Right to vote

Voting for West Bengal Assembly elections is still on in some places. I voted for my candidate on 27^th April which unfortunately was a working day for me. My mom’s maid came late after casting her vote. Once she came I was free to leave. As working women both of us are dependent on each other. Election Day is no different. There is an unwritten bond between us. I went to the booth and left almost immediately since the queue was long and it would take over an hour before I got my turn to vote. I had to go to work. Voting was on till 5 in the evening .So I again left office around 4.15 pm and finally got to vote around 4.55 pm.

I have skipped voting several times but this year’s election is touted to be a historic one which is going to change the face of Bengal. I am more amused by the drama surrounding the whole event. My young maid who lives in a temporary freehold shack in one corner of our locality is not enlisted as a voter. Migrants to the city from rural Bengal they are captive vote banks for all parties. One political party had offered all registered voters in their area five hundred rupee note each to vote in favour of the party. My maid was dejected since her family missed the opportunity this time of getting some easy money. People had accepted the money as an incentive but both parties knew that there was no guarantee that this would have any reflection on the election results because of the power of the secret ballot. As on of the television panelists had remarked the real hero is the Election Commission which has kept Indian democracy so well guarded.