Today was the day of polling in Gurgaon, and we (my wife Vandna and I) went to cast our vote in the afternoon. We were armed with our Voter ID Cards, but when we reached the polling station, things were pretty messy. The list of voters was random, not organized by voter ID or by residential areas, and a large number of people were not able to find their names on the lists. We were amongst such people. It was frustrating to note that despite have voter ID cards, our names were not on the list, or at least we were not able to find it, even though the people from the political parties tried their best!
Someone in the booth of the political party brought a laptop with wireless internet access and they were able to find the details of many people through the website of election commission of Haryana. My phone had internet access too, and we tried to check our names, but to our disappointment, we could not find our names on the database. Seeing us checking things on the phone, many people requested to check theirs, and this lasted for two hours. In this time, we were able to find the necessary details (room number and serial number) for voting for over a 100 people. All these folks would have gone back without casting their vote! This was truly an amazing experience. And they were full of thanks as they had lost all hope.
Although this worked out alright, so many people went away without voting, some because their names were missing and some because they could not find their names. One couple told us that they were at the booth since the morning trying to find details so they could vote. Their commitment was just amazing! Finally, they were rewarded when we found their details on the web! So much to learn from them. Of course, all of us need to contribute such that the government organizes things more efficiently. In the meanwhile, we can all play our part, and help the organizers as well as other fellow citizens in some way, to keep the hope alive and making things better.
Lastly, the posting I had made requesting friends to vote and inspire others to vote got a lot of response. So many people called, sent sms and emails to say that they had voted! One friend even asked me whether I had :). And so many friends forwarded the email to their contacts and got similar response. This shows that contribution and change is not that difficult. All of us feel the same way, and some of us just need a gentle reminder.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
I went with my friend & family to cast my vote. This is the first time I exercised my vote. Felt very proud though it’s very unfortunate that i never exercised my vote earlier. But as they say 'better late than never'. Thankfully things were pretty organized at our booth. My friend had very shocking experience. She lost her husband recently but her husbands name was still reflecting in the voters list which was quite surprising. On top of it one of the organizers from very affluent party who knew her asked her to give husbands card to him so that they can add one more vote for their party to which my friend just refused. We were quite shocked.
Aadesh.
It's a divine intervention!
Jo bhi hua, sab ke hith mein hua. Aap ke, Desh ke, aur samuchh maanav samudaay ke hith mein.
Best of Luck for the next time!
Regards.
I was able to caste my vote without much hurdles :) But after reading this blog, a thought comes to my mind.. Perhaps your efforts saved those 100 odd votes of people around you and Vandana Ji. Had you been able to find your name in the list, you would not have tried to access internet from your mobile and many people would have turned back home, disappointed :( So, perhaps it was for the common good of the society! I was happy to read that in some polling booths, voter turnout was a meagre 12% in 2004 while it rose to 45% this time :) Efforts have started paying off.. though its a long way to go still...
Jai Hind!
I can understand your frustration of not finding your name in the list. I somehow knew this(!) and had checked out the internet a coule of days before the election, to note down mine and my wife's voting details and I was well armed with the required details when I went to vote. It took less than 5 minutes - for a change, it was a pleasant experience, though outside the polling booth I could see the chaos!
Post a Comment