Jaagore......
India goes to the polls again this month. As usual, I was caught up in the usual myth that I will not be able to vote this time around as well, thanks to the fact that I stay in Bengaluru, which happens to be 1000 kms away from my home constituency of Mumbai (North). However, a few weeks back, this popular myth took a firm beating as I indulged in a conversation on politics, with a few of my colleagues from Tamil Nadu.
They spoke about how votes in TN sold for a few 100 bucks and some biryani. They talked about the level of corruption in the state and openly told me who the winner would be this time around. They laughed at the fact that in TN, every strong politician has his own cable TV channel which is used as a propaganda network against the opposition party.
Yet, each one of them was very keen in casting their vote, as a matter of self-conscience more than anything else. Almost all of them had planned a visit to their home towns on election day. At this point, I expressed my grief and exclaimed that travelling a 1000 kms to Mumbai for just one day wasn't really feasible. On hearing this, they suggested that I should cast my vote here....
Me: "I can do that??"
K: "Dude.....havn't you been to that jaagore.com. You should go and register. All you need is the proof that you have been staying here for over 6 months and you can register to vote!!"
Me: "Wow...I didn't know that!!"
K: "Ofcourse dude, and you shouldn't have any problems. You have your bike and rental agreement....go and register. The lats date is approaching fast."
Yes, www.jaagore.com , the website that was giving away information that the Indian public was looking for. "Jaagore" literally means 'Wake Up'....and this website was designed precisely for that!! It was targeted at each and every Indian Citizen to 'Wake Up' and exercise his and her primary birthright - VOTE!!
This ad and a few other local ads in kanadda with the slogan - "Aye.....vote madd re.....or shutup for 5 years!!!" and "VOTE ya VAAT!!" had been on for a few months now and I knew I wanted to visit the site and check out what they had to offer to me. However, the lazy bum that I am.....I had cleverly managed to avoid it for months, before I became a part of the conversation described above.
So, after speaking to K, I sat down and paid a visit to the website and gathered all the information I needed. What K told me was true. I had to fill in a 4 page form and submit it to the ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) in my area, along with some proof that I had been staying here for over six months. Once I had done that, I had to send an sms to a number mentioned on the site with my form number and they would follow up with the concerned ERO to ensure that my name appears in the voters' list.
Easy, wasn't it......so I decided to wait untill the week after to complete my registration. One thing I conveniently forget to note down was the last date of registration for Bengaluru!!!
My work kept me busy for the next two weeks and finally on 29th of March, I sat down, took a printout of the form filled it and was all set to submit the form Monday morning to the ERO. Thats when a little information ticker on the upper right end of the website caught my eye. It was displaying the last dates for registration in various constituencies throughout the country. I scrolled to the constituency of concern to read the following -
Trust me when I say this......I was totally distraught!!!
I was fully determined to be a good citizen thsi time around and vote, but I had missed my chance by a single day!!!
"How could I have missed this vital info the other day???......that was so f*&#ing stupid of me!!!!"
"Damn!!!"
I literally tore the form, tossed it in the dust-bin and just sat there on my chair, resenting the series of events that had just occured......maybe I could have blamed my hectic work schedule, but the truth remains that there is only one person to blame for this fiasco - ME!!
Yes, I hadn't voted during the last elections or the ones before, but my missing out at a chance to vote this time too had really saddenned me. Some may argue that voting might not really help - most of the politicians are criminals, to add to that we see clips on the news channel of politicans giving out money to voters. Looking at all this, one may easily feel "My vote will not really count!!"
But if each and everyone one of us thinks like that, it accounts for a million votes which could easily turn the tables in favour of truth!!
I missed my chance.....hope you guys don't.
They spoke about how votes in TN sold for a few 100 bucks and some biryani. They talked about the level of corruption in the state and openly told me who the winner would be this time around. They laughed at the fact that in TN, every strong politician has his own cable TV channel which is used as a propaganda network against the opposition party.
Yet, each one of them was very keen in casting their vote, as a matter of self-conscience more than anything else. Almost all of them had planned a visit to their home towns on election day. At this point, I expressed my grief and exclaimed that travelling a 1000 kms to Mumbai for just one day wasn't really feasible. On hearing this, they suggested that I should cast my vote here....
Me: "I can do that??"
K: "Dude.....havn't you been to that jaagore.com. You should go and register. All you need is the proof that you have been staying here for over 6 months and you can register to vote!!"
Me: "Wow...I didn't know that!!"
K: "Ofcourse dude, and you shouldn't have any problems. You have your bike and rental agreement....go and register. The lats date is approaching fast."
Yes, www.jaagore.com , the website that was giving away information that the Indian public was looking for. "Jaagore" literally means 'Wake Up'....and this website was designed precisely for that!! It was targeted at each and every Indian Citizen to 'Wake Up' and exercise his and her primary birthright - VOTE!!
This ad and a few other local ads in kanadda with the slogan - "Aye.....vote madd re.....or shutup for 5 years!!!" and "VOTE ya VAAT!!" had been on for a few months now and I knew I wanted to visit the site and check out what they had to offer to me. However, the lazy bum that I am.....I had cleverly managed to avoid it for months, before I became a part of the conversation described above.
So, after speaking to K, I sat down and paid a visit to the website and gathered all the information I needed. What K told me was true. I had to fill in a 4 page form and submit it to the ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) in my area, along with some proof that I had been staying here for over six months. Once I had done that, I had to send an sms to a number mentioned on the site with my form number and they would follow up with the concerned ERO to ensure that my name appears in the voters' list.
Easy, wasn't it......so I decided to wait untill the week after to complete my registration. One thing I conveniently forget to note down was the last date of registration for Bengaluru!!!
My work kept me busy for the next two weeks and finally on 29th of March, I sat down, took a printout of the form filled it and was all set to submit the form Monday morning to the ERO. Thats when a little information ticker on the upper right end of the website caught my eye. It was displaying the last dates for registration in various constituencies throughout the country. I scrolled to the constituency of concern to read the following -
"Bengaluru - Last date is 28th March"
Trust me when I say this......I was totally distraught!!!
I was fully determined to be a good citizen thsi time around and vote, but I had missed my chance by a single day!!!
"How could I have missed this vital info the other day???......that was so f*&#ing stupid of me!!!!"
"Damn!!!"
I literally tore the form, tossed it in the dust-bin and just sat there on my chair, resenting the series of events that had just occured......maybe I could have blamed my hectic work schedule, but the truth remains that there is only one person to blame for this fiasco - ME!!
Yes, I hadn't voted during the last elections or the ones before, but my missing out at a chance to vote this time too had really saddenned me. Some may argue that voting might not really help - most of the politicians are criminals, to add to that we see clips on the news channel of politicans giving out money to voters. Looking at all this, one may easily feel "My vote will not really count!!"
But if each and everyone one of us thinks like that, it accounts for a million votes which could easily turn the tables in favour of truth!!
I missed my chance.....hope you guys don't.
Comments
I even filled out the form and kept it ready with the date marked out in my calendar, but alas, I could not submit it due to unforeseen reasons.
And I too have been kicking myself for missing this. Damn !!