#VoteMaadi: You are responsible for what happens for 5 years if you don’t vote

"Next month is the first time that I will be voting in Bengaluru. Before this, I have always travelled to my ooru, Shivamogga, to vote. This year, since my entire family is here, and since I have a young son, I have registered here. So, I am looking forward to my maiden voting experience in Bengaluru. I have never wasted an opportunity to exercise my franchise, because it is my right. People may give one bad reason to not

vote

(such as not being interested in politics), but because of that one bad reason, whatever happens in the next five years is on you. When you vote, you have the power to question your leader. For e.g., can you complain about your neighbour’s bad internet connection? No, you can only question why yours is bad. It works the same way with

elections

. If you think that none of the candidates in your constituency are worthy, pick the best from the worst. Or choose NOTA. But ensure that you vote. In Bengaluru, people see voting day as a holiday. They don’t want to inconvenience themselves by going to the polling station and standing in a queue. In rural areas, people walk several kilometres only to cast their vote, and here, we are provided with all the facilities and booths are easily accessible, yet we don’t vote. This has to change."