Vote with conviction, courage. Really?

“The political class always plays to the gallery. They get their votes from the poor, but the services are delivered to the rich.”
I finished reading this sentence this morning in a Times of India article stating the difference of approach of authorities towards the death of two school children. One a rich girl and the other a poor one. While television cameras had their OB vans for even the parents meeting in the Modern school for Akriti’s death, the poor girl Shanno was forgotten altogether by everyone including the media. Since I read this article, I must say, with the exception of a few sections of media.
But who are these poor who cast their votes? Why do they vote for candidates with such a poor record? No answers. More than 80 per cent of India’s stamp on ballot paper (or machine) comes from the poorest of the poor. The middle class, upper middle class and the elite class doesn’t vote. If they vote, their votes do not make any difference to a majority of the parties.
Though this is the fact of life, most of the amenities are made for those who have never seen a polling booth. Take the case of caste equations. While most of the reservations for Scheduled Caste in government jobs are enjoyed by the Upper Middle Class among the Dalits, the poor and the underprivileged are the people politicians vie for during election campaigns.
Do we have people with the courage and conviction to stop this reservation for those whose two to three generations have already reaping in the dividends of reservations and pass it on to those who could never come up in the social ladder? Not even Mayawati, the self styled Messiah of Dalits have the guts to do this.
So can these under-privileged Dalits raise a voice and take the steam out of the candidates? Yes, they can. But what is the alternative for them? India’s political system is built in such a way that any such move will be suicidal for any party.
Getting votes is a game completely different than any of us can even think of. In every election many forward looking and clean candidates come forward to stand as independents. Most of these lots are highly educated and doesn’t believe in any party ideology and hence they stand as independents. But they end up losing even their deposits. The Indian voters don’t have the maturity or will to vote for such candidates. They just sulk into the party politics bringing in another set of jokers.
So even if one has to choose with a difference with all the courage and conviction, we really don’t have a choice. Mind you, India is world’s largest democracy with very little choice.