Tomorrow (10.5.2004), I am going to exercise my most cherished right as a citizen of this great democracy. However, I find myself in a dilemma almost similar to the one that Arjuna had in Mahabharat. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have Lord Krishna around to show me the way. Here’s my dilemma:

I do not want vote for Congress because:

• The handout given by the local party candidate has two photographs in two corners at the very top- Sonia on the left and Late Rajiv at the right. I do not think of them as the real face of Congress. Why can’t the party keep Nehru and Indira Gandhi as its icons, if it is allergic of Lal Bahadur Shastri or Narsingha Rao?.
• The party is dynastic to the core. It has proven so more by bringing Rahul, the fourth generation in the fray without any apprenticeship.
• It backs Laloo Jadav- the greatest joker among politicians across the nation, if not the globe. He has played caste-based politics to the core, especially at the cost of Bihar’s backwardness.
• It will be backed by CPM that will put a strong brake to all reform programmes to accelerate the growth of Indian economy.

I do not like BJP because:

• Sometimes, it uses Togadia and Dalmia to garner votes of a community.
• The old guards are not preparing younger and effective leaders such as Jaswant Sinha, Arun Jaitley, Arun Shourie, or Pramod Mahajan for the top position.
• The government could not complete the promised sections of Golden Quadrilateral Project.
• The government could not come out with a clear time bound programme to get over the power shortage in the country.

I can not vote for BSP because:

• I doubt the capability of its leader after Taj corridor case.
• It talks more about Manubadi philosophy rather the development of under-privileged class of the society.
• It is wasting money in promoting their leader for selfish purposes.

I can not put my vote for SP as well because:

• This party is equally dynastic with the son in hurry to take the charge.
• It talks too much about its secular beliefs without doing any concrete work to improve the quality of life of the minority.
• It has brought in film actors and actresses from outside the states to represent the local people like some other national parties.

i think that this dilemma is affecting not just me but perhaps every voter. Our decision is almost always without any reason. In the end it ends up being selecting the party that you think is the lesser of the evils.