The poor turnout in “literate” constituencies like Bangalore South and Bombay South has left everyone confused. OTOH, many point to the futility of the media-entertainment-industry campaign to get the “educated middle class” out, post “26/11”. OTOH, there are some like M.J. Akbar who believe it is not the rich who did not vote, but the poor.
P. Sainath in The Hindu is, however, very sure:
“On the whole, slumdogs vote in larger numbers than the white-ribbon, candlelight crowds do…. Generally, the poor vote in greater numbers. (The rich capture governments by other means.) The poor usually want to use the vote. It is the one instrument of democracy they get to exercise….
“[In contrast] there is, face it, the apathy of the comfortable. Those who might well explode in drawing-room or television studio outrage about high taxes and 26/11. But who see no real need to fiddle with the status quo. The comfort zone classes exist and are more urban than rural.
“There is also, for the non-comfort zone classes, the small matter of issues. When last did the problems of food price rise, BPL cards, or ration quotas, dominate campaigns in either the Lok Sabha or the State Assembly polls? Or those of, sanitation, water, housing, demolitions and jobs? For millions in India’s megapolis, as elsewhere, these are very real issues.”
Photograph: via Flickr
Read the full article: Celeb crusades and the death of politics
Also read: An epitaph to the literate, educated middle-class
I can’t believe I am saying this, but…
P Sainath is right.
Slum-dwellers votes are precious and can be bought wholesale.
So, political parties and their touts take extra care to ensure that they vote.
While a mortal, educated voter on finding his name “Deleted,” which may mean that it is either really deleted or kicked to some other booth, he/she gets NO help from the people in that booth or from the Election Commission(or the District Admin. wearing that cloak).
I would not blame them for instead taking a vacation, thanks to a long weekend.
I believe the politicians themselves want this kind of apathy towards from the average public so that their electoral future is more predictable and their traditional votebank safeguarded.
Of course. This is one instrument the constitution has given the poor. It is a big deal. Ask any maid in the middle class colonies. They watch TV, they ask questions, they want answers. It is the lower middle class and the poor in the slums who are taking the elections seriously.
Not a witty Nick, I think to an extent your reply personifies the apathy the “literate” class has towards the democratic process.
Agreed names were deleted, booths were changed and it was bit inconvenient. But also note that the Election commission had put the revised electoral rolls through their website, which I found to be updated (agreed there were omissions and commissions). But the point is overall the “literate” middle class had the means to know whether their name exists in the roll , what their polling booths were etc. In contrast to slum dwellers the “literate” class are usually the ones who have with them any one of the list of valid documents one can present to vote.
Also won’t the very fact that being educated doesn’t make it imperative to take some steps to exercise their right/perform the duty. Does the “literate” also need a mixed bag of touts to help in doing their duty ?
Celeb crusades and the death of politics was well articulated.
Sainath was absolutely right.
death of the politics of the rich and media.
Vasanth
“Not a witty Nick,”
My sincere thanks to you for not simply ‘copy and paste’ting my nick! ;-)
I expect the Election Commission to make stupid mistakes like these and that too not in 2009!
Our loved DC makes a almost sensible comment(on a sensible website) and finally drops some names of active citizens escapes from his obligation(guess we will have to wait till he becomes the Chief Election Commissioner or a Member of Parliament).
(It was also published in our local eveninger)
We the taxpaying and voting citizens of India, pay and have them to do this job for us. If they are so inefficient, they should be kicked in the rear.
In this heat, if you expect the elders to play merry-go-round around many voting booths? where no one gives them any sort of information(why elders, no prudent human being will do it, no ordinary person is patriotic enough to endure it.).
The bloody Britishers were better, they made it clear that they are subjugating you and ill-treated you, unlike the governments of the independent India.
“Not a witty Nick,”
My sincere thanks to you for not simply ‘copy and paste’ting my nick! ;-)
I DO NOT expect the Election Commission to make stupid mistakes like these and that too not in 2009!
Our loved DC makes a almost sensible comment(on a sensible website) and finally drops some names of active citizens escapes from his obligation(guess we will have to wait till he becomes the Chief Election Commissioner or a Member of Parliament).
(It was also published in our local eveninger)
We the taxpaying and voting citizens of India, pay and have them to do this job for us. If they are so inefficient, they should be kicked in the rear.
In this heat, if you expect the elders to play merry-go-round around many voting booths? where no one gives them any sort of information(why elders, no prudent human being will do it, no ordinary person is patriotic enough to endure it.).
The bloody Britishers were better, they made it clear that they are subjugating you and ill-treated you, unlike the governments of the independent India.
Sateesh,
You might not know, there are supposedly extraconstitutional bodies which are also responsible for addition, modification or ommission of names in the rolls.
There have been also some funny incidents of people being turned away as “deleted” but when they finally came back after doing the due diligence(taking a copy of the electoral roll from the website) they have found that some dude has wisely made their right useful.
How come everybody criticizes and write articles on the poor voter turnout and berate the ‘educated class’, ‘urban voters’, ‘middle class’ etc. but nobody wants to analyze and find out the actual reasons for the poor voter turn out? All these articles shedding tears on the poor voter turn outs are bunkum, bogus, timepass and they don’t know a thing.
Churumuri :
Photo of bangles used – may be to convey cowardice – in a bit inapporiate and may be perceived as anti-woman. Expect sharp comments from the women bloggers !
The low turnout indicates that youth in Bangalore & Mumbai can blog but cant bite ! and, thats a shame.