Guide to Delhi Assembly Elections 2013

Yo Delhi! Elections are 3 days away and this weekend is a good time to decide who you will vote for on 4th December.

Now historically, most of us have voted based on the party we like (or the parties we don't - it's always a lack of choice), the CM candidate, family loyalties, the candidate who folded hands and asked for our votes et al. But this time around lets use a combination of everything - the manifesto, the qualifications, their track record as a MLA and their criminal record (if any).

The Manifesto

Now most of the manifestos look all the same - we will make Delhi a world class city. But I would still recommend reading them - you will know what promises are being made and that will provide a good base to judge performance in the next elections.

BJP : http://delhideservesbetter.com/bjp-manifesto.aspx
AAP : http://delhi.aamaadmiparty.org/ (The Promise of AAP)
Congress : https://www.facebook.com/sheiladikshit.official (This is the only electronic copy of the manifesto available, if you find anything else - please tell me!)


The Candidates

Be aware of the candidates in your constituency. At the end of day, these are the people that will hear your voice - the CM will be far away. Make sure it someone you can trust, someone you think is relatively reachable and someone you believe can uphold the promises being made. Additionally, a good way to judge the re-contesting candidate is to see if they have delivered anything in the last 5 years. Ask yourself - did they reach out to you? Did they make your area a better place than before? If not, don't vote for them. Look at the last link below and see the delta in the assets of re-contesting MLAs.

The affidavits contain a whole lot information - complete details of their assets, their investments, their insurance policies. Have a look!

Candidates contesting in your constituency : http://www.ceodelhi.gov.in/OnlineERMS/Form7A.aspx
Candidate assets/criminal record/their affidavits : http://myneta.info/delhi2013/
Re-contesting MLAs and how much money they made in 5 years : http://myneta.info/delhi2013/index.php?action=recontestAssetsComparison


Your Expectations

What should you expect from the candidates and this election? I think historically we have had very little expectation from our politicians and elections. I think it's time we changed that. Your expectations from a contesting politician should be the expectations that you have from a MLA. Your boss doesn't relax expectations from you just because you are lazy. If you are lazy, inefficient and incompetent you either get fired or don't move forward. And that is exactly what we should be expecting from our MLAs. If they don't perform - they need to go.


NOTA

And thankfully this time around we have NOTA. So if you don't like anyone, you don't have to vote for them. Vote "None of the above". It won't cancel the election or reject the candidates; but it will record your opinion of none of the above. And sometimes that goes a long way.


So come rain, fire,worsening health, aging, bad hair day, running late for work, traffic or whatever - be there and make sure you vote!

Godspeed.

Image : http://kaw.stb.s-msn.com/i/E2/B34F926DF8B7C47625E9D41D5C2B9.jpg