Yes! One helluva job indeed! General Elections in the largest democracy in the world is a monumental task. We have reached the fag end of the multi stage process and thousands will heave a sigh of relief when the last polling booth closes in the last phase, tomorrow the 13th. It also signals chewed nails, beating hearts, stomach of butterflies and more for all the contestants as they anxiously wait for counting to begin on 16th and results to be announced.

Many a favourite will lose, new faces will be elected, lot of predictions will go awry, many a pollster and psephologist will scurry for cover, new alliances will be hastily cobbled together – in short, starting 16th, it is going to be an action packed few weeks – with twists and turns that will put a Hitchcock thriller to shame; action that will pull in the audience to follow every little detail, IPL or anything else be damned!

The very thought of Rajdeep going hyper, Prannoy trying to be academic, Burkha taking off - the thought makes one drool.

We may not know, now, who will form the next Government, who will be our next PM, but what we know for certain is it will be a hung Parliament. The scene will be ripe for horse (or any other fauna) trading and many a MP will smell, feel and enjoy the colour of money – huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge amounts of money. Like in other fields, there will be the lucky ones and the very very lucky ones .

In exchange for support some will demand short term appeasement ( big wads, upfront) and those who have a vision, will demand long term prosperity (ministerial berths).

Despite all these, despite our netas, our country moves forward and it will move forward.

Coming back to the whole process of the General Elections, we can all feel proud that by and large elections are free and fair and it is a mammoth exercise that is carried out so well.

I thought it may not be out of place to reproduce a letter written to New York Times by one of its readers:

It is truly the greatest show on Earth, an ode to a diverse and democratic ethos, where 700 million + of humanity vote, providing their small part in directing their ancient civilization into the future. It is no less impressive when done in a neighborhood which includes de-stabilizing and violent Pakistan, China, and Burma.
Its challenges are immense, more so probably than anywhere else, particularly in development and fending off terrorism -- but considering these challenges and its neighbors, it is even more astounding that the most diverse nation on Earth, with hundreds of languages, all religions and cultures, is not only surviving, but thriving.
The nation where Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism were born, which is the second largest Muslim nation on Earth; where Christianity has existed for 2000 years; where the oldest Jewish synagogues and Jewish communities have resided since the Romans burnt their 2nd temple; where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile reside; where the Zorostrians from Persia have thrived since being thrown out of their ancient homeland; where Armenians and Syrians and many others have to come live; where the Paris-based OECD said was the largest economy on Earth 1500 of the last 2000 years, including the 2nd largest only 200 years ago; where 3 Muslim Presidents have been elected, where a Sikh is Prime Minister and the head of the ruling party a Catholic Italian woman, where the President is also a woman, succeeding a Muslim President who as a rocket scientist was a hero in the nation; where a booming economy is lifting 40 million out of poverty each year and is expected to have the majority of its population in the middle class, already equal to the entire US population, by 2025; where its optimism and vibrancy is manifested in its movies, arts, economic growth, and voting, despite all the incredible challenges and hardships; where all the great powers are vying for influence, as it itself finds its place in the world.
Where all of this is happening, is India, and as greater than 1/10 of humanity gets ready to vote, it is an inspiration to all the World.

Tomorrow, please go out and vote! Don’t allow someone to steal your vote.

Jai Hind!

L.Ravichandran
ravi@chennaionline.com