On the 16th August 2023 I turned 18.

Around the same time I got accepted to College and I

was moving to Delhi, and yet the realisation of me being an adult did not kick in. It is now
that I truly feel recognised as an adult, it is now that I am expected to deduce what is best
for me and my country and to exercise that choice – It is now, that I have the chance to be
able to vote. However tragic it might be that I have my semester exams and I can't really go
back to Lucknow to cast my vote, it still is a monumental landmark for me – as much as it is
expected to be so for India.

Assuming that it was possible for me to cast my vote in this General Election, I’m very sure
that I would have chosen None of The Above. Now a lot of people would say, “That’s such a
waste of a golden opportunity.” But I disagree. Just like anyone who has voted for a
particular political party, I too have come to this decision after a lot of thought. I simply do
not see any party in the political scene to be worthy enough of looking after the absolute
gem that my country is to me. Those in power are abusing it. They are reigning in on India’s
diversities, not to embrace them, but to make people resent them – heightening
communal, linguistic and regional chauvinism and extremism. Appeasement politics is at
its peak. The Census, which survived two world wars, couldn’t survive the second term of
the NDA government. Income inequalities are widening and overexploitation and under
payment of workers can’t be overlooked. All of this, while somehow, the revenue
expenditure is still increasing!

The opposition talks of a caste census – those in Bihar who have experienced it, claim that
it has deepened casteism and dragged the state decades back to the past, not to mention
it is a gravely expensive task, in a notably impoverished economy. The Ruling alliance and
opposition keep bashing one another and the communities each of them allegedly
represent, while the common man’s issues are never truly resolved or even addressed.

The youth today wants better and more accessible public education mechanisms,
indigenous production of goods and services, development of secondary sector,
improvement in quality of healthcare facilities, adult literacy and skill development
programmes, efficient waste management, combating climate change, and a safe,
harmonious and progressive environment.

My vote for NOTA, and others who might choose the same, is an indicator for a desired
change in national, state and local politics – a desired to see this sorry state of affairs
overturned, a desired to see my representatives value and cherish this country, it’s people,
and above all, it’s constitution, as much as I do.

Jai Hind!