#VoteMaadi: Who you vote for isn’t important, what you vote for is

"I grew up in a household that always emphasised on the fact that it’s the little things that matter — you do little, and over time, big things happen. That’s exactly how I felt when I voted for the very first time, which, to me, was a very special day. When I voted, I felt like I was making a small contribution to a very big cause.
"When voting, it’s important to realise that you don’t have to vote for monumental leaders or charismatic personalities.What really matters is who is good in your own constituency, irrespective of their name, age, appearance, religion, caste or creed. If there are leaders who are actually doing good work in your ward, and you like the way they are doing it, then go and vote for them, without considering which party or religion they belong to. It’s very easy to mistake big leaders with good leaders. Also, in today’s times, leaders rely on ‘recall value’ — when you enter a booth without a decision, you favour the candidate who’s face you saw multiple times on hoardings for the past one month. What we don’t realise is that there are many other candidates as well who might be a lot more deserving. In such cases, it’s important that we take the time to read the manifestos put up by the candidates and inform ourselves. We do so much of research before buying a car or mobile phone, but when it comes to choosing leaders, whose decisions will directly affect us, we don’t even care.
"In a city like Bengaluru, where a lot of folks who live here are from outside the state, the turnout is going to be low. Often, it’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that there aren’t sufficient options to cast their votes. But Bengalureans who still don’t vote — that’s a very lackadaisical attitude. These are the same people who will take to social media to complain about the government. This needs to change. Whether the candidate is Hindu, Muslim, Christian or even an alien, if they’re good leaders, vote for them. It really doesn’t matter who you’re voting for; what matters is what you’re voting for. Vote for progress, safety, equality, etc. Each one of us have the power to shape the way Bengaluru moves forward from here, so let’s make the most of that."