Thinking Big: Elections 2009

A reply was received against the call for "vote for BJP" in a different Forum [the call has also been published here] .. since it applies to all INDIANs it is getting posted here.

I have not read the complete message. However, after reading the first Para, I am forced to think what is the difference between a poor voter who sells his vote for Rs.100.00 or a bottle of DESI DARU and asking votes for BJP or for that matter any party on the promise of a weird offer of TAX SOPS.

At least that poor voter is wise enough not to believe in "TWO IN THE BUSH". He votes only after having the "BIRD IN HAND". And who knows he might milch all of them and vote as per his convictions.

All the parties (of some political stature) are infamous for beating hasty retreat on poll promises as soon as they come to power. 33% reservation for women is one issue on which all political parties have broken the promise.

There is much more than money, pay and perks in life. At least THINK BIG, no matter, whether you are able to get to your goal or not. Vote as per your convictions and not on the basis of personal gains. Election is a serious affair not a business. Have consideration for society and not for individual gain all the time.

Mahendra Gaur

Our counter- reply to the above
There are too many people in this country.. 1 billion to be exact (am I right? not very good at GK!) .. so each will have his own ideas and that can really be a problem at times.. because of so many interests which sometimes cut one another ... nothing new for me to have mine and Mr Gaur to have his.. but we can all at least meet at some common ground... a ground where we may all see some logic and some facts..

• The common ground here is I DO NOT SEE ANYBODY in the POLITICAL ARENA who is NOT CROOKED...If you can give me proof of some.. then probably I will find him in a different area (not where I vote) .. and if you can give proof then I will certainly support the people who vote for those candidates.. [I doubt though of your ability to give proof because there is nothing such as a honest Politician].
• The next common ground is all this big talk is only big.. until YOU get somebody up there to contest as honest people asking to vote as per convictions.. makes no sense.. when all my conviction tells me is that NOBODY is good and a few if they are at all - maybe the new ones contesting this year will either prove to be useless or same as others if they win (I am not arguing about them not winning.. but assuming that they win) .. eg. Mallika Sarabhai at Gujarat.. she may be good.. then Ms Meera Sanyal at Mumbai who is an ABN AMRO bank Top Official as independent.. or Dr (some) lady at the same mumbai constituency.. who is member of the newly floated Professional party.. or Sashi Tharoor who is at Kerala on Congress ticket.. what will they do? What Manmohan Singh did? What can a few honest ones do alone when the whole world is different?
• The common ground here is that I do not disagree that somebody somewhere needs to start & let these people start and ALSO win-- ALL of them even Sashi Tharoor on the congress ticket.. (I DO HOPE THEY will TAKE THE NEXT STEP to JOIN hands across parties and join in the name of good!!- a distant dream!! ) .. but I am a voter.. and so am concentrating on where I can get something out of this melee .. this free for all.. there is nothing ideal here.. there is nothing 'THINK BIG' here.. even though they go back on promises.. I will STILL ASK VOTE VOTE FOR BJP.. (even though I agree that BJP was the one who brought in FBT .. at least now they are saying they will remove it..I have not forgotten what they did last time to us salaried class people -- NOBODY actually thinks of salaried class.. !!)
• Common ground is EACH VOTE is an OPPORTINTY FOR ALL.. Since this is a big NATION.. You & I do nothing.. Unless we are able to put up new people across India whom voters can VOTE.. in the NATIONAL LEVEL I am just one in 1 billion misguided fools.. and we are like driving our cars on a crowded road.. and nobody rewards a rule abiding driver.. he keeps falling behind.. while those who drive on the wrong side gets ahead.. so here when all that we salaried class (yes we are a class too.. how can we forget? You are now not in that class.. so I cannot give that weight to your words this time) have only salary revision and tax breaks to hope on.. what else we got? -So anybody giving us these tax breaks gets out vote.. NOTHING TO THINK BIG ABOUT....

And by the way we are a society too.. a society of Salaried class... so when we vote somebody or some party over another. we ARE thinking of our Society.. ALAS.. we cannot be GODs when we keep dying..We are acting as per the age old rule.. Roti Kapda Makaan.. (now do not say that PSU or OILMEN have all these.. I too know.. this is figuratively speaking).. BUT when we feel our roti size is smaller than expected.. SURELY WE WILL ACT in selfish manner.. Do the Politicians act selflessly?

I know we may be helping them to power by giving them their power in return of this SOP just like a poor man sells his vote for a bottle of arrack...but then does it make sense or is it possible to "VOTE INDIA" as so many SO CALLED INTELLECTUALS are SHOUTING FOR? What VOTE INDIA? Who are these GOOD PEOPLE that we can vote for ? Any list floating??

Like I said I am just a voter here..not in position to setup new people in all the constituencies of India.. if I had that power.. or somebody does that.. then yes.. sure we will choose as per candidate and work as per conscience..

A Hungry man cannot have conscience.. We are hungry too.. there is no shame in declaring that even when there are hungrier people than us!! So ??

Why blame the poor? True they are even better than us.. they are taking the bird in hand.. but then nobody has offered the bird in hand.. we have only one in the bush.. the proverb does not APPLY here.. .. if we too had been given two birds one in hand and one in the bush.. we would have gone for the one in hand.. CONGRESS was GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIFT us a bird IN HAND.. they did not gift us.. BJP is giving us one in the bush.. we have to take a chance!!

What is the other alternative? Show me 271 honest candidates in India for all the 271 seats needed to make a majorty govt..!

Let us not just make IDEALISTIC statements for the sake of making it.

To end this.. you know what is HAPPENING THIS YEAR? because of all the hype of media - "lead india" -- "lead mumbai"-- "Corporate Mumbai" "youth" Amir Khan on TV exhorting us to VOTE INDIA!! .. and so on? I think there will be a totally hung parliament this year.. is that GOOD? Already a set of leaders in Bihar have started playing their game.. Laloo and Paswan.. not giving a single seat to Congress but saying they are with UPA.. because they know Congress will not get majoriry and will need them again..! And how everyone from Sharad Pawar to Mayawati to everybody is SHAMELESSLY Drooling for the PM SEAT!! I think VOTING for BJP who is still the one party across regions.. can get us some better stability in the face of this impending chaos!!

As it is we have the usual segments and classes that vote - cross vote and so on..

Now additionally we have a large group of youth who has seen Ram Sene.. and they have been shown Rahul; Gandhi's Foolish but pretty white-skin face.. so a large amount of vote will go for him.. (if he is standing--or his party).

Some people in Kerala who have been voting for CPIM will vote for Sashi Tharoor.. because he has a cute face.. and seems to be intelligent.. a good writer..

Corporate Mumbai is waking up.. tell me why? because the terror war entered their bedrooms.. they always thought they were insulated from terror by their money.. and TERROR happens only in Rly Stations.. or Kashmir or middle class markets like Sarojini Nagar.. not at TAJ!! So what are you talking about? ALL are talking of 'THINK BIG" but actually everybody is thinking about themselves only!! Plus do you think Corporate India and its noise.. is thinking of only better Governance? Will they not extract their pound of flesh (in terms of reduction of excise duty, tax holidays etc if they can control the govt??)

So who is thinking BIG? Everybody is going by some wrong reason only.. when it is a melee and everybody is stumbling one over another to get his pie.. WE TOO NEED TO DO THAT..

SO AGAIN I SAY VOTE FOR BJP.. because they have promised 3 lacs and 3.5 lacs limits!