Voices that perhaps gets lost in the crowd. Lost in endless office slogging or house managing, or may be assignment punching. Lost in the day to day responsibilities that we perform…but never lost enough as to not be voiced…. We have views, which we think could really make a difference, somewhere, somehow. It's not as if we don’t want to be there and make a change.. It is just that socially, economically or may be situationally making a contribution, going there and being the change cannot happen. This is may be the biggest problem that we face, ideas aren’t short, getting the voice heard is.

A man today thinks twice before bringing an authority to question. The funda behind it is simple – ‘aaji, kyu fizul mein panga lete ho, yeh system aisa hi hain, chalne do'. (Oh Boy, why do you take haedache, this sytem is and will remain the way it is. Jut let it be) But may be winds of change are beginning to surface. As a famous poet said, “If winter is here, can spring be far behind?” A majority of people are ready to say out aloud, what they really want to voice. Halla Bol is in and the laid back attitude is out. So what exactly is the change that our people want to see in the electoral process? Says Salil Sangra, a marine engineer, “I think we should restrict the number of political parties that can contest an election. We have almost 20 to 25 parties contesting. How many ways can be there of running a country? Not even one party makes for an ideal mix, the money incurred on campaigning is so high and it all seems useless.” Wise words. India records one of the highest number of parties contesting. And it is not as if we are spoilt for choices. Each party is bad than the other, it’s like a competition between the good, the bad and the ugly.

A popular sentiment that is shared is the wonder on how goons easily become representatives and a part of the government. According to Section8 (3) of the RP Act, 1951, a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to an imprisonment of two years cannot contest elections, still persons with criminal charges, even the convicted criminals become part of government.

Says Pratik, an aspiring chartered accountant who is originally from Bihar, “I strongly feel there is a need for keeping a minimum qualification for contesting the elections. If the person representing a region is ill-qualified, what development can he be expected to bring about?” It is only fair to expect the most important job holder of a country to have a minimum graduation qualification.

Another important concern is contesting elections from multiple constituencies. There has been a long history of candidates contesting elections from more than one constituency in Indian politics for reasons of safety, prestige and pure powerplay. So what happens if a contestant wins from two seats? It is plain and clear – ‘by- elections’ The hard earned money from the tax payers pocket goes into a foresight-less, nonsensical exercise, which demands that the whole process of elections be repeated in such constituencies. And therefore within six months fresh elections are contested, venting a huge hole in the Indian treasury. History is replete with cases of multiple constituency contestants – Indira Gandhi, Nehru, Laloo Prasad Yadav… all have contested from more than one constituency.

People also find it weird that every government office in India has an age limit, save the politicians. So right from the Chief Justice of India to an IRS officer, everyone has to adhere to a certain age limit. But sadly, the most important profession in our country doesn’t have an age limit. Says Raunak Gupta, a student from Nagpur, “Age limits for contesting elections, only makes sense. Governing is an all-important task and fresh ideas need to be given a platform.”

Views and comments from people can be ripe and inexperienced at times. But a thinking population is absolutely essential. If the citizens of a nation stop evaluating and become complacent, nothing can be achieved. It's indeed incredible to know that even a rickshaw puller in our nation has ideas that are so simple but workable, every galli, nukkar and mohalla is replete with ideas and suggestions, what is needed is to just catch the nerve and see the change.