Government officials and teachers being assigned for election duty are quite common always. However, at the same time it is also a sensitive issue keeping in mind political affiliations, accusations and the way political winds are heading once every five years. Now, it is heard that Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in Andhra Pradesh is all set to exclude teachers from this duty.
Well, it is an open secret that many government teachers tend to focus more on other businesses instead of their job but after Jagan’s ruling of biometric attendance, such activities were put at a check. This didn’t go too well with the teachers who are reportedly disappointed. However, that is not bogging down the CM.
There are reports that the government is mulling the idea of getting in the village volunteers for election duty soon. An initiative that was started as part of a pre-poll promise by Jagan, lakhs of volunteers were recruited by the state government to dispense public services at grassroots level. Notwithstanding the political controversies, many feel that this system has boosted governance at village level in Andhra Pradesh.
Utilizing their services for election duty instead of government teachers and headmasters seems to be the plan since volunteers already have been working with most government departments. This could be a good idea to further use their services productively, although opposition parties may cry foul since they feel that village volunteers are already hand in glove with YSRCP government and that they may turn elections in favour of the ruling party.
In fact, the appointment of village volunteers has been a thorn in the flesh for opposition parties in Andhra who feel that their strong affiliation with the ruling party may drastically change the electoral fortunes. Moreover, there is also a possibility that these parties may approach courts. Whether the election commission would accept their services and recognize them as full-fledged government employees is another million-dollar question.
It may be a bold new idea but many feel that the Jagan government should do a lot of homework and proper legal scrutiny before they make such a move because it may backfire if not handled properly. Naturally, a lot of due diligence has to be done to make this idea a reality in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It would also expose young volunteers to many significant aspects of how an election is conducted and it will be a novel idea to expose them to democratic mechanisms of our polity.
