Bargarh: Elections are dubbed as the festival of democracy and in a country like India people gladly turn up in huge numbers to be a part of this grand event. However, whenever election takes place multiple times in the same constituency, the constituents are not entertained.
Repeated elections are certainly a burden on the State exchequer apart from other inconveniences which the administration and people face in terms of logistics and schedules. In Odisha, Bijepur will be seeing assembly elections for the third time in the last 14 months. People in this assembly segment have expressed mixed opinions on this occurrence.
“Development is the first casualty in frequent elections. From the time the election is announced, development takes a back seat as political parties are on campaign mode. Besides, the administrative machinery is also pressed into election work,” a Bijepur native said.
Democracy is fine, but does it demand frequent elections, said some of them in Bijepur. “The election season is not a peaceful one. The animosity among parties, individuals and groups are on an all-time high. Law and order is a big problem both for the common man and police,” they said.
On the other hand, some people in Bijepur believe that frequent elections have given a distinct identity to their place. “Big leaders come here; big promises are made during every election campaign. Even if half of those promises are fulfilled, our place will witness a major transformation,” an elderly woman from a remote village of the constituency said.
Democracy means having a government of the people. People have the right to choose the government through elections. And once a government is elected, people expect good governance to promote their welfare. In a multifarious democracy like India, it is difficult to contain elections and have them on schedule.
“Varied reasons and situations compel for unscheduled elections and we the people have to calibrate with this system,” said another resident.