You may say, I’m a dreamer... but I’m not the only one

NEW DELHI: Imagine an India where political parties give tickets according to a candidate���s ability to deliver. Where representatives charge-sheeted in a crime are not allowed to be sworn in. And where voters reject parties that put up criminals as candidates.

Flights of fantasy? Clearly not, feel the various citizens��� movements that have recently sprung up, determined to reform our vote bank-focused elections. These groups, largely from the urban middle-class seem bent on change. And if not a hundred, at least quite a few campaigns seem to be ���blooming.���

Take Smartvote, for instance. This Bangalore-based movement is trying to get voters make an ���informed choice��� in the elections. Their credo: Better representatives, better governance. And to help people in this, their website, www.smartvote.in, will provide details about candidates contesting from Bangalore. ���Often, we don���t know much about the candidates though there may be a lot of information out there. Smartvote will collate this and put it online, giving voters a source of unbiased information,��� says Amar Krishnamoorthy, a member of Smartvote.

In Mumbai, environmental engineer Vivek Gilan is working towards a similar goal with mumbaivotes.com but with a unique twist. Apart from profiles of current MPs, candidates, MLAs and councillors from Mumbai, mumbaivotes also grades representatives with ���flags���. If a representative has been charged with murder, he would have five red flags under criminal charges.

Leading the fight to purge our political system of criminals is ���No criminals in politics.��� The group is using the Public Interest Foundation, chaired by former RBI governor Bimal Jalan, as a vehicle. The group has adopted a three-pronged approach, explains Dr Jalan. ���We will appeal to major political parties not to give tickets to people with criminal backgrounds. We will also increase voters��� awareness. At a later stage, we���d like to see legislative amendments, whereby candidates who have criminal cases pending against them cannot be sworn in,��� he said.

Individuals also seem to be doing their bit in the drive to purge the system of criminals. Like Krishnaraj Rao, a Mumbai-based RTI activist. He has created a remix of Jai Ho and Nana Patekar���s Ek Macchar, which can be downloaded, and in which he appeals to citizens not to vote for candidates with criminal backgrounds. ���Parties should not give such individuals tickets and if they do, the voters should punish them soundly at the hustings,��� said Mr Rao.

The Mumbai attack seems to have been a trigger for at least a few such movements. Smartvote, for instance, was born out of a discussion among a group of friends, eager to do something in the wake of the terrorist attacks. ���Before 26/11, the upper and middle classes seemed to have been living in a cocoon but the attacks changed this,��� says Smartvote���s Krishnamoorthy.

���No criminals in politics��� also has its origin in the urge among a group of young professionals to change the system. Jasmine Shah, campaign convenor of ���Jaago Re One Billion Votes��� voter registration drive being also feels attitudes are changing, at least among the urban youth (18 to 30 years). ���There is a definite sense that they need to do something, instead of just sitting back,��� says Ms Shah.

But will this ���awakening��� last? ���Such movements have so far not been able to get the support of any major political party, because these groups are demanding delivery, something parties don���t seem to be interested in. It is easier for parties to play vote-bank politics and cater to the interests of one particular class. Unfortunately, without the support of a major party, these campaigns will not be able to gather sufficient momentum,��� says professor Dipankar Gupta of the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

However, the ���activists��� are gung ho. ���We started Smartvote because after the Mumbai attacks, we wanted to do something more besides just taking part in a candlelight march,��� said Smartvote���s Krishnamoorthy. Dr Jalan, too, was emphatic that ���no criminals in politics��� would be a long-term campaign, a sentiment shared by those in other movements too. How successful they are, only time will tell but we have at least made a beginning.