When Democracy flows through SMSes

Some half a century ago, we couldn’t even dream that mobile phones would become a reality. Now, technology has made even the seemingly impossible things possible... 
 

There is something terribly wrong with reality shows on television. No, I am not speaking about the bogus voting that helps a particular contestant over others.
 
Such shows induce hallucination.
 
It happened to me recently. I was brought back to reality from a reality show I was watching, by a sudden, loud bursting of crackers right in front of my house. It was the local followers of a political party welcoming their candidate contesting the Assembly polls.
 
I found the welcome ceremony and the candidate and his retinue, who were all wearing dark sunglasses around 10 in the night, more interesting than the guys and girls performing for a flat worth Rs 45 lakh that was on offer in a popular reality show.
 
Outside my home, a few were dancing impromptu to some silent song. It must be a fast number because the spirited steps were faster despite the campaign managers shouting at the dancers to give way to the candidate’s motorcade. 
 
After some shouting, a couple of short speeches and more shouting amidst applause, the cheerful candidate departed, leaving the night alone to warm down to its normal calmness.
 
I felt proud. On Saturday, the 10th of May 2008, I will be one among many in Karnataka who will cast votes through mobile phones for the first time in the world.
 
We, the fortunate people of India, need not travel all the way to polling booths to lengthen serpentine queues to cast our preferences. It’s as easy as sending two SMSes: first keying in KAR VOTE08 <Voter ID No.> to 0420 and on getting a reply with the candidates’ identification numbers, we need to just send another SMS stating the preferred candidate’s number to 0421!
 
Further, this can be done anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.! On Saturday, I can travel to Mysore to attend my friend Abhigna’s wedding. Perhaps I will send the first SMS after reaching Maddur, as I have to leave Bangalore around 6 a.m.
 
I remembered the earlier elections. Thanks to modern mobile phone technology and a tech-savvy Election Commission, I will be saving much time.
 
Further, the wireless technology that is also being introduced this time takes off lot of burden from election officers and security personnel deployed in rural areas.
 
The votes cast in rural constituencies will be transferred through this technology to the respective district headquarters, where it will be counted once the polling is over in all the constituencies.
 
The officials need not guard the electronic voting machines (EVMs), as the information will be summarily transferred to central system in the district headquarters. The number of security personnel accompanying the EVMs was drastically slashed this time.
 
I couldn’t arrive at a figure that the country would save as a result of these new technologies.
 
Yet, I felt sad while I remembered a news article in a prominent English daily carried during the previous polling. The story, accompanied with a black and white photograph, was about an octogenarian couple in north Karnataka – Kuyilamma and Puliyappa – who covered a total of 16 kms on foot to cast their votes. The report said they had never missed voting in an election.
 
I knew they wouldn’t be lucky this time, for the new facility is currently available only in select constituencies. On the positive side, it will be extended to all over the country in phases by 2015.
 
I am sure the thugs will have a hard time in those constituencies where the mobile phone facility has been initiated. I couldn’t help smiling when TV images of thugs in Bihar capturing the booth. Of course those thugs in that state are so straightforward, unlike their counterparts elsewhere, that they captured booths in full media glare and even adjusted their moustaches before giving sound bytes to TV reporters.
 
Good things won’t last long, some say. It happened in my case too. I woke up to a quizzical look from my wife. Apparently, I had let out a laugh that disturbed her sleep. As almost all wives would do, she made me narrate the entire reason for my laughter.
 
Being married for quite sometime I knew it’s better to narrate the entire story. Even after I had finished, she kept staring at me for sometime.
 
Before returning to sleep, she ensured my joy was short-lived: “Even if it’s possible, we’ll go to the polling booth, stand in the queue and cast our votes. I don’t want rowdies visiting my home to force us to vote for their candidate.”
 
Fair enough, I thought. I am supposed to vote on my freewill.