My Polling Experience of Rajasthan Assembly Elections

Today, November 25, 2023, as Rajasthan heads to the polls to elect its government, marks a significant day—a day that will shape the state's future. This is my second time voting, an experience I find both wonderful and wild. It's wonderful because it empowers me to choose from a range of candidates who will make policy decisions and govern our societal affairs. Yet, it's wild due to the different doubts in my mind about the accountability of the candidate I select. As I stood in line to vote, I couldn't help but wonder: what if they fail to be accountable and answerable? What if my vote turns out to be futile?

An interesting event also unfolded today, which I want to share. My father is a booth-level volunteer (karyakarta) for the BJP. It's important to clarify that this is his personal preference and does not necessarily reflect my support for the BJP. I mention this in the interest of transparency and accurate storytelling.

Early this morning, around 5 or 5:30 AM, while I was still asleep, my father came into my room searching for something—I can't quite recall what. He is the booth in charge of the BJP in Ward No 64, Sardarpura Constituency, and was getting ready for his duties at the booth. Upon seeing him struggling in the dark, I sleepily suggested that he could turn on the lights. He replied in Hindi, 'Lights nahi hain, raat 2 baje se ja rakhi hain,' translating to 'There are no lights; they have been off since 2 AM.' After he said this, he found his item and left. This incident woke me up, and I began pondering over the implications of the power outage on election day. Could this inconvenience negatively impact the ruling Congress Party and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot? Or was it possibly a strategic move by the BJP to stir up voter dissatisfaction? Such thoughts occupied my mind.

Later, at around 6:30 AM, I got ready for the day with these thoughts weighing on me. After freshening up, I called my father around 7:20 or 7:30 AM to inquire if it was a good time for me to vote if it was not busy. He confirmed it wasn't busy and also asked me to bring an alphabetical voter list provided by the BJP. I took my Aadhar Card, voter slip, and the list he asked for. I headed to the polling station, just 200 to 300 meters from my home, in a society community hall known as Samudayak Bhawan. Upon arrival, I met and greeted Gappu Bhaiya, a nearby resident, and inquired about my father's location. He pointed me towards the election booth (table) for candidates and requested my help moving a set of chairs there, which was about 200 meters from the polling station. This candidate election booth serves as a spot where party volunteers assist voters. After delivering the chairs and handing over the voter list to my father, I proceeded to cast my vote. While waiting in line, my mind was again filled with thoughts about the candidate's accountability, answerability, and accessibility. Standing behind me was Pukhraj Uncle, our neighbor with whom we share a good relationship. After voting—a satisfying experience—I waited for Pukhraj Uncle and then took him to the candidate's table because he wanted to meet my father. There, we engaged in conversation with my father and other attendees.

During this conversation, Gappu Bhaiya disclosed the real reason for the power outage. He explained that around 2 or 2:30 AM, a dumper truck filled with sand, coming from the Bhadwasiya School side road, tried to avoid a temporary police checkpoint near Indian Bank. In his haste, the driver lifted his dumper to dispose of the sand, driving rashly, and ended up hitting an electricity pole. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the incident led to the power cut. This event is particularly significant in Rajasthan, where the trade of sand (bajri) is restricted due to government regulations.

Reflecting on the political landscape, I can't help but notice the cyclical power exchange between the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the past two decades. Only Ashok Gehlot for Congress and Vasundhara Raje for the BJP have become Chief Ministers in this pattern. Having developed an interest in politics, I've been closely observing the state's political dynamics. In my opinion, Ashok Gehlot ji's government has shown incompetence and impotency in dealing with crimes and criminals. The roads of Rajasthan are unsafe, and the rule of law seems to be lacking. Although Gehlot ji holds considerable influence in Jodhpur and garners support, his appeasement politics is quite noticeable and disgraceful to me. While I respect him for his age and political experience, I believe he is not a visionary leader. His own constituency, Sardarpura, which is also mine, still struggles with basic amenities like proper and safe roads and consistent electricity supply and faces issues with corrupt government offices like the Municipal Corporation and Jodhpur Development Authority. His decisions and policies focus more on retaining power than visionary governance. My views of him are not biased by my father's affiliation with the BJP but based on my observations and understanding.

Under Ashok Gehlot's leadership, the issue with 'bajri mafias' in Rajasthan has become quite serious. These groups have been breaking the law and getting away with it, even allegedly killing many police officers. But the government hasn't been able to do much about it. Also, women's safety in the state is really bad, probably the worst in the whole country. The Chief Minister himself said something really wrong, suggesting that most rape cases reported by women are false. How can a Chief Minister say something like this? Instead of trying to fix things and admitting his government's failures, he's blaming the women of the state. That's really shameful. On top of that, the Urban and Development Minister said in the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha that 'Rajasthan is a state for men.' and incidents of rape are common and can happen. Despite this, the Congress party still let him run for office. There are so many problems that we can't just ignore, but I'll stop here.

I wanted to write this to record what happened today and to show what it's like in Rajasthan under the Congress party. I also don't think Vasundhara Raje ji from the BJP is a visionary leader. Rajasthan needs big changes to become the best state in India. We need to completely change how the government works and build it up again. We need new ideas and a willingness to take risks. We need a clear plan and goal. I dream of seeing Rajasthan become a $1 Trillion Economy by 2033, in the next ten years. And I want to contribute to this goal. This isn't just about politics for me; it's my personal hope to see my state grow and do well.