Desi Tamasha

As the curtain is being drawn on the UP 2007 elections, while the overwhelming feeling I have is one of satisfaction about the free, fair and peaceful poll, it is not unmixed with a tinge of sadness that even 57 years after we became a republic and 55 years after we had the first general election in independent India, a free and fair poll has meant massive deployment of central security forces. To my mind, this calls for a deep retrospection on the part of the political parties, the civil society groups, the Election Commission and other stakeholders to think of urgent corrective steps so that in the none-too-distant future we can see a day when a free and fair election can be held with no policemen around and with citizen volunteers managing the polling stations.