How to make social impact through voting

Most of us reading this are going to vote. Each of us has the power to make social impact.

Starting with acknowledging that I have borrowed some of the information from the Citizen Matters article. While I am not going to rephrase the article here. Do read its quite insightful.

Well the great game show is unfolding in front of us. Our status updates will be about trading news ( real and fake), propaganda about major parties involved. While it’s great to see the involvement of everyone in this 5 yr event. In case you are not from India, you can follow another 4-year event. The cricket world cup is soon to follow the elections. Needless to say both will evoke emotions for and against ( i too have been guilty debating in my mind who will make it to India’ squad ..sorry cutting short this daydreaming)

Do you think your MP or party in power is responsible to fix your roads? 

Do you think garbage will be cleaned because of your MP?

Will your MP help increase employment? 

Answers to first 2 are the responsibility of your Municipal corporation/gram panchayat.

Answer to 3rd well, we don’t really know. As it is a multi-variable equation where I can say one thing for sure.MP rarely controls constants or variables?

So what is really MP’s role? 

Now throwback to civics lesson in school, MP’s form part of parliament which makes laws which affect all of us ( barring the area which fall into the gamut of state assemblies). The budget is passed in it which determines the expenditure and revenues of the govt. Parliament is also a place to debate all the important issues of the country. It also allows MP to raise issues which may be relevant to this constituency ( could failed crops, extremism, disasters etc)

This is, of course, nothing to do with the party she belongs. 

So the question at the end of it may not be which party the MP belongs? it may be the fact can she do all of the above ( and not really fix our roads, however, some multi-tasking folks may do both ). Election is also a brilliant opportunity for all of us to engage with our local governing body and even MPs and MLAs.

Its helps be co-creators in the social impact in the world around us.

They may well be waiting for citizens to ask the right questions.