In the upcoming MCD elections, the people of Delhi will decide whether to vote on local or national issues. All the political parties that harp only on the national issue in local elections are doing a major disservice to the people of Delhi.
The electorate of a city like Delhi is not naïve, but their ability to show that local issues matter is key to good local governance. Can they elect candidates from parties willing to discuss and promise to talk about local issues?
This is because if the people of Delhi fail to seek promises and assurance on local issues from the candidates they wish to elect, they lose the right to complain. One can belong to a particular political party and be a sympathiser or supporter. But when it comes to local issues, one should rise above such affiliations and vote for the candidate who can deliver or has performed in the past.
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It is also imperative on the part of an electorate who understand this importance to teach their helpers to vote responsibly. Their vote matters. They need to ensure that the candidates equally address their local issues and issues of their helpers. They should help them not get swayed by any inducements and problems unrelated to the MCD elections when they vote in their area.
It is hilarious and, at times, pathetic to witness candidates of all political parties highlight their party achievements at the national and state level. One can still understand hawking their top leader's name at local elections. But connecting their party's national successes with local councillors' ability to resolve local issues is undermining the ability of Delhi's voters to differentiate between performers and non-performers.
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Not all political parties spend time, energy, and resources to educate a voter. Only those who have done work at the ground level will have the moral courage to ask for their vote.
That is a tough road. The easy way is to whip up an issue(s) that are more hedonistic and intoxicating. A candidate willing to take the former route will genuinely make efforts to deliver on promises than the latter after December 7, when the results would be declared.
On that yardstick, the performance of candidates since April 07, 1958, when the first MCD elections were held, is the best testament to promises and deliverance. The best yardstick to vote for should be the past work, profile, accessibility, and deliverables of a local candidate, irrespective of the party to which they belong. Whether the candidate is an incumbent, runner-up of the last MCD election, or a fresh candidate should not matter.
All dilliwale should vote as Delhites and not get influenced by the state or a region of India to which they belong or the party they support. You stay in Delhi and should get what you deserve in terms of civic amenities from a cosmopolitan area that happens to be the citadel of the country's capital.
(M Rajendran is a freelance journalist with more than two decades of experience.)
