end of your service in one job the beginning of your era in politics? You are no longer how you were. Don’t let what you were define who you are today. Do mind your physical and mental suitability. Just because you were good in one profession, should you think it will be in politics also? Can one not serve people if not to be an elected member?

The answer is, very much yes. In an advanced country like Finland, led by her Prime Minister, almost all the Ministers are in their early 30s. But here in our country, politics has become like a power game which is to be played on by the so called politicians who have even hit 70s and above. This factor must be one prime reason for which we are far behind others in advancement.

Just as there is minimum age (Art. 173/b ) for a candidate /person to contest Assembly elections, there should also be maximum age for a person to be in politics after which he should retire. For if one has to be 25 years to contest the elections, one also has to exit the politics when attained a particular age ( vis a vis the retirement age). This needs to be reformed sooner than later.

Another irony is the disguised service or disguised help which is being taken up by the intending candidates. All these candidates have begun to take up the work of a good Samaritan as the elections have approached. Where were they before the elections were near? Why helping only at the eleventh hour? Why do they not learn to be at home as a faithful advisor and spend golden time with the family ?

Now the candidates are seen visiting village to village and place to place, intending to cover every part of their constituencies. Some of them have been successfully organizing political awareness programs at village level, free medical camps et al. which have been known to be in connection with the coming elections.

There are also candidates who are helping in the form of distributing essential food items, housing materials etc. to their voters. By doing all these philanthropic work they try to be winning the hearts of the people. And many succumb to their electoral tricks. What a pretentious act / service !

With their hoarded takings, the self-called the haves always try to fool and rule over the haves not (who are forming the elective voters). The only purpose of doing all these good things is to get the votes of those who are given and helped and get elected. They are giving today to be given tomorrow.

With my best regards , I’m conveying a message to all dear candidates, “ if you are helping someone and expecting something in return, you are doing business, not kindness.” we should never do any work with the intention to be known to others. For the highest kind of giving is that, the giver is not to know the receiver and the vice versa.

The next irony is that there are some people who are intending to be candidates for the coming elections sometime in the early part of 2022, just because their parents were also elected members before. And since they are from political families these people thought that they have got political experience that has led them to be in the electoral fray.

Such intending candidates have thought that political caliber which one must have to be in politics, can be inherited by one from others like heritable property or items. Know that the electoral seats are not reserved or bought by one family. Even sons or daughters of a political parent can be apolitical ones.

Beloved political men, let’s not become addicted to the electoral politics. Your olde knowledge may not be compatible with the standard of today’s elections. Dear elective voters, there is a time for everything and everyone. And it’s our time to awake from thus far long electoral and political repose.

Today we see the coming of the intending candidates humbly, even to our door step because elections have neared. Before the elections, they will come to us uninvited, but after the elections, even if invited they will not come.

Politicians usually wear humbleness on their face ere elections and arrogance post-elections. Be sure that when the candidates get elected, even if you go to him for an important meeting with him, gate will not be opened for you with a good excuse .

Therefore electoral - mates, let’s be prudent in choosing the right candidate by understanding the electoral gimmick of the candidates at this political juncture. For our electoral decision we make today in choosing our candidate will definitely determine another precious five years to come, which will also have profound impact on us.