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How to choose your Member of Parliament |
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Step by step guide
Based on the role that a Member of Parliament will play in government, we have set out in easy steps a checklist which will enable you to choose the right Member of Parliament for your constituency.
Step 1: Decide what you are looking for in a candidate.
Apart from representing the concerns of their constituencies in parliament MP’s are meant to legislate on the key issues facing the nation, question and hold the government of the day to account and monitor the use of the public purse.
We think that candidates must be assessed based on:
1. The positions they take on national issues.
2. Understanding the concerns of their constituency
3. Qualities of leadership and integrity
4. Experience they bring to office
5. Track record of Public Service
All factors are equally important.
Step 2: Find the candidates for your constituency.
First find out which candidates are standing for election in your constituency by going to the ‘Know Your Candidate’ section in Smartvote if you are in Bangalore. Newspapers are another source of information.
Step 3: Sources of information about the candidates.
Put together information about the candidates from various sources which may include:- campaign literature, including campaign Web sites; voter information websites like Smartvote; press reports in newspapers, television and radio; advertisements and candidates interviews/speeches. In addition internet news sites such as http://in.news.yahoo.com/ and http://news.google.co.in/ may allow you to locate a cross section of media reports on any candidate.
Step 4: Evaluate candidates’ stands on national issues as well as constituency concerns:
Passing and modifying legislation is central to the role of a MP. Look at their responses to the Key National issues found in the Candidate Interview/questionnaire in the “Know Your Candidate” section of Smart Vote. This interview also asks candidates to identify the most important issues facing their constituency and their plans for addressing these. Are their responses clear and backed with an action plan or evasive and general?
If the candidate has been in parliament before look at the information provided on their attendance, the number of questions they asked, the debates they participated in, whether they made the special effort to initiate a private member bill on an issue they cared about and the committees they were a part of . This information is also available on the Lok Sabhas website http://loksabha.nic.in
Step 5: Learn about the candidates’ Leadership abilities and Experience of Office; Integrity and Track record of Public Service.
Leadership & Experience of Office – Leadership is about long term vision for the country and moving towards that goal with good administrative skills. In the candidate interview did the candidate strike you as someone with clarity of thought, ability to execute with the consistent support of the people ?
Integrity and spirit of Public Service -- While Integrity is difficult to assess from the declared information in the candidate Biodata which includes the candidates criminal record; assets and liabilities may be useful in reaching a conclusion on whether you trust a candidate. Also useful is the reputation for integrity a candidate has developed and his/her willingness to be made accountable . Spirit of public service may be demonstrated through the voluntary/social activity undertaken by a candidate and the campaigns and agitations they have chosen to be a part of
Step 6: Learn how other people view the candidate.
Now that you have accumulated information on candidates from various sources, you will want to learn what other, more informed, people think about the candidates. Their opinions can help to clarify your own views, but do not discount you own informed judgments. You may be the most careful observer of all!
- Seek the opinions of others in your community who keep track of political campaigns, find out which candidate they support and why.
- Opinion polls taken to evaluate public support for the different candidates reveal who is leading at a certain point in the race.
Step 7: Sorting it all out.
Review the information and compare all the candidates. Ask yourself these final questions.
- Which candidate demonstrated the most knowledge on the issues?
- Which candidates view on the issues do you agree with the most?
- Who ran the fairest campaign and seems to demonstrate integrity?
- Which candidate has the leadership qualities you are looking for? (Consider administrative skill, vision and ability to implement).
- Is the choice clear? If so, pick a candidate.
Seeing through common distortion techniques.
All candidates are trying to sell themselves to voters. Sometimes their language/speech is so skillfully crafted that they distort the truth in way that are difficult for even the most careful observer to detect. Here are some examples of distortion techniques that you should watch for as you review candidates’ campaign materials.
Instilling prejudice:
These are attacks on an opponent based on characteristics that will not affect performance in office. References to caste, community, region can be used to instill prejudice.
Rumor Mongering:
These include statements such as, “Everyone says my opponent is a crook, but I have no personal knowledge of any wrongdoing”, which imply (but do not state) that the opponent is guilty
Catchwords:
These are phrases such as “anti-Indian” that are designed to trigger a knee-jerk emotional reaction rather than to inform
Passing the blame:
These are instances in which a candidate denies responsibility for an action or blames an opponent for things. Sometimes a candidate may take credit for something which he did not do.
Promising the sky:
These are unrealistic promises that no one elected to office could fulfill.
Evading real issues:
These include instances in which candidates may avoid answering direct questions, offer only vague solutions or talk about the benefits of proposed programs but never get specific about possible problems or costs.
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