Wither Voter ID Card

General elections are fast approaching and being the "responsible" citizens that we are, the wife and I have been trying to get our voter ID cards. This entire process is turning out to be an impossible task! We have been trying to our cards made for the better part of one year and u have three separate countrefoils from the three times now that we have submitted our applications!

Why thrice? It's my lucky number!:) (and I love to clog the already loaded government data entry folks!) - seriously though - each time we have been told that the previous time did not stick - hence thrice! All this with the help of the local corporator who we feel can get the cards since he's part of the system and also because he has a vested interest in recruiting new voters - or so we think!

We had read somewhere that you could vote if you had a counterfoil of submission -turns out we were wrong, you got to be on the voter top for it to work which brings us back to why this post is happening.

About two weeks back a local group decided that they would do a voter ID card drive, very well meaning and atleast they were doing something! Anyhow, so we went thinking we could check our names in the list - place was very busy, was great to see so much turnout amongst the "corporate" crowd! Anyhow it was chaotic, even they had probably not anticipated the rush! Predictbly, our names were not in the list and the lady says - fill it out one more time cause the administration has screwed everything up! What?

So that was it for the wife and me. While discussing this we thought
A. Why is a pan card not enough to guarantee voting rights?
B. Instead of overloading the system even more by asking people like me to file AGAIN why not volunteer to do data entry? Those people are overloaded or just lazy and indifferent.
C. Are politicians in this country deliberately preventing the middle class from voting?

On a hunch we checked with all the househelp that visits our homes. ALL of them without exception had their voter cards! That's pretty damning evidence if any!

We will probably have to take atleast three days off work to go to the local EC office to try to get registered or perhaps moving to a slum might get me my card quicker?

For all our well meaning candle marches and pledges etc( which I don't subscribe to)- the plain truth is that a whole swathe of us are just being systematically prevented from voting and our schedules don't give us the luxury to take 3 days off to run after apathetic government officials who in cahoots with the politicians to deny you your basic right!

If PAN cards can be automated to where it's a dumbed down process - why is this so hard? Thee is no will hence so way. Meanwhile I am putting in my note for 3 days off.....