Across the country campaigns have sprung up urging educated youth to come out and vote. For some it is a brand-building exercise. Tata Tea's Jaagore campaign, in association with urban reforms advocacy, Janaagraha, is a wake-up call that blends with the stimulants it hawks. Actor Aamir Khan would like youth to regard the casting of the ballot not as a vote for but a vote against - a protest against everyone and everything that harms the nation.
Having tasted success with the Forest Fights Act, the rural employment guarantee scheme and the Right to Information Act in the past five years, social action groups are seeking greater influence over party manifestoes and post-poll programmes. A network of 3,000 non-governmental organisations have been holding hearings with people across the country to tap into their expectations under the Wada Na Todo Abhiyan or Break No Promises campaign, that was launched after social activists from across the world met in Mumbai in January 2004, under the aegis of the World Social Forum. They say they will be contacting about 3 lakh people across 365 of India's 543 parliamentary constituencies to draft a People's Manifesto, which they want the next coalition that comes to power, to adopt.
In the third week of March, a Jan Manch or People's Platform in New Delhi tried to extract commitments from political parties to extension of 100 days of work under the rural employment guarantee scheme to every individual, linking wages to inflation and launching a scheme for the urban unemployed. The Congress in its manifesto released on March 25 has not only agreed to the 100 days of work, it has promised wheat and rice at Rs 3 a kilogram for the very poor, and community kitchens for the down-and-out in towns and cities. The BJP is very likely to do one-up on this.
Political analyst and pollster Yogendra Yadav, who moderated the Jan Manch, saw in it something "fresh and democratic", while founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakhti Sangathan, Aruna Roy, regarded it as a platform for the marginalised who have votes, but not the money power of the corporate lobbies that have been adept at getting their way with political parties. Minister Ashwini Kumar said manifestos must reflect people's aspirations, while BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said there was a rising trend of people and organisations demanding accountability from politicians.
Social action leaders had purchase with the ruling alliance because of the earlier influence of the Communists. But they say that within all political parties there are leaders who are sympathetic to the causes they espouse and the trick is to learn from the business lobbies and keep them engaged not only during elections but also in between.
Making political parties listen is not all there is to accountability. It is more important to make the apparatus of governance responsive. The youth who come out and vote in response to the various campaign will have to brace up for disappointment if they think that voting itself will make a difference. It is my personal experience that it is impossible to get the local councillor, the MLA or the MP to deliver on ever basics like regular sweeping of roads, daily evacuation of garbage, minimal sanitation in the slum next door, prevention of open defecation, the upkeep of neighbourhood parks, better traffic management or regular interaction with local police on security issues. Apart from token gestures like donation of high-mast lights or benches in parks from the constituency funds, our elected representatives are not willing to engage with citizens, who are keen to involve themselves in the improvement of city life.
The Congress manifesto promises a new model of urban administration. A participatory system must be quickly implemented if the enthusiasm of youth is to be sustained.
Regards
Shailendra
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