WITH the announcement of dates for the forthcomingLokSabhaelections,thecountry has entered the arena of crucial polls whose outcome will decide the direction of India’s course for long years. Though the nation already is conscious of the most probable outcome of the elections, there still will be efforts from both sides of the ideological and political divide to garner as many votes and seats as possible by influencing the popular thoughtprocess. The country has not seen such a political condition for a long time. The issue at stake is not power, but of the manner of its usage once it is attained. For,the forthcoming elections will offer tremendous and unprecedented opportunity to the Government to impact national life deep into future. The reference to this comes from the assertion ofPrimeMinister Mr. Narendra Modi that the moment of Pranpratishtha at Shri Ram Mandir at Ayodhya will impact India’s future for the next one thousand years. Obviously, the context is not political in the least; it is historical and civilisational in import. A similar contextual framework will be in operation in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. No matter this fine thinking, the current pre-election politics is not without its chaotic expression. So many old loyaltiesaregettingblastedandnewalignmentsarebeingformed.

 

So many twists and turns are being witnessed in the trajectories of different camps as parties redefine theirrespective approaches to the battle of the ballot ahead. In such an arenadominatedbymuchconfusion,thevictorywillchoose the party with the best ability to take care of its interests from all angles. Though the picture is more or less similar inallelections,theLokSabhaelectionsinthenext fewweeks will be far more complex. The possible voter-tilt can be predicted fairly accurately even at this stage, the actual outcome promises to be of altogether different dimensions. Insuch a situation, the one segment whose ability to make a right choice will be tested severely will be the common voter. He will have to rise above the usual electoral din and keep his head calm and make the final choice. He will have to stay away from deliberately misleading narratives which many contestants and their parties will dish out -- and then make a cool choice between those who will lead the nation well and those whose records of the past are not as straight as those should have been. In other words, the voter will have to be extremely alert and proactive in making his choice. The passive voter has no place in such an arena.

 

The common voters have seen in the past ten years a lot of wrongs and wrong narratives being heaped on them by different politically vested interests. That makes a strong case for the voters to remain very alert and fight back cheap political propagandism and elect people of right mind-set to lead the country into future.The past ten years have seen an authentic rise of India to world stature in every possible domain, including diplomacy and military power and economy to agriculture to culture ...! This experience is good enough for the people to know how to think on right lines and elect the right people to power. The voters, therefore, will have to shun cantankerous debating on petty political issues,andrisetoahighlevelofthinkingaboutcrucial national issues and decide who will lead the country.