Sunday, March 15, 2009

No more poor turnouts

Its election time again! But wait. Is it something to cheer about? We all spend ample amount of time in criticizing the politicians and their policies but prefer to stay at home rather than going out to vote. One question that each one of us needs to ask oneself is 'how many times have I cast a vote?' I am sure a major chunk of the people who have answered this question will figure under the head 'never'. Before this 'never' becomes 'never-ever', its time for us to act.

India proudly calls itself a nation that renders IT services to the world. However, I fail to understand why IT has not been used where it matters the most, i.e. in the day to day activities. Why don't we come up with mobile voting? I completely deny the fact that Indian people do not want to vote. They are only too lazy to do so. We have practical examples from everyday life which affirms that people do believe in voting. People vote for their favourite singer in Indian Idol through their mobiles. They also select their favourite 'dancing jodi' in Nach Baliye. They readily vote Yes/No when a news channel throws a question at them. If the people can do all this by spending Rs. 5 per SMS, won't they do the same with something as important as the General Elections? All we need is a foolproof system in which every person who registers himself for voting gets a username and a password which he/she can use to cast his vote either through his mobile or on the internet. India has in a way revolutionized the voting system by incorporating the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The most developed European countries and even America have not done away with the traditional paper and stamp method. It is high time to go a step further and show the world how technology can be used for the welfare of the society.

India has one of the poorest turnouts when it comes to voting. Many of the so called "political pundits" do not cast their votes. The typical voter turnout in our country has always fluctuated in between the 55-60% range. It means that almost half of the population in our country does not vote. There is no single reason for not voting. It is ironic to note that a majority of the non-voting population is the middle-class. But lets face it, whats in it for them?

The lower strata of the society is often given money by the political parties. In some cases, the parties also arrange for their transportation. Thus they have nothing to lose in this case. They are being paid for casting votes.
The upper class of the society, like the lower strata, has nothing to lose either. When a person like Anil Ambani turns out to vote sweating in his jogging tracksuit, along with an entourage of bodyguards, hundreds of photographers snap his pictures and he wastes absolutely no time in making gestures. Therefore a person like Mr. Ambani gets a lot of publicity for casting his vote.
Both the top and bottom sections of the social pyramid are thus benefited by voting. The middle class on the other hand gets nothing out of a vote. This should be exploited. The middle class is the one which is most affected by the day to day decisions made by the government, be it a hike in the fuel and gas prices or the increase in the reservation quota in educational institutes. Unlike the upper and lower classes of the society, a person belonging to the middle class regularly pays taxes.

How can we improve the voter turnout in the traditional voting procedure? I think the Election Commission can play a big role in addressing this issue. The EC needs to come up with a business plan which would incentivize the middle class to come out and vote. An average middle class person doesn't vote because there is nothing in it for him.

If the EC comes up with a unique proposal wherein every person who turns up to vote gets a free gift, I am sure most of the middle class youth (age group 18-25 years) will turn up to vote. The free gifts may be in the form of pizza coupons, music world coupons or coupons of apparel stores. This way we can rope in the youth of this country belonging to the middle class. The EC in turn can repay the companies by providing them with advertising space at the poll booths. The coupons must have expiry dates and must be made valid only on the purchase of a minimum amount from the specif outlet.

Next we have people belonging to the age bracket of 26-60 years or the working population. These people will be unperturbed by the notion of free coupons and it would take something more than free coupons to lure them. If a provision is provided wherein every person who turns out to vote gets benefits like discounted interest rates for home or car loans from Public Sector Banks. Giving a premium rate of interest on fixed deposits in banks and post offices is another option. The benefits should be increased when a person repeatedly turns out to vote in every election that is held. Some constraints will have to be placed so as to check that the benefit is not misused by the public.

I agree that a decent amount of money has to be shelled out to incorporate the above ideas. There is nothing wrong in it though. It is taxpayers money being used for the welfare of the taxpayer himself. Isn't that the ultimate aim of any country?

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