The Dilemma of Voting the Right Candidate or the Right Party !!!

The Voting season is on and the pollen grains of Vote slogans are in the air. Already the war cries have been sounded and swords drawn between the parties. Now the News channels have one more issue to add in their breaking news section in addition to the Indo-Pak Tennis ball tournament on the 26/11 attacks.
Let us look at the issues that the common voter would like getting resolved or at least addressed post elections (the list is endless however):

• Security of the homeland (post 26/11 this is a major concern)
• Rising prices of essential commodities, inflation decrease not in the books but on the field
• Economic stability and Job security/Unemployment
• Better Infrastructure and hygiene
  
• Food, Water, Shelter and Electricity issues - This being an election issue since India was independent
• Public policing by some so called culture savers.

But in spite of all the programmes and successes the Govt has projected on paper in the budget, nothing really seems to be actually visible to the common man. Also none of the parties have clear issues to be tackled rather there are debates going on between them. Lets analyze it further(as per media reports):

• The UPA trying to bank in on the current achievements and the so-called maturity (with no results as of now) shown in tackling the post 26/11 attacks.
• The NDA trying to highlight the security issues and inflation issues. But other parties will do any thing to bring them down in the name of secularism
  
• The newly formed Third front trying to cash in on the lowering mandate for both the UPA and the NDA but not without internal differences. Already there have been some news about a few of the parties contesting elections on their own. All this to do with the clashing interests of the Party leaders to be PM candidates.

With all this going on the Actual voters who are not under any influence to vote are mostly confused as to whether to vote for the right candidate or the right party and in some cases they dont have a choice at all.

• It may so happen that a right person elected doesn't have his party in power and he has to sit in the opposition and finally nothing happens - no progress.
• On the flip side it may so happen that the right party one votes for doesn't win the majority and sits in the opposition and again nothing happens - no progress.

So it is just not voting that matters, the exact timing or luck that the right candidate and the right party comes in power is what matters else you end up with either the wrong party or the wrong candidate. There may be surprises however that a few people after winning really defy the common image (of themselves or their parties) and do some development for the community.

I think this election is a funny mix of all the elements: fighting to prove a point, fighting for PM ambitions, fighting anti-incumbency, fighting a lowering mandate, and finally coming out with compromises - who does the best. All this is just a suspense on how the actual public will reveal it in the elections.

Elections in India have always been a place for Power play, Monetary spending on masses and Huge campaigns and Slogans and doesnt depend on any kind of economic depression. All this on the common tax payers money. But this time post 26/11 there has been some element of Patriotism in the general public and also an urgency to get things resolved or at least some action being taken - especially the security issue.

Also a few organizations and individuals are coming up to the fore front to make the masses aware on a few key issues. A few of such movements are worth taking a note of:

• The Jaagore.com movement for billion voters.
• The Lead India initiative by the Times of India to stop criminals getting elected,
• The Bharat Swabhiman initiative by Baba Ramdev to remove corruption and crime in the governance.

I think such initiatives are really encouraging for the youth and the coming generations and some day these initiatives would really bring in results - if not in this election.

So let us pledge to cast our Vote and hope that whatever be the results something positive comes out. Lets Vote this Out !!!!!!