Who is going to rule this time?

Photo source: Kuensel

That was five years back when the nation first started with the mock elections and finally managed to elect our own government. Known as NA and NC in short, I guess even before the members of the houses knew their roles as parliamentarians, it was time to leave those hot seats. Media did its part. There was a wide print and broadcast media coverage over a prolonged time,  and it talked nothing but the election related stuffs. This bombardment of information had me to the brims. Two parties, no primary round and nearly an "oppositionless" parliament. That was an easy game to begin with.  Save for the two seats, it was nearly a political fiasco. Political analysts had attributed JYT factor as a predominant reason for that mudslide victory. I also think that way.

Five years have passed since then and here we are in 2013. The maokhola bridge is no where to be seen. But the parliamentary cycle must continue and the ferryman must still make his precarious trips. From two to five, the aspiring political parties have grown in numbers. With different ideologies, manifestos and slogans, it has toughened the competition. It is once again the talk of the town. With four parties making into the primary round, rigorous and a widespread campaign is on the spree. These four parties are trying their best to woo the voters through whatever means they could possibly use. Like in any democracy, Bhutan is no exception to the instances of what is termed as a political mudslinging and publicity gimmicking. But we do it "Drukpa style". Aspiring Bhutanese politicians do all these things under the hood with soothing words and gentle smiles :). Sometimes in the name of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Talking about self, I really wanted to atleast fulfill my obligation as a responsible citizen and exercise my voting rights. Unfortunately, I could not get through the postal ballot registration for some reasons unknown. And I am not sure if I can even prioritize this task over my ToR ( ensure that the generators are running at all times) and go in person to my constituency to cast a vote. I have not even looked at the party ideologies and manifestos in detail and knows nothing about Bhandari, Gurung, Pokwal and the Wangdis as yet. With the time running out, I have lots of homework to do before I embark on the journey to the southern foothills to exercise my rights. Who is going to rule this time? - It is in my hands, our hands.