Turning certain points on its head : Sealing our fate, not the candidates'
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 17 , 2014 -

Time to turn certain things on its head, when polling day comes.

It is not the fate of the candidates which will be sealed when a certain percentage of the 8,53,069 voters spread across 32 Assembly Constituencies in the Inner seat turn out to cast their votes, but their own fate, for five years and beyond.

The media, including The Sangai Express is not free from the guilt of giving a lop sided interpretation when the votes are cast.

No doubt all the candidates have a stake, but it is the collective stake of the people which assumes greater importance.

This is where the onus on the voters needs to be pointed out in no uncertain terms when voting day comes.

So remember when we vote today, we will not only be sealing the fate of 8 candidates in the fray in the Inner Parliamentary seat but our own fate for the next five years and beyond. If only this understanding had taken firm roots then at least half the vexing issues confronting the people and the land could have been resolved.

But no, the same issues which have been dogging the people for decades continue to dog them.

Just two MPs and that is why the elected representatives to Parliament are not able to influence the decision making process, is the argument that has been put forward and drilled into the heads of the people all these years.

However this is precisely the reason why we need to elect persons who can make a difference or at least try to make a difference.

A State like UP which gets to send the largest number of MPs to Parliament can afford to send a couple of wrong guys to Parliament but not Manipur.

With just two MPs, there is all the more need to elect the right candidates.

The Outer Parliamentary Constituency has already voted and today it is the turn of the Inner Parliamentary seat.

Have the people done their home work, or is it just going to be another mela or a fish bazar where the haggling is all over the amount of money doled out by the candidates for each vote ?

Will not be surprised if this turns out to be the case.

The knack of turning election into a big fish bazar has been the defining characteristic during election time and the result is there for one and all to see.

But have we learned from our past mistakes ? This is a question that can be answered only when May 16 comes or the results start trickling in.

It is not without reason why some conscientious citizens have taken it upon themselves to educate the people on the importance of the election as well as profile the political organisations and what they have done for the people all these years.

It is not without reason why some concerned citizens of the land have taken the trouble of drawing up a list of the election manifestoes of all the political parties and laid them bare to help the voters make up their mind and accordingly pick their choice.

Perfectly falls in line with the three slogans which The Sangai Express has been carrying all these days, 'We pledge Free and Fair Poll during Lok Sabha Election, 2014'; 'We pledge to caste our vote on the basis of ethical and informed decision;' 'We pledge to caste our vote in Lok Sabha election, 2014.'

Whether this will have any impact on the voters or not remains to be seen, but it stands that when the voters push the button on the EVMs, they are not only sealing the fate of the candidates but also their fate. This is beyond argument.

For too long we have been given to understand or have failed to come to the understanding that in casting our votes, we are not only choosing our representatives but also putting our future into the hands of the people who we have voted for or who come out victorious.

Bringing a cutting a edge definition to the understanding of voters' participation in the election process in the largest democracy in the world.

Out of the eight only one will make it, but remember in that one elected person will lie the fate of more than 8 lakh people.

This is the bottomline and time for the people to get around to this idea and discard the earlier misnomer.