Friday, 17 September 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
At a time when all mainstream political parties are especially targeting young voters ahead of the Assembly elections to be held next year in Uttarakhand, various activities of the political parties continue to cause major public inconvenience contradicting the dialogues uttered by top leaders of all these parties from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. On Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party workers welcoming three of their leaders from Delhi caused traffic jams and considerable public inconvenience on major roads of Dehradun exacerbating the problems already being faced by the public due to factors including governmental inefficiency. Such shows of ‘strength’ are not limited to the BJP as the others including Congress, AAP and smaller political outfits also apparently make it a point to cause major public disruption to exhibit their ‘strength’. The Pioneer interacted with some young voters to know their opinions on this issue.
A college student, Filza Khan said that “We would like to vote for somebody who would prove to be productive for us. On the other hand, the traffic jams due to political processions are a major inconvenience for us.” She believes that such activities are useless and do not exert any positive impact. “Actions speak louder than words and only real productive actions can earn my vote,” she added.
Graduate student Pooja Negi said, “These traffic jams cause the youth and the general public to suffer.” She opined that the political parties easily carry out their entire rallies but the general public suffers in their daily activities and important works. She added, “The youth should take into account all these instances and ascertain the motives of all parties while casting their votes. If we are suffering because of the petty shows of these parties, how will they really help us?”
Another young voter Anusha said, “When such processions are underway, it feels like we are prioritising the political parties over the good of the people.” She believes that when people in power cause such inconvenience it doesn’t do much to sway the votes in their favor.
However, not everyone shares the same opinion. A politically inclined business student, Harshvardhan Sindhwal said, “Any political party needs rallies to show its presence.” He admits that while everyone, school or college students and working professionals, suffers from such jams, if political activities are not carried out then it would be tough for the parties to make their presence felt. He added, “Such processions can display the strength in numbers of the parties and make the public pay attention.”
