It has been almost a decade since the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) launched the Clean Election Movement in the state with an aim to educate and make the public aware of the importance of voting for the right leaders. The council has once again reignited the campaign ahead of the state Assembly elections due in 2023. Along the way, the NBCC has garnered both praises and brickbats for this movement that most civil society organisations have not dared to take up. Some have raised several questions, including the outcome of the campaign over the years. But what critics have failed to see is the purpose and the positive impact it could have had on many. If the clean election movement or any campaign for that matter achieves in sending out the intended message to the target group, it serves the purpose. An organisation can bring about awareness but it can’t get into the heads of the people. The final decision is with the people. If some still decide to sell their votes for a few thousand rupees, there is nothing much anybody or organisation can do. There won’t be sellers if there are no buyers and vice versa. The fact is that NBCC has being doing a commendable job, unceasingly trying to bring positive change in the society all these years despite unnoticeable positive result. It has been undertaking a thankless campaign for the good of the society. And if the campaign has failed to bring any positive outcome, it is the people who have failed and not otherwise. There is no denying that there can also be black sheep in a community or organisations. Yet it is wrong to tar everyone with the same brush and misdeed of a handful of people should not be used to kill a good cause.
The movement initiated by the NBCC isn’t something new. Many societies campaigned for it on similar lines under different slogans in the past. It’s an evolving process and change can’t happen overnight. In case of Nagaland, it may take longer than expected to see a transformation in the way people elect their representatives because malpractices during elections have become like a system. But opinions shared on various platforms indicate that the state might see light at the end of the darker tunnel sooner than later. Today, people are aware of the importance of their votes; they know that they ought to elect a right person and political party for economic and infrastructural development. This awareness will result in a positive outcome. Our vote is the most powerful weapon in a democracy. It is up to the people to use it to defeat poverty or destroy their own future.