India’s Lok Sabha Elections 2019, were perhaps the juiciest elections of all the times. A slap in Pappu’s face, because he couldn’t pass again and a landslide victory for the ‘Modi’ Party, the elections were an absolute farrago of mirch-masalas.
Namo Namo…
Bharatiya Janta Party made its presence felt all throughout the previous term. On the contrary, Rahul Gandhi was seen campaigning only during the remaining five-six months before the elections.
In fact, it’s definitely BJP’s strong marketing and branding strategy that made it win.
A campaign, that was so strong that BJP was not only a political party but became a religion. Of course, BJP’s promotion can only be attributed to the millions of chowkidars, who worshipped the Holy Cows of our country religiously. All they asked for was BJP’s victory…
But mind you, all winning party supporters were not the bhakts. Most of the supporters were the people who chose not to vote for the underdogs because they wanted to feel better about themselves after the election.
They felt that if they voted for the probable losing party, their votes would be wasted and preached about the same.
Also Read: Stop Vote Shaming- A Practice Of Shaming Someone For Their Choice Of Candidate
This set of ‘probable winning party’ supporters were so preachy that they left no stone unturned when it came to lecturing others.
A couple of my friends were literally shamed for not voting for the winning party. Their votes and opinions were supposed to have zero value.
I mean, the whole concept of devaluing someone’s vote is against the underlying beliefs and principles of a democratic nation. First of all, if someone doesn’t conform to the majority’s opinion, then they need not be brainwashed into it.
Their vote counts very much as someone who voted for the winning party. Them voting for the underdogs leads to the formation of an opposition party.
Opposition Matters…
The presence of a strong opposition party ensures that the majority party does not take undue advantage of its power and always acts in the favour of the citizens.
If there will be no opposition then the ruling party will have the right to amend the constitution. This is prevented by the votes of those who choose to vote for the underdogs.
Even though Congress failed to become the official leader of opposition in the elections, the votes for them were not wasted.
Undoubtedly BJP registered a high vote share in the elections, but the votes against them made them realise that there is a lot that they can work upon.
When you tell someone that their vote will go wasted then that person thinks that it is not at all important for them to vote.
The importance of a vote can only be established if no one is shamed for their choices and no one’s vote is devalued. This is the very essence of democracy.
Democracy is not always about going with the flow, it is about interrupting the flow if needed. It is about making people accountable for their actions and free choices.
Also, what if the ‘probable’ winning party doesn’t actually win? What if somehow Pappu had passed the exams? This would have led to the preachers getting caught in their very own trap.
Clearly, the only way out for the preachers is to not undervalue someone else’s vote in the first place and accept their opinion with an open mind.
So if you did vote against the BJP, then do not let those preachers devalue your vote. Your vote mattered. Your vote was counted. Your vote made a difference.
Image Credits: Deeksha Kumar, Google Images
Find The Blogger: @anxioushustler
Other Recommendations:
‘In Politics Choice Isn’t Between Good & Bad, But Bad & Worse’: Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi Talks To ED
