Ability & winnability should be ticket to parliament

As the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, all probable candidates in each political party are trying their best to get tickets to contest poll from one constituency or the other. It hardly matters whether the constituency allotted to him/her is from his/her area or not. Like in Chandigarh, Manish Tiwari, Navjot Kaur Sidhu and many other candidates are eyeing a berth in parliament despite having no connection with the city. Only candidates, who have lived and worked for residents in a particular constituency, should be allowed to fight elections for the seat of that area. Moreover, candidates with minimum of graduation as election qualification should be allowed to enter the poll arena. Also, candidates with any criminal record, even of a minor nature and corrupt background, should be barred from contesting elections. How can criminals, corrupt and uneducated persons contribute to development of their respective constituencies? Only individuals with higher education and a clean political record should be encouraged to fight elections. All political parties should keep these considerations in mind before giving ticket to any candidate. 

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Hire psychologists to weigh the pros & cons

It’s good when there are many contenders for parliamentary elections. Only a capable and pushing candidate, who can bring a change in society for overall development, should be selected for the ticket. People are also tired of seasoned contenders, who have a bagful of controversies. Let the young and educated be given the ticket. It’s another story that our PM was a wrong choice, which weakened society financially to the core and corrupted it communally. Like in every field, hire psychologists here too to weigh the pros and cons so that a right candidate is selected to make the city a healthy and safe place to live.

Opinder Kaur Sekhon, Chandigarh 

Candidate’s connection with constituency matters

India is a democratic country and our constitution has no restrictions on the number of political parties contesting from a single constituency. We observe that many leaders from one political party are willing to contest from the same constituency, which is not possible under rules. The common man understands that during the next five years, there should be development in his constituency. A focused political party needs to assess its candidate on the facts whether the home town is his/her constituency, popularity among party workers and track record of social work in last five years not necessarily as a member of parliament. Nowadays, party votes are based on portfolio, which is on voter’s mind. Also the connection of the local candidate with his/her constituency matters. With rapidly growing literacy rate, voters have become sensitive to elections.

Anuj Sharma, Chandigarh 

Must have rapport with ministries, bureaucracy

Contenders with tall claims of their roots in Chandigarh and a deep understanding about problems of the city should not weigh much with the ticket allotting authorities of any political party. What really matters is the chance to win, which again depends on the candidate’s performance and noticeable achievements. City residents would appreciate pro-public results of a candidate’s efforts on the ground rather than tall promises. Parliamentary elections are indeed different from Municipal Corporation poll where only local issues and their understanding have a bearing on the mind of the electorate. Here, it is the capacity and capability of the candidate to have a rapport with Union Ministries in New Delhi and more so, with the UT bureaucracy and the Administration to give results. The MP must not only be capable, but also available in the city to listen and attend to the grievances of residents from time to time. All these conditions decide the candidate’s ability to win in the poll.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh   

Prove your worth, contribution to welfare 

In the last few years, the revenue of the government has increased from taxes paid by the general public. Income, property, perks and other benefits of politicians have also gone up manifold. It’s time for revolution in the Indian history. Let candidates ready to serve prove their worth and love for their country by contributing some percentage of their assets towards public welfare. They should refuse to accept the number of securities and benefits they enjoy as members of parliament, which add to public expenses. They should be honest, accountable to the public and serve their nation more than their families. Instead of criticism and debating the works of others, politicians should focus on key issues that need government attention. They should infuse unity, respect and energy in team to perform better. Delegation of responsibilities and vigilance on work done to rectify loopholes would definitely make a good leader in party.

Charu Malhotra, Mohali

Let people decide the prospective candidates 

As the multiplicity of poll contenders during the parliamentary elections is a regular phenomenon, it goes without saying that no political party should ever try to take voters for a ride by imposing its own choice on them in any hidden manner. Reasonably speaking, all prospective candidates should seek prior approval of at least 25 per cent voters through respective local welfare associations of the area to which they belong. Further, he/she should have no ‘criminal’ background at all. Besides, no outsider (non-resident) candidate and/or a raw hand be nominated by any political party for contesting the vital elections. 

SK Gupta, Panchkula

Public service record is the key

Individuals aspiring to become an elected parliamentary representative from Chandigarh should have an unblemished record of public service irrespective of the level, including RWA, CMC, legislature or parliament. He/she should be a local resident, accessible by everyone at all times. He/she should pledge to be active in Lok Sabha as also in the constituency and not be perpetually pre-occupied within boundaries of Lutyens’ Delhi. All political parties desire that their candidate should have a high winning quotient, but they ignore the fact that a criminal can also have a large following, which they tend to ignore. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are prime examples of having such elected representatives. The last five years have seen no major project coming up or announced or planned for the City Beautiful. All political parties need to ensure that their candidate work in tandem with the MC, release MPLAD funds without delay, ensure his/her presence in the city, and have an open door policy at all hours.

Rajiv Boolchand Jain, Zirakpur

Give a chance to diligent officials

Approaching parliamentary elections bring with them hordes of candidates to choose from. It is but natural that there should be a framework in place to select an ideal candidate. Parties should look for a candidate with a clean slate of crime. They should select a candidate with eloquence so as to convince Chandigarh residents of their ideals. One should look for disciplined and diligent officials in order to stand out in the coming elections.

Ananya Goel, Ambala City

Find out how popular a candidate is

Political parties should check educational qualifications and social background of a person before selecting him as a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. It will show how popular he/she is among residents of the city and the ward he lives in. His interest in politics can be judged from his speeches and action in the public life. Above all, a candidate should be impartial in his approach. 

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Field a person with clean record

A candidate should at least be a graduate. Being one of the most literate cities in India and otherwise also, an educated and updated candidate will definitely prove to be an asset to the city. The selected candidate should not have any criminal record. A candidate with a clean background is certainly a better choice over the tainted ones. He/she should be a resident of Chandigarh because such a person can understand the problems of the city better and contribute towards its development. 

Rajender Kumar Garg, Zirakpur

Follow one family, one candidate norm

It is true that as the parliamentary elections are approaching, there is a long list of contenders from different political parties. But political parties should rise above this and select a candidate, who will work wholeheartedly for the welfare of the public. Parties should select a candidate who is  clean. No candidate with criminal or other case should get a ticket. Only one candidate per family should be allowed to contest elections. One family one ticket norm should be followed. An honest and educated candidate should be given preference. No ticket should be allotted on the basis of religion or region. Social work done by a candidate should be evaluated. The party high command should follow a transparent criteria to select candidate. Pressure tactics should not be tolerated. 

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi, Chandigarh

Have goal & means to achieve it

During the selection of a candidate, a party should take into account his/her qualification and goals. A selected candidate should have the necessary means to achieve his/her objectives, wisdom, money, material and methods. Simply telling that he/she will work hard for the betterment of Chandigarh is not enough. A candidate must have past experience which certifies that he/she has worked for the good of the people. 

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra

Dedicated, selflessness can do wonders

All leading political parties while zeroing in on a candidate for the impending parliamentary elections should prefer dedicated, honest, selfless and preferably a local leader, who is considerably popular amongst the people of the ‘City Beautiful’. Dark horses should be avoided as they are least concerned with local affairs and hamper development of the city. A local candidate should be sensitive and sincere in solving basic issues, including modernisation of local transport, strengthening education and health infrastructure for providing quality services to the people. The prospective candidate should be energetic, dynamic and qualified to take up much needed ‘Smart City’ projects boldly with the Central Government. He/she should be assertive to ensure that projects running/commenced during his/her tenure are not delayed, stalled or remain incomplete for paucity of funds or other plausible reasons.

Bhupinder S Sealopal, Mohali    

Nominee should not be tainted

Members of parliament are constitutionally elected and once sworn in are revered as law makers to guide the destiny of the people. Therefore, it becomes incumbent on the part of political parties to nominate a candidate, who is primarily from the constituency he/ she is to represent. Such a nominee would comparatively be in a better position to understand and evaluate problems of the area and get issues addressed. Besides, the nominee must be a graduate and above with an impeccable career and adequate political acumen. Under no circumstances a person with past criminal record should be nominated. The resume of nominee giving his background, educational qualification and past contribution in the civic field must be made public. Most importantly, post election,s he/she must keep his/her ears to the ground and be accessible to the public when approached. 

SS Arora, Mohali

A person who senses difficulties of others

Can’t say about the criteria of different parties, but my candidate should be a person, who realises the difficulties of local residents. He should be honest, forthright, extrovert and easily accessible. He should be a staunch supporter of Metro for Chandigarh and for maintaining the topography of City Beautiful.  He should be a person known for adopting austerity in spending public money. He should preferably be a resident of the city, who knows the expectations and needs of residents. He should be a man of the masses commanding their respect.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma 

Sincerity & education are of utmost importance

Surprisingly, persons, who have never read the Constitution of India nor about formation of governments, the fundamental rights and duties of citizens, are desperate to acquire legislative powers. Parties should patronise only educated and sincere contestants with proven dedication towards public cause. A ticket holder should at least be a postgraduate in political science, below 70 years of age and not in active business or profession.

MPS Chadha, Mohali

Consider previous political record

While allotting a ticket to contest elections from the respective constituency, the criteria to select a candidate amongst aspirants should be the previous political record, volume of interaction with voters and his/her capacity of approach with the authorities so that voters can believe that their candidate will be able to solve the problems faced by them.

Balbir Singh Batra, Mohali.

Ability to coordinate can develop tricity

The contender should have vision and good relations with the bureaucracy and the civic body for the overall development of the city. He/she should be able to coordinate between governments of both states and the UT Administration for integrated development of the tricity. It will help strengthen public transport, especially revival of the Metro project, start direct international flights to attract investors and tourists, undertake proposed tricity ring road, improve healthcare services and security system. Most importantly, after winning, the MP should stay in 

the city to serve residents rather than serving the high command. He/she should be a good spokesperson, who can raise issues concerning residents in the parliament and get maximum funds allotted for new projects to create more jobs. 

Col Balbir singh (retd), Chandigarh

Defence veterans can do excellent job

A candidate should be sincere in serving the city rather than himself, a person of character and conviction, able to stand for the right. Rather than bowing down to his political boses, compromising interests of the UT, he/she should be firm and upright. It is a challenge to find such candidates today, and even greater challenge for the parties to accept them. So, residents must come in and suggest suitable candidates from Chandigarh. Some defence veterans can do an excellent job. Why not give them a chance?

Col RD Singh (retd), Ambala Cantt