Being a member of a party does not mean being politically aware. However, there is a trend in Nepal today that being politically aware means engaging in direct politics.
What you should know
It seems that the ultimate (truth) of a career is politics. After all, is there such a magnetic force in politics that makes people forget their religion and ultimately immerse themselves in politics? Artists are rushing into politics. Mayors are resigning and registering their candidacies to become MPs.
Ministers of the civilian government are resigning and contesting elections without even completing their 6-month term. This scenario can be interpreted from any perspective, but was it a necessity or opportunism? It will become clear in the future.
Political awareness is indispensable, if one is not to be ruled by an autocratic ruler. But political awareness does not only mean getting involved in politics. Becoming a party member is not being politically aware either. But now in Nepal, there is a trend that political awareness means doing direct politics. The political scum has understood that there is a tendency to immediately file candidacy and become a party member.
How should the governance system work, what kind of people's representative do they want, what agenda do they think is right, what does the person who is approved by their votes say in parliament, what issues do they raise, are they in favor of or against the constitutional amendment, if they are in favor of the constitutional amendment, what provisions of the constitution have the party they represent tried to change, these are all issues that political awareness involves. If a candidate of a party that supports the monarchy is elected because he likes the person, his monarchist speeches are the approved form of the voters.
Our form of government is based on pluralism. Parties with all kinds of ideas, principles, and beliefs are welcomed. But what a voter wants to see in the country is a matter for the voter to know. Only by voting for the party manifesto and the candidate in which he sees the reflection of his ideas, desires, and needs, the voter's political consciousness is revealed.
Some people think that federalism is necessary for Nepal and that there should be a three-tier government. At that time, if a candidate who said that there should be no provinces wins, he may feel hurt tomorrow. Because tomorrow, the behavior of such an MP may be seen as negative towards the provinces in the parliament.
Being politically conscious is not about following the crowd, but understanding the mission, vision, and intentions of the candidate and his party. Making the one whose agenda matches the ideas, desires, and needs of the voter as a representative is actually civic consciousness. Because the party's agenda is the first step in public policy. Voters get what they give legitimacy to.
While saying this, it is not intended to express the intention that doing politics or starting a party is wrong. It is also a fallacy to say that if everyone does politics directly, the country will develop overnight. If everyone does politics, who will stand outside politics and warn? It is not because there are no people who do politics that the country is not progressing. It is because of the lack of politically conscious experts who can neutrally warn against wrong political practices and give impartial advice in the country.
Because those who have political consciousness, somewhere or other, they fell into the bondage of some party or ideology. They put the party's statute above the professional code of conduct. Although humans are also called born political creatures, if a person associated with a certain work and profession is not committed to his profession and cannot remain politically neutral, there may be discrimination in the goods and services he provides.
A politically conscious citizen knows how to respect everyone's thoughts and principles. It is not consciousness to just oppose the good work of others by covering up the mistakes of his leader and party. No matter how intelligent a person is, if his service and work smells of politics and is biased, he may be educated, but he is not conscious.
Social media has more influence now. But who controls social media? We think it is under our control. But, no. Only the 'ID' and 'password' of social media are under our control. However, we do not control the content that comes in the 'feed'. We are also not in control of the messages that the pages we 'follow' are repeatedly giving us. Therefore, times have changed, new parties have been added, the perspective of voters has changed, the method of campaigning has changed. And, the method of getting voters to support them has also changed.
It is time for the people to become more vigilant. Often, competent candidates have emerged in their respective fields. There is a lot of popular faces in the new parties. Some are famous in the entertainment sector, some are popular through campaigns. This makes the parliament diverse and expert, but there is also a fear that politics is becoming 'vision versus popularity'. Those who have been waiting for a candidate with a 'vision' for so many years, saying that a clear 'vision' is needed to lead, must make the 'vision' clear with a 'popular' face. Those who have been doing politics for so many years have been adopted, now it is another foolishness to say that even if they do not have a vision, let's adopt a popular face.
February 21 is a day that reflects the political consciousness and awareness of the people. The need now is to trust whoever has the most effective manifesto in their area, whose past is what, who can solve the problems of that place. To say that all the candidates of that party are good just by looking at one face is to be a slave to the face.
To know what the candidate's vision is on national policies, governance, government formation process, economic diplomacy, international relations, etc., one should ask questions door to door, in public meetings. That is the political consciousness and duty of the citizen. No one, new or old, is exempt from questions.
However, Nepali society is now looking for a political hero like the hero of the cinema. The people must have the ability to reflect on how much that fits into reality. That is why the country needs more politically aware voters than political parties.
