There's presently a lot of nataka in Karnataka. Long story short, BJP's short of full majority, Congress-JD(S) have joined together and cross the halfway mark, and there are 3 other independents who align one way or the other. The Governor, in his non-popular-by-some wisdom, has allowed the BJP to form government, with 15 days to pass a floor test. So, there's a swearing in of a Chief Minister with no government or cabinet, who practically doesn't have visible MLAs to get on his side except ones he can poach. All of this while we sit here in shock or amusement watching our beloved politicians take for this great rollercoaster ride.
With the hope of making things better, there are voices for and against the present situation with various arguments why it is right, wrong, ethical or immoral. But there's one voice that's the most hypocritical of all: yours (if you're registered on an electoral roll somewhere in Karnataka and you didn't vote unless it was completely unavoidable not to). If you did vote, or could but didn't for a reason that makes sense, all you will read now on directly addresses you (unless you're a part for the exception).
Most voting in India happens through one, loyalty (one party for life), two, driving away strategy (temporarily to keep away the more evil candidate) or, three, being experimentative (going for the party candidates based on their credit, not because they're evil, less evil or more evil, but just offer better hope and action). Wherever you are in that order, you're a more conscious, thinking voter, the lower you stand-one being the highest and three being the lowest.
The simpler way of looking at it is whether you voted for the candidate or the party. If you voted for the party, you're high, and if for the candidate, low, with the analysis the same. If you disagree, let me educate you on voting and its context. You are a citizen of a country and are given the opportunity of representation so that when matters of everything adding you are decided, your voice is heard and you are benefitted with a resultant happy life. This also includes actual action for the better, apart from voice.
Now, if you don't step in to attempt to decide who will have that voice, and responsiblity to act, someone else will and the one who does may not do a great job. This means all the great things you want to do may not ever happen because you have a shitty representative because you didn't attempt to ensure it. This is what also happens to all the good things you could do but never figured that it was possible.
This (independent) process culminates into what every other person like you thinks all over the state, or country, and a majority government is decided. That way more people get the government they want, with the hope that the government understands that it serves the whole nation. It is up to it to not to screw up at keeping the balance, and just keeping its supporters happy. They will get their vengeance the next time polls are due.
Of course the system isn't perfect. It's just basic. Being first-past-the-post, it asks that any candidate just polls enough to be highest. So the least credit you can have a representative is that only 50% of your constitutency want you to be their voice and action. That shouldn't be read as at least 50%. This leaves the other 50% luckless, instead of being democratically empowered.
One way candidates and parties can make up for this system is to be equally advantageous to all their constituents, instead of trumping their majority vote like 5 year olds who just won a race for the first time ever. That means parties and candidates have to have offer a balanced stance of what they stand for and will aim to achieve, without isolating any one of the groups of people the country has. They can also have something for everyone. The best approach is to keep it simple and consider everyone like human beings that needs all things everyone does, leaving religious, community and other biases aside.
Criticism and weaknesses apart, the idea is to build it ground up: individual votes, individual constitutency winner and, then, government. You make things worse when you subvert this and employ a backwards process i.e. when prospective government engineers itself to power by seeking the votes that should be given basis candidate through a blanket vote for the party. This makes the candidate just a means and his promises literally shit. That's why if you voted for a party, and not a candidate at the same time, you are to blame. If you stuck to voting for a candidate, and not the party, you are probably less to blame for the mess that Karnataka is in right now. You bought in to the conspiracy that your favourite party hatched to come to power. If you're willingly a part of it, you're equally culpable-while you exercise your fundamental rights. When you celebrate these victories, you have more to lose as your beloved party and MLA has started spinning their own agenda, as planned.
If you really want to fairly extract the best from the democratic process, make your party earn your vote, like really earn it. Push them to their limits. Get them to the edge of delivering for the right reasons. If their power becomes less then your power, vote different ways each election, intentionally. Use NOTA and shame candidates with a majority of NOTAs. Question them and their chamchas. Form alternative forums and movements. Just don't stoop lower than your respect. And do all this enmasse. They don't care about you, for most. By 'fan'ning them, you only dig the hole they're digging for you deeper.
Don't be an idiot.
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