Responsibilities of voters : Five years stake
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 30 2019 -

The stake is obviously high and this is the reason why all political parties, particularly the Big Two (BJP and Congress) have left nothing to chance to run down the other and in the process livened up the campaigning.

Throw in the other important players such as the NPF, NPP and the CPI in the Inner Parliamentary Constituency and one can understand why the candidates themselves and the political parties to which they belong to have gone all the way to sell their ideas and run down the others.

This is what democracy is all about and while the debates that one sees on the local TV channels are interesting and must have drawn the attention of the people to what the candidates have had to say so far, it should not be forgotten that in as much as the election is about the different political parties and their candidates, it is the people who are central to all of these.

This is where the responsibilities of the voters come into play.

How many of the voters are aware of the responsibilities that come with the privilege of deciding who should represent them in Parliament ?

How many of the voters actually digest what the candidates have had to say so far in the discussion programmes on the local TV channels and how many are serious about following the promises and the agenda laid down by the candidates ?

How versed are the voters with the ideologies of the different political parties which are in the fray ?

How many voters have actually studied the antecedents of the candidates and what is it that will make them decide who to vote for when voting day comes ?

These are all questions at the moment, but important questions for while the candidates have had to roll out their agenda, what they plan to do if they are elected, why they are contesting the election, have the voters seriously questioned what they want from their representative ?

It is this absence of searching the soul and seriously asking what it is that they want from the elected leaders, that has been the bane of Manipur for decades.

However things cannot continue like this forever and the time has to come when the voters actually vote with a clear mind on what they expect from the man or woman they are voting for.

What is it that the Congress candidate wants to do for the people in case he is elected ?

This same question stands for all the other candidates representing different political parties.

The important part is, have the voters actually raised this question within themselves ?

The responsibility of making the election meaningful lies to a great extent on the people who come out to vote for the candidate who will represent them in Parliament for the next five years.

If it is the responsibility of the candidates to spell out their stand on issues which concern the people and the place, it is the responsibility of the people to dissect the stand of the candidates and accordingly make up their mind.

The responsibility that comes with the privilege of the right to vote should be acknowledged accordingly .