With media being a powerful tool, its potential was tapped to a great extent by the Election Commission to make its voice heard among the masses. It is the time of elections that media houses are abuzz with activity, presenting news on political parties, candidates and the role of voters in the electoral process. Even busier are mediapersons who have to gather and analyse every bit of information and present it to the people in an unbiased manner without inclination towards any political party or ideology.
Toiling all day to give the readers the ground reality of the situation before and during elections, most are a busy lot who have to forgo their votes due to the demands of the profession. Writing stories on the importance of voting, it is ironic that journalists are themselves unable to vote as they are busy on the beat.
Among those working in Dakshina Kannada, few have to skip their votes these elections as they are unable to visit the cities their names are listed under.
A journalist working in Mangalore, Aditya Gowda (name changed) says that he was not particular about casting his vote in any election as he had never come across any good candidate in the constituency he belonged to. “Being a journalist, I wanted to exercise my vote in the Assembly elections tomorrow. However, I cannot vote in my hometown this time as I do not have leave to visit there,” he said.
Another journalist working in Mangalore, Clinton (name changed) says that there was nothing one could do about the situation. “This time would be my second time after the 2008 Assembly polls. But, looking at the candidate list in my constituency, I do not feel bad about not being able to vote. Last time, I had voted for an independent candidate as the rest were bad,” he says, adding that in these elections as well, the options did not look good.
A journalist from Mangalore posted in another city Kumaran (name changed) opines that the entire electoral process was unfair. “In one way, we feel proud of being journalists and creating awareness about the importance of voting. But, I am unable to exercise my vote this time since I am unable to visit Mangalore on the day of elections. It is the duty of the Election Commission to ensure that maximum voters cast their votes. Rather than depending on the postal system, the potential of technology needs to be tapped to ensure maximum participation,” he said.
Comments
Add new comment