I will not vote!

62.5, 80%, 45%.  No these are not marks secured by a student in school examinations, these are not even some random numbers generated by MS excel. These are the voting percentages in recently concluded State Assembly Elections (UP,Manipur,Meghalaya) and Civic polls (Maharashtra)

Chandauli, one of the worst affected districts in Uttar Pradesh by Naxalism registered a record voter turnout of 62.5%. The same district where close to 13 policemen were blown up by Naxals in broad day light.Manipur, a state that was affected by a shut down of more than 100 days last year registered 80% voter turnout. 

Such scenes are a daily affair in Naxal belt of India

Brihan Mumbai, the richest civic ward in India registered a dismal and shameful 45% voter turn out. Times Of India paints an even dismal picture of other places in Mumbai , “The tony neighbourhoods of Colaba, Churchgate and Cuffe Parade repeated their past record with a measly turnout of 34 per cent, the lowest in the city."

Richest Civic Wara in the country

I am not going to discuss reasons of low voter turnout in such an affluent part of 'Shining' and 'Rising' India and leave that to Arnab Goswami and likes of him , in fact I don't have reasons to explain such apathy. And before Mumabikars point their guns at me saying that I am a Delhihite and blah blah... Delhi too has registered pathetic voter turn outs in past, and why only Delhi? Make it most of the bigger metros in India.I am just going to talk about  the sheer apathy and ignorance people have about the 'Right to Vote', for very few people actually know what it took for our forefathers to get this right.  

The duties or responsibilities of a citizen in a Democratic Society can be separated into two parts:

a) Mandatory responsibilities, such as paying taxes;
b) Duties not demanded by law, such as voting.

The right to vote is a duty and responsibility, as well as a privilege. Modern democracies, including the India , extend the right to vote to almost all responsible adult citizens. Infact One Person One vote is said to be the most important pillar of modern day democracies.

So why do these people not vote? Their must be some compelling reasons right? For so many reasons, they do not bother to vote, preferring instead to let others decide for them how their futures will unfold. Yet, there are other countries in the world where people are protesting, fighting and even dying for their right to vote. Let us explore a few reasons cited
         
Reason 1: All politicians are criminals/ There are no good people in politics/ Politics is a dirty game/ I will not support criminals blah blah....

From one of my twitter feeds

The fact is if all politicians are criminals and everyone standing up for elections are bad then so are you because as they say in Hindi  'Yatha Raja tatha Praja'. Why blame them alone ? What have we done to clean up politics and the 'System'?  Slept on an election day ?

How many of these people actually knew that there were as many as 79 citizen candidates which stood up in Mumbai Civic Polls? Parties like LokSatta (read about them here:http://www.loksatta.org/cms) managed to get only 2000 votes.
The fact is these people did not even make an effort to know who are the candidates, since they are already wearing tinted glasses of their prejudices.

Reason 2: What difference is one vote going to make? If I won't someone else would.
Many people argue that their votes do not count. They point to the 121 crore voters in this country and to the electoral system as proof that no individual vote counts.

Our country has adopted a first past the post system for elections i.e If there are 3 candidates and 100 votes are polled, it is not necessary for the winning candidate to get 50 votes (majority) rather he can win if he has the highest votes (even 33% would do in this case), in a Multi-Party Democracy like ours latter situation is more common.

One vote does not matter?

Basically, not voting takes away the “will of the majority that governs this country, and replaces it with the will of the minority”.

The worst thing is  that people with such excuses do not even know that they are biggest culprits in sending the criminals to our legislatures.

"The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all."- John Fitzgerald Kennedy


Reason 3: Voting is too much an effort, have to stand in long queues/ Polling booth is very far from my house, I don't have a conveyance.
I am sure people with such complaints would surely have better conveyance than them..

People in Pilibhit (UP) crossing river Sharda to caste their votes

and shorter queues than them..

People queue up outside a polling booth in Firozabad, UP

People offer a variety of reasons for ducking this responsibility, yet all of them amount to excuses. Still, those who refuse their duty feel no restriction on their right to complain. They will not voice their opinions when it matters, yet feel entitled to express them at all other times.

Call it ignorance or apathy

Wars still rage so that citizens of other countries can earn this right; the right that many of us now take for granted. 

Thousands laid their lives in Arab countries to get the Right to Vote 

"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference and undernourishment." - Robert Hutchins, Former Dean at Yale