Bull's Eye

This election, nobody knowshow to vote. "It's so confusing," a neighbour said. "I won't votethis time!" "You must vote," I said sternly. "Each voter isprecious!" "But some more than others," he replied darkly. "My servantvotes thrice while I vote once. But how to decide whom to vote for?" "Vote forthe best party." "Right," he said. "But which party is Bansi Lal—Congressor BJP? Which party are Ram Vilas Paswan and Sharad Yadav—BJP or JD? Which party isButa Singh—BJP, Loktantrik Morcha or Congress?" "I see what you mean,"I said. "Perhaps the best thing is to vote for the person and not the party. Find thecleanest candidate. Vote for him."

"What good is it to votefor a person instead of his party?" he asked angrily. "In my constituency,Jagmohan is a candidate. Everybody knows he is honest. That's why he opposed thetelecom policy. But what happened? He was shifted. The government pushed through the samepolicy. He remained part of the cabinet which endorsed it. So what good is personalhonesty? It has no effect on policy!" "You've hit the nail on thehead," I exclaimed. "Ignore parties which are frequently changed by the leaders.Ignore personalities incapable of risking careers to change a government'sperformance. Simply vote for the right policy!"

"Are you serious?"he asked with surprise. "How do you determine the candidate's policy? Is Gujralsocialist because he backed Indira Gandhi, secularist because he backed V.P. Singh, ornationalist because he backs Vajpayee?" "I guess you are right," I saidsadly. "There is no real socialism, secularism or nationalism left." "That'sright. Only opportunism. So how should I vote?" I scratched my head. Suddenly I sawthe light. "I've got it! You vote for the next prime minister. Vajpayee headsthe popularity charts. So why not vote for the candidate supporting him?" "Areyou crazy? Vajpayee's own election is suspect. What good will his candidate be?""What do you mean?" "Haven't you heard? A person declared dead ingovernment records has decided to stand against him. If Vajpayee's opponent isofficially dead, they will have to countermand his election, won't they?"

Eeny meeny mina mo,
How to vote, I don't know,
When each party is a foe,
Let it come, or let it go!