Stop. Polls are on

In this multi-phase election schedule, the holidays too have been staggered. As elections have come 8212; in five instalments 8212; to different parts of the country, the designated constituencies have gone on the blink. It is easy to appreciate why schools and certain official establishments are closed on polling day, since their premises and personnel are needed to set up and man the polling booths. But the current practice of declaring a full-fledged holiday, of shutting businesses private and public by diktat, must be urgently reconsidered. The loss in productivity and output on account of an enforced election day holiday is easy to establish. These losses have been compounded further by the fact that the shutdowns have come to different regions on different days. In these times of nationally and globally interlinked economies, each interruption at assorted workplaces is bound to have had a considerable domino effect. Certainly, every citizen must be legally entitled to time off to vote 8212; but are not a couple of hours enough? Must the entire constituency come to a standstill?

The conduct of elections is always an evolving process. In changing times, for differing contingencies, diverse arrangements are called for. There was a time when all of India cast its ballot on the same day. Model codes of conduct were in force for relatively short spans of time. Apprehensions about violence and electoral malpractices have necessitated elastic polling schedules so that security personnel can be redeployed. It is time, however, to consider the repercussions of these lengthy timetables. Incumbent governments8217; disinclination to take tough measures in campaign season, combined by an ever stricter Election Commission embargo on key policy decisions, have combined to put governance in suspended animation for far too long. In election after election Indian voters have announced that they are too smart to be swayed by populist measures. Let us find ways of allowing them the dignity of interrogating the government8217;s ability to discharge its responsibilities through the campaign. Let us also examine ways of conducting elections as freely and fairly as possible in the shortest time possible.

Elections are a time when a country interrogates itself. Away from the arclights focused on personalities, issues are debated, visions contested. Different Indias interact and agendas are negotiated. It is an energising experience. To close it on election day by bringing everything to a stop is deleterious for the country, unfair for the process.