A Beep, Beep! Has The Message Been Delivered? mid allegations of extreme workload, special intensive revision of electoral rolls has turned deadly for some booth-level officers. Still, election officials claim that SIR’s second phase across 12 states and Union Territories is progressing smoothly. When the process started, it was assumed that the pressure would be on ordinary folks to prove their identity. But it seems that BLOs are more harried and stressed than the aam junta.
Since a section of politicians is pointing fingers at the poll body, in its defence it can bank on the famous line from the movie Anand, ‘zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath hai Jahanpanah, usay na toh aap badal sakte hain, na main...’ (Life and death are in the hands of God, Your Majesty; neither you nor I can change it…)
If this isn’t enough to get the point across, it can point to the ‘sky dining’ experience of tourists in Kerala’s Munnar. They remained stuck in the air as the crane hoisting them to a height of 120 feet developed a technical glitch. The tourists rappelled down to safety only after having their heart in their mouth for nearly two hours.
And if the message gets trapped in a loop, the election body can advise naysayers to first float in a hot air balloon in Delhi’s severely polluted air and then talk about pressure — the pressure of surviving the Capital’s pollution and the pressure of looking at and spotting beauty through the grey haze. Rest assured, ordinary users won’t seek air purifiers during the ride as hawabazi flies with unprecedented speed. The way Delhi LG has handled ‘double standard’ pressure on pollution can also be cited as an example.
If every tactic fails, the election commission can wait for the beep of electronic voting machines to convey the larger point.
Since a section of politicians is pointing fingers at the poll body, in its defence it can bank on the famous line from the movie Anand, ‘zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath hai Jahanpanah, usay na toh aap badal sakte hain, na main...’ (Life and death are in the hands of God, Your Majesty; neither you nor I can change it…)
If this isn’t enough to get the point across, it can point to the ‘sky dining’ experience of tourists in Kerala’s Munnar. They remained stuck in the air as the crane hoisting them to a height of 120 feet developed a technical glitch. The tourists rappelled down to safety only after having their heart in their mouth for nearly two hours.
And if the message gets trapped in a loop, the election body can advise naysayers to first float in a hot air balloon in Delhi’s severely polluted air and then talk about pressure — the pressure of surviving the Capital’s pollution and the pressure of looking at and spotting beauty through the grey haze. Rest assured, ordinary users won’t seek air purifiers during the ride as hawabazi flies with unprecedented speed. The way Delhi LG has handled ‘double standard’ pressure on pollution can also be cited as an example.
If every tactic fails, the election commission can wait for the beep of electronic voting machines to convey the larger point.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)