THERE IS common practice among political parities in the wake of general elections to make claims about their achievements while they were in office, and they expect the voters to bring them back to power based on those laurels they themselves attach to their respective hats. This is unfair and illogical. No administrative reform is a concession, and the rulers are bound to see that the nation’s economy is maintained vibrant enough to initiate reform measures in accordance with the needs of the times and places. But it is not fair to claim that these measures are stepping stones to their way back to power. Rather a government which is people-friendly and corruption-free is bound to come back to power again and again.

Unfortunately, the refrain we listen to at every political meeting sounds as if the public are given a kind of concession in the form of moderate prices, better medical and education facilities, roads and necessary supplies. Actually they are not. A ruling government has the moral responsibility to ensure that the people’s welfare is taken care of. But lately our administrators have taken their mandate into something personal and whatever they initiate for the public sounds as a concession. And the public too have come to a state of mind that whatever they get from their respective governments is but a concession. This attitude is dangerous and the voters need to think that the elected governments are responsible for maintaining harmony and progress, and if ever they find their rulers go away from this basic responsibility, they should raise their voice and invite the attention of the election commission and the judiciary.

This is very important in the sense that today almost all politicians have the feeling that they are more equal than the rest, and they are above law and mandate once they are in power or opposition. Furthermore it is necessary that the public are aware of their privileges and the politicians are conscious of their commitments. So whenever elections turn up, there may not be any need for the parties to highlight their merits and undermine their rivals and advantages. It is the people who decide on things and it is their will that makes or mars the fate of a party. And it is very well known that all good governments come back to power again, and all good politicians do not boast of their merits or achievements rather they would tell the public to use their sense to identify what is needed and what is not, who is good and who is not.

The above proposition does not sound simple because it is very difficult to make all the voters aware of the merits of a government, and at the same time it is too much to expect from an ordinary voter to have a decisive say on the fate of the nation. Here we need to bring in the service of the press. The press needs to be people-friendly and responsible as to make the public conscious of the developments and welfare measures a ruling government takes up, and the same need to be told in the language of the common man. So that in the long run, say in five years, all voters will have a clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of a ruling party or an ideology or their respective attitude towards the nation. This will in turn result in public opinion. It is public opinion that transforms into votes and majority and eventually mandate.

So, the onus lies on creating good public opinion on the basis of welfare and reform measures a party in power makes. This will ultimately lead to a new political culture which will be able to save a lot of time, effort and money that the political parities and ruling governments shell out during elections to convince the gullible public about their merits and achievements.If governments want to return to power again they need to understand that their public opinion is dependant more on their people-friendly measures than on anything else, and they need to pick up the rare art of bringing in progress to the nation and welfare to the people. Ruling is the art of bringing in progress, not the artful gimmicks that political parities embark on throughout their tenure, whether ruling or sitting in the opposition.