Observing the motley circles in society from the socio-economically weaker sections to those very well established in the Government and various professions in private sector, the Vidhan Sabha election 2017 appears to be a common thread running through most members of the societal circles.
The proportion of importance and involvement varies from a few basic concerns raised by those who devote most of their time awake to earn their living, to the active interest and involvement of those with the resources and inclination towards politic. There are some who may know little more than the name of the candidate they will vote for different reasons, while there are
others like some members of the media fraternity who can pass hours on discussing the Vidhan Sabha elections, the politics involved in it, the past connections and actions of the mighty and ambitious contesting the elections.
Apart from those who are concerned with the essentials of life-sustainable livelihood, conducive environment and a home-and those who generally maintain a distance from politics, the members of varied social groups have something or much more to say when it comes to the ensuing Assembly polls.
The people have opinions, observerations, the surmise they have reached on the basis of these observations and predictions to make regarding the election. The observations and opinions range from those regarding aspects of the election procedure to the political future of candidates and parties of national and regional stature.
The authorities enhancing scrutiny of the expenditure and related activities of candidates contesting the election and information technology facilitated social media has also impacted the election. However, there are still some aspects in the progressive democratic functioning of the election mechanism, which need to be specifically considered- like the process of filing nomination papers by the contesting candidates.
The thousands of loud and zealous supporters accompanying prominent candidates to the nomination place in the state's provisional capital Dehradun, the resulting traffic logjam and other problems were faced by the public in a manner which also impacted the fundamental rights of citizens stuck in traffic jams or forced to take diversion costing more in time and fuel.
In one were to calculate the total cost incurred in the wastage of fuel, time and other resources of citizens affected by
the nomination and campaign rallies, one might probably arrive at an astounding conclusion, all the more so if one also considers the time, effort
and resources of the police and administration deployed to handle the situation on such occasions.
Many of those who bore the brunt of the nomination rallies in Doon could be heard asking whether it would be better to digitalise the nomination process in the interests of both the public and the candidates as is being done with various other procedures in the public domain under the Digital India programme.
However, these appear to be general observations compared to the most prominent feature seen yet in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha election in Uttarakhand-the considerable number of both old and younger political leaders who have
shifted to the other or back to their earlier party as exemplified by about a dozen of the Congress dissident leaders including an ex-Chief Minister who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with their supporters.
Even now, one gets to hear of some politician or the other from either of the national parties or smaller outfits shifting loyalties- some of them not for the first time-or contesting the election as an independent candidate. Amidst all the happenings, there are some who believe that in its present form, there appears to be an aberration of focus from the representation and service of public and State to politics akin to a game of competitive political chess with rivals trying to outdo each other in efforts to win the election.
It would be unfair to blame the politicians and the establishment for what some may view as negative aspects of democratic politic because in the end, the leaders and system alone cannot bring about such situations without the active involvement of the public. For example, in the case of nomination rallies causing traffic congestion, it was the citizens supporting the candidate causing inconvenience to other general citizens.
These actions may be legally sound and all the politicians may have their own valid grounds to explain their actions. How well such moves go down with the public will be known after the counting of votes cast on February 15.