Dr Aldina Braganza e Gomes is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and associate professor, HOD, Dept of Psychology Carmel College
India received her independence from the British rule on the midnight of August 15th 1947. Three years later on January 26th 1950, the constitution of India was finally adopted, giving India the status of a sovereign, secular and democratic republic.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar drafted the constitution. It took him two years and eleven months, following several amendments. It was officially accepted on November 26th 1949 and came into force on the Republic day. Care was taken by our leaders to take the best aspects from the constitutions of other countries. The concepts of liberty, equality and fraternity came from the French constitution and the five year plans came from the USSR constitution. On January 26th 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad took the oath as the first president of independent India.
The constitution gave the citizens of this country the power of democracy. The power to choose their own government and paved the way for equality.
Many of us undermine this power and in a sense do not understand the significance of the constitution nor the meaning of democracy.
The Indian constitution is the longest in the world and has a total of 448 articles. It is written both in Hindi and English. It gives the privileges of a true sovereign, secularity and democracy to its citizens.
To protect our constitution it is thus important that we exercise our vote this coming elections.
I am neither a political science scholar nor an analyst of politics but common sense warns me that the elections around the corner, on February 4, 2017, is not such a simple affair. The common men’s language tells me it’s different this time round. The number of candidate per constituency is not normal to begin with.
There are altogether 240 odd candidates battling for your vote this time. In a small state such as ours with 40 constituencies, it is not surprising that every person will have to choose from over 05 and in some cases up to even 11 candidates. There are many who have filed as independent, others have affiliated with various political parties.
This is interesting because with such a varied choice whom does one vote for. Many factors tend to influence voting behavior. Political manifestos, personal values, education level, religion, economic status are among the few factors that can swing our votes to a particular candidate. We may want to believe that our choice is conscious, but the truth is that there are unconscious motives that lead us to finally decide our vote. Our emotions, prejudices and importantly our thought process.
Five years ago, people voted mainly for change. The larger picture was to end corruption. The word on the streets this year is that corruption is not our only problem, protecting our democracy is. The need for an inclusive governance that allows the development of every shareholder, citizen of this country without taking their creed, caste and economic status for granted.
Voting behavior is influenced by many factors ranging from caste, creed, intelligence, and even physical attractiveness of the candidate. But there are some common themes in elections that often influence our vote the most.
According to Jon Krosnick, a political science professor at Stanford University, political ideologies are strongly linked to our values, and we use politics as a means of sharing those values with others. Thus most voting decisions are unconscious.
The negative bias phenomenon is a common error people make while deciding whom to vote for. The vote here is influenced by wanting to keep the opponent candidate or the ‘Bad person’ out without keeping in mind how one’s vote would influence the final counting and election results. The voter simply votes a candidate only because they do not want a particular party or candidate to win. so for example, in constituencies where there are 11 candidates from whom to choose, deciding who is the bad one and how to ensure that the bad one remains out of the winning game is what is going to be difficult for every Goan voter this time round.
On the other hand, spreading rumours about others, especially the minorities in the community and creating fear is a popular strategy appeal by the campaigning candidates. Here the voter is simply influenced by a fear to protect one’s own safety and identity. Such a technique is often dangerous and the electorate requires that one chooses wisely, carefully challenging through the lies and deceits. Portraying minorities in a bad light just before the elections is a popular strategy that can be dangerous since the true manifesto is never understood.
Many people may vote only because they believe that their vote is going to count. This voting strategy is closely tied to one’s self-concept. However given the number of choices in every constituency it is important to understand that votes might get split and the voter might actually be making it easier for their opposing party to win rather than lose by splitting the voter’s profile.
Everybody must exercise their voting rights. However it is also important to vote strategically. Blindly following one’s own instinct or values without taking the larger picture into account might actually help the party you want to ensure to lose, to win.
