Make corruption a poll issue Responsibilities of voters

Save for Independent candidate in Keishamthong Assembly Constituency, Nishikant Singh Sapam, none of the other candidates have made corruption a major issue ahead of the Assembly polls and this is what is confounding. Everyone agrees that of all the issues plaguing Manipur, it is corruption which needs to be addressed in a big way and election is the right time to address this lacunae. However this is something which has not been addressed and a look at the campaigns of different candidates should tesify this. This is what is worrying. If election is not the right time to address this hydra headed monster, then when would be the opportune moment ? Efficiency is another point that needs the serious attention of all the voters and while some of the candidates have been tested during the five years they were in office after getting elected in 2017, the voters will need to minutely study the potential of the others who have not been tried or are first time candidates. This is where the need to study the background of each and every candidate becomes essential. The vote that people cast on February 28 and March 5 will decide the next five years and this is precisely the reason why election day is not only about sealing the fate of the candidates in the fray but also about sealing the fate of the people for the next five years. The responsibility on the voters should be clear to all. Want a clean Government ? Then elect the right candidate. Not for nothing is there the widely held belief that the process of corruption starts from the moment the voters sell away their franchise rights. The cycle of corruption and inefficiency starts from the moment lucre comes to occupy centre stage during election and not for nothing is it widely held that in a democracy a people get the type of Government  they deserve. Have the people of Manipur been using their franchise rights in the right manner all these years ? In a few days from now, the people would have sealed the fate of not only the candidates but their own fate too and this is something which should be realised and acted upon accordingly.
Election is central to democracy and this is not just an exercise that comes every five years, but is more about where the people should see themselves five years hence. Which among the candidates have vision is another question which should be raised by all the voters. It is only vision which can take the State forward and the decision that the voters take on February 28 and March 5 will go a long way in deciding how Manipur would be five years down the line. This is why so much importance is attached to the rights of the voter. It is the people who decide who should represent them in the corridors of power and there is no reason why people should take chances for the decision taken on voting day will impact on the people’s lives for the next five years. The responsibility is immense and in as much as voting is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, it is also equally true that this right comes with its share of responsibility. Judicious use of this right is what democracy demands and only then will the exercise of voting have any special meaning. It is only right that people now raise the question of corruption before all the candidates and see where they stand on this issue. And to fight corruption one will need vision for taking the people and the State forward is possible only when the candidates are asked such questions. The fight against corruption starts now with the voters. Electing the right candidate is the need of the hour and this should not be clouded by the dust kicked up by money and muscle power.