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Disenchanted, but duty-bound
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Disillusioned by the performance of political parties and their candidates they voted to power, the aged citizens feel the lack of options now, say T. SARAVANAN and M.R. ARAVINDAN
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A SENSE of frustration coupled with dilemma to identify the right candidate haunts a major section of the old timers here as the D-day for casting their vote to elect members to the 14th Lok Sabha draws near. The senior citizens' trepidation, however, does not lead to pure disenchantment with the voting exercise because they are also aware of their social responsibility. And not only that. By exercising their franchise, they also become the guiding force for the Gen-X voters.
If the reigning student groups of the 60s actively participated in the anti-Hindi agitation and enforced a change in Government, much of the credit for that perhaps can be claimed by the old timers then who succeeded in instilling confidence in the youths to lead such a movement. But now, no such inspired mission can be seen.
Repeatedly disillusioned by the performance of political parties and their candidates they voted to power, the aged citizens feel the lack of options now. Since to elect the best among those in the fray is the refrain now, they feel, they are hardly in a position to guide the youngsters. But they unanimously insist that in a democracy every citizen should be responsible enough to vote.
"The educated should not shirk but take the lead in discharging their democratic duty. They should seek information on educational background and moral values of the candidate before casting their vote. If cent per cent votes are polled in any election, then parties and candidates will be forced to do justice to the society. So old timers have more responsibility to lead by example. There is no point in lingering on with the frustration factor," feels G. Thiruvasagam, Yadava College Principal.
"If money and muscle power is used to bringing in incompetent candidates to power, only dejection will loom large among the people. How can the senior voters be expected to and on what basis will they motivate the younger generation to vote?" wonders N.R.Varadhachari, a retired Income Tax Office employee.
"The Election Commission is doing a commendable job. It is trying to conduct a free and fair election as far as possible. The EC is trying its best to streamline the election process. If you see the development of the EC over the years, it is phenomenal. But at the same time on the other side, the politicians and political parties are making a mess of electioneering. Party hopping has become the order of the day. It seems to me that the parties also welcome such strategy. Elder voters, therefore, have a big responsibility of creating awareness among the new voters," shares the retired Vice-Principal of The American College, D.Samuel Lawrence.
But grocery merchant, P.Ramarathinam, sees the futility in voting exercise when he says : "We wait in queues to exercise our franchise. If we are late to the polling booth, the chance of it being misused increases. When we finally vote, are we really able to elect the most suitable candidate who will serve his constituency for the next five years?" Ramarathinam has his doubts and thereby explains his disenchantment with the polling exercise.
Krishnamurthy, a retired State Government employee, airs that there has been a "great transformation in the technical aspect of the democratic exercise, but not in the approach of politicians." "But I will cast my vote this time too because it is the most fundamental duty for every citizen," he assures.
Another retired couple from Central Government service chose to divide the electioneering history into two parts -- `Before Seshan' and `After Seshan'. "The second part is really a revolutionary period. More teeth has been added to the commission and it is functioning in the earnest way," they feel. The restriction on graffiti makes them happy. "No posters and no doodles, so no more the walls will sport a shabby look," they add.
Echoing a similar view, Rangarajan, an employee of a private company, appreciates the order banning meetings extending beyond 10.00 p.m. Though the introduction of EVMs can keep the menace of bogus voting at bay, still the efficacy of the mechanism in the case of illiterate voters is under doubt", he says.
Meenakshi, who ekes out a living by doing ayah's work says, "I don't want any tall promises, but food and safe drinking water". "What more one needs?" she wonders.
When asked about his comments, Ramasubramanian, a sexagenarian, only chose to endorse the statement of President Abdul Kalam -- "Vote without fear".
Negativism seems to rule the elderly middle class. Bored of treading the beaten track, they appear frustrated and fed up with false promises of political parties.
But then they are also the matured group having a clear picture and understanding of parties and politicians. One thing is clear, they may be disenchanted with the politicians but not as much with the election process per se.
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