So do we plumb for the ‘lesser evil’?

Of late, since the elections of 1998, the Election Commission has been running a strong media campaign to the effect that casting one’s...

Of late, since the elections of 1998, the Election Commission has been running a strong media campaign to the effect that casting one’s vote is a democratic right, and exercising that right is a civic duty of the highest order. In addition, citizens are also being reminded on not losing this opportunity of selecting the representative of their choice.

It is important to understand why the Election Commission has become so alert on this issue. The fact is that recent elections have seen consecutive hung assemblies and, sometimes, the premature collapse of governments. This has brought about revulsion for the electoral process in

the public mind. To many, elections have lost all relevance. Some have lost faith in the present parties and their representatives in the election fray, many of whom are corrupt, unprincipled and completely opportunistic.

We know that around 30-50 per cent of the people of the country never take part in voting. Their numbers include those who are unconcerned about politics, and those who are politically quite alert. However, the rising trend of disenchantment with the process has two reasons. One, because of a lack of faith in democracy and a hankering for an authoritarian order. Two, because of a search for a better political system. The first is regressive; the second, progressive.

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Indian voters have trusted, tried and, without exception, been let down by various political parties and coalitions in over 50 years of democracy. What are we to do when we find that no party or candidate reflects our democratic aspirations? Isn’t it a fact that almost all parties, despite minor differences, are blindly playing to the tune of powerful lobbies? How do we vote in the short run? Can voting for the “lesser evil” ever take us towards building a genuine alternate? The answer is a resounding NO.

One way out of this situation is to have a system of ‘Vote Against All Candidate’(VAAC) in which the voter can register her/his opinion in the ballot by rejecting all the contesting candidates. In fact, VAAC means a vote against all candidates on offer. Imagine a scenario where 200,000 out of 600,000 voters cast their vote and the winning candidate gets 20,000 votes. If 170,000 voters wish to exercise their right to say no to all candidates the system would provide space to these 170,000 people to articulate their democratic right of rejecting all the contesting candidates. Besides, it would accurately reflect the position and stature of the winning candidate. In the long run, this would encourage genuine alternatives to emerge and the vote would thus truly express the voice of the people.

The writer is a Vadodara-based social activist