One of the best thing that fascinates me about India is that almost everyone here is conscious of their political rights. Even during the Olympics, you will not see so much buzz and excitement as you will when elections are around. In the market place or tavern, on Social media or whatsapp, most discussions will be centred on politics. India may be yet to be developed in many ways but when it comes to voting, we are far ahead than even some of the most advanced developed Nations. When America voted for Trump, the percentage was hovering somewhere around 55 while in India, it rarely comes down below 65. Goa goes to vote tomorrow and we should easily expect to hit a target of 70 per cent at the bare minimum. In some constituencies, one won’t be surprised if it touches a high of even 80 per cent. Every fourth person here is a psephologist who will predict which candidate will win. The rest will tell you which candidate has done a setting with which candidate, who has done a secret meeting with who and who you should not vote for lest there be a split and an unwanted candidate wins. Tomorrow is the day when Goa goes to poll. As usual, people will come out in large numbers to vote for a candidate or a political party of their choice. Some may need a little bit of a prodding by the booth level karyakarta or political worker. People by and large are generally confident about their thinking and most of them must have decided by now who they are going to vote for. If they are happy with the present Government, they will vote them back. If they are frustrated, they will throw them out and they may also give several new faces a chance. The choice is entirely theirs. Those who get elected may be kings but tomorrow is a day when the people of Goa get the chance to be the real kingmakers. Voting begins at 7am and will end at 5pm. May the voting be done in a judicious manner and may the best candidate win. To all the Kingmakers who are going to chart their own and Goa’s destiny for the next 5 years, I say – 3 cheers.
warm regards, Sandeep Heble Panjim-Goa 9326129171
