When democracy dwells at home

That families don’t always agree is a truism; families taking opposite standpoints on voting is a reality here in Ahmedabad. Several couples and families agree to disagree on their choice of party and candidate in the upcoming assembly elections.
Shridhar Rajgopalan, 33, an educationist from Education Initiative, has remained strongly anti-BJP for 15 years, while his spouse Aparna Shridhar, 32,who is an associate for cultural events at Darpana Academy has remained supportive of the Hindutva cause and the BJP.“I have lived outside Gujarat and acquired a different ideology because of multi-cultural influences. However, Aparna has lived in Gujarat and has developed an inclination to support Hindutva,� says Rajgopalan.
While the Rajgopalans have accepted their political commitments quite maturely, there are some for whom different political beliefs are reason enough for a rift. For Harshit Shah, 23, taking a stand different than his parents has led to his decision not to vote at all. “I am not going to vote this time because I don’t want to be guided by my family’s logic,� he says. Harshit’s parents Suresh Shah, 55, and Mita Shah, 52, support the secularist stance that Congress assumes. “My parents will vote for Congress,� Shah says, “however, I won’t vote at all because I don’t support pseudo-secularism nor share the fundamentalist ideology,� he adds. Unlike Shah, Natasha Singh, who may vote for the first time this year, has been vocal enough to express to her ‘pro-secularism’ parents Renuka Singh, 44, an English teacher and Lalitkumar Singh, 50, an art-historian, that she believes in the Hindutva ideology. Dhairya Shah, 24, too has taken a firm stand, different from his parents Bharat and Kalpana Shah. Dhairya believes in Hindutva and says, “I will vote to support the Hindutva cause, but my parents have decided to stay away from voting as they do not subscribe either to the Hindutva ideology nor do they support pseudo-secularism.� The political rift is quite visible between 25-year-old Shrenal Shah, a travel agent and his elder brother Sauhil Shah, 28, who is into consumer financing. Shrenal says, “I have remained supportive of Hindutva while Sauhil is a strong believer of secularism.However, on the issue of non-performance of the government, we have little to fight about.�
And there are some families who find that this election has led to sinking their political differences and voting uniformly. Says Krishnakant Vakharia, a 70-year-old senior advocate, whose son Mehul Vakharia, 31, has always taken a different political stand from his, “This would be the first time when we both may vote as a unit subscribing to a single party and ideology. My family is clear on who to vote for after witnessing recent incidents of Godhra and its aftermath,� says the older Vakharia.
ahmedabadtimes@indiatimes.com