Irrespective of whichever party comes to power, what is most heartening to note is the massive voter turnout in the fifth phase (“ >Crucial phase witnesses heavy turnout ,” April 18). The average voting percentage across 12 States comes to around 66 per cent, which indicates that there is both a change in attitude and a yearning for change. Another question I wish to raise is whether the Election Commission realises the fact that people who are travelling for unavoidable reasons on the days of polling are unable to vote. Why not find a way to enable these citizens to exercise their franchise? Will it not boost the percentage of voters further?
Balasubramaniam Pavani,
Secunderabad
The high voting percentage is definitely making the 16th general election much more interesting for politicians, the media and the public alike. This development is good for a strong democracy and has been made possible by awareness campaigns.
Sumeet Mahendra,
New Delhi
At a time when the stakes are high for all the leading parties, it will be interesting to know whether the NOTA option has been exercised. Many media channels seem to be too focussed on the celebrities who voted.
Varun Dambal,
Bangalore
The old bug of “missing names” still haunts the Election Commission. A law-abiding individual in this country has several cards — a driving licence, PAN card, passport, and, if he is a senior citizen, a “senior citizen card” issued by the government, a ration card and an Aadhar card. In spite of all these cards, the EC issues a “voter id card” too, which supersedes all other cards when it comes to voting!
The voters’ list must be abolished and all citizens must be eligible to vote if they can produce any of these documents at the polling booth. Or else the “voter card” must be the only card that must be recognised and all other cards must be abolished. I am a senior citizen and found my name missing at the polling booth. I handed over my Aadhar card to the officer on duty at the booth, who immediately said: “This is useless, sir. We do not recognise it for voting.” I left, treating my walk to the polling booth as a “morning walk.”
M.V. Nahusharaj,
Bangalore
What the people want are equal opportunities. Doles and sops offered by political parties to win over marginalised communities will only further ghettoise their existence. What is required is an environment where people can grow and improve economically. Let us hope that the heavy turnout reflects this.
Nimit Suri,
Amritsar
