THE VOICE

In view of Assembly elections bipartite and tripartite meetings are going on to reach an unerring solution as to who should be our next leader? And which party should come to power for better governance of our state. As we all know a country or a state without governance looks queer and weird. Election is a medium through which the body of electors chooses their leader.

As election is a decision-making process so the electorate get a golden opportunity to choose their desired leader. Pre-election scenario is quite different from that of the post-election setup. So electorate should use their power properly and meticulously. Our vote is our power and it's very precious because it decides the fate of our constituency, state and country as a whole. One should not let his or her vote go waste by voting selfish and avaricious politicos. We have to form such a government which can ensure and guarantees peace, progress, prosperity and all round development of our state. Electorate have the prerogative to know who is what and who is an efficient person before casting their votes. Well, growth and development may be a few people's concern but assistance in the hour of need is everybody's concern. Choosing an altruistic, generous leader is not an easy task especially when more than one person is contesting from the same constituency. If one rack's one's brains he or she will reach an antiphon as to who should be the next leader? We have come across various leaders and their governance so now we are in a position to decide who is what and whom should we vote to power. In spite of all these our votes still fail to choose the right person. It is because of the fact that we get attracted and allured by tricky politicians who campaign in such a manner that we vote for them and repent afterwards. So the saying goes 'Think twice before what you do'.

There are some factors we have to take into consideration before casting our votes. Let's go constituency wise. Is the constituency developed/developing in all respects? Or is it still dormant? What has the MLA of the respective constituency done for its overall development? Problems may vary from one constituency to another, but some problems relating to infrastructure, water, drainage, sanitation etc., remain the same. Taking all these into account and also other things will bring the perfect leader in front of our eyes.

Chants and slogans during the election time are meant for attracting voters towards a particular leader and party. Some contestants even go to the extent of hiring sophomoric people to campaign for them. Vote is everything for this type of politicians and they can sacrifice everything to win election. Clashes and conflicts among various communities are the result of such type of election campaign. It is OK if the aspirant flays and criticise the opposition party but it has a devastating effect if the wannabe criticises the leader of the opposition party in the name of religion and community he belongs to. This is the tendency of the present day electioneering. The ramification of such political campaign is cataclysmic. They promise peace, prosperity and development but indirectly they are the one who actually paves the way for communal disharmony resulting in slow growth and stagnant economy.

I spent a good four weeks visiting friends and people and I asked them about the state of political affairs in Meghalaya. Needless to say almost everyone commented on how pathetic the situation is, how corruption had seeped into every little nook and corner of our political setup. The government has failed to impress people. Its priorities are left far behind and reshuffle and frequent change of leadership have created bad impression.

Discussions and advice always remain in paper and nobody care to follow. The present politicians are the root cause of concern. They manipulate and divide the country as per their requirement and dump their voters once get elected. Today when India is becoming a rising super power and economy is flourishing the present lot of politicians and new vibrant young generation should take on. It is high time that the citizens of this country should rise above caste, creed and colour while choosing their leader so that India can boast of having good educated leaders who are interested in social service.

By
Subash Deb