Elections for the Lucknow Municipal Corporation are on and the votes will be cast this weekend. The neighborhood mithaiwala Mr. Shivraj Singh had made up his mind to contest the election from this ward many many months ago. He had started collecting all his customers' mobile numbers even as he continued collecting the milk bill from them. His aspirations got dashed to the ground when the seat for our ward was declared reserved for women candidates.
Once the election symbols were approved by the State Election Commission (SEC) about 10 days ago, the campaigning started in the right earnest. The uniformity in all aspects of campaigning is a little perplexing. It extends from the size and color schemes of the pamphlets distributed by the candidates to loud voices from mobile vans pleading for support and the choice of patriotic songs that serve as fillers. However what is most remarkable is the fact that each pamphlet invariably carries the candidate's husband's photo alongside the candidate's photo! And the husband has more of a neta look than the actual candidate. The sole exception is the pamphlet from the mother of a martyr in the Kargil war. The martyr's photograph - a young and handsome officer - appears at the top.
There is little that helps you choose one candidate above the other. All of them make the same promises, refrain from commenting on what has withheld and is withholding the area's development, and claim the same virtues for themselves except one. The young ones claim youth and energy as a virtue while the older ones claim their experience and maturity as one. They all leave the whole place littered with pamphlets after their door-to-door visit, their promises for ensuring cleanliness notwithstanding. This pollution is later compounded by noise pollution from mobiles blaring out appeal in their favor.
While BJP and congress have fielded their candidates with the party symbols, some other parties have let their candidates contest on their personal symbol. I understand that there was a debate during the BSP government whether party symbols should be allowed in these elections or not. The court ruled in favor of using party symbols. I am not able to fully make out the reasons and motives for and against this practice.
An interesting thing happened on Monday. We received an invitation to attend a Sunder Kand path by well-known Tiwari brothers in the neighborhood park. This was being organized by three people who were not on the candidates' list. Many people attended. The recitation was enchanting but ended with an anti-climax. The seniormost Tiwari thanked the audience at the end of the performance and lo and behold, asked for supporting a candidate who had quietly slipped into the gathering towards the end of the performance! Well, glory be to Lord Hanuman!
My wife and I are still trying to make up our minds on whom to support when we go for casting our vote on 23rd June, but find ourselves rather clueless.
Once the election symbols were approved by the State Election Commission (SEC) about 10 days ago, the campaigning started in the right earnest. The uniformity in all aspects of campaigning is a little perplexing. It extends from the size and color schemes of the pamphlets distributed by the candidates to loud voices from mobile vans pleading for support and the choice of patriotic songs that serve as fillers. However what is most remarkable is the fact that each pamphlet invariably carries the candidate's husband's photo alongside the candidate's photo! And the husband has more of a neta look than the actual candidate. The sole exception is the pamphlet from the mother of a martyr in the Kargil war. The martyr's photograph - a young and handsome officer - appears at the top.
There is little that helps you choose one candidate above the other. All of them make the same promises, refrain from commenting on what has withheld and is withholding the area's development, and claim the same virtues for themselves except one. The young ones claim youth and energy as a virtue while the older ones claim their experience and maturity as one. They all leave the whole place littered with pamphlets after their door-to-door visit, their promises for ensuring cleanliness notwithstanding. This pollution is later compounded by noise pollution from mobiles blaring out appeal in their favor.
While BJP and congress have fielded their candidates with the party symbols, some other parties have let their candidates contest on their personal symbol. I understand that there was a debate during the BSP government whether party symbols should be allowed in these elections or not. The court ruled in favor of using party symbols. I am not able to fully make out the reasons and motives for and against this practice.
An interesting thing happened on Monday. We received an invitation to attend a Sunder Kand path by well-known Tiwari brothers in the neighborhood park. This was being organized by three people who were not on the candidates' list. Many people attended. The recitation was enchanting but ended with an anti-climax. The seniormost Tiwari thanked the audience at the end of the performance and lo and behold, asked for supporting a candidate who had quietly slipped into the gathering towards the end of the performance! Well, glory be to Lord Hanuman!
My wife and I are still trying to make up our minds on whom to support when we go for casting our vote on 23rd June, but find ourselves rather clueless.
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