Action for Good Governance and Networking in India (AGNI) along with other NGOs organised a workshop on Sunday to create awareness on the importance of voting. The workshop was conducted under Mumbai Election Watch, an initiative of AGNI where local citizens’ groups come on a common platform to discuss problems faced in their areas and the solutions through informed voting and vigilance.

Stressing on the need for police reforms and importance of voting, former commissioner of police Julio Ribeiro said, “Public participation is needed to bring about police reforms and that can be achieved not just through voting but through active participation once the law makers are elected.”

Nayana Kathpalia, a member of NGO that mainly fights for preservation of open spaces in Mumbai, said that local activism gets limited to municipal corporation and corporators. “We fail to realize that MLAs are the law makers at the state level and it is the Chief Minister who dictates functions of the municipalities. By voting, we can indirectly influence the kind of laws that are made,” Kathpalia said.

Gerson D’Cunha of AGNI said that it is the job of informed citizens to spread awareness among others. “Our initiative will be a failure if people do not know about it because one honest politician at the top can make a huge difference,” he said.

Actor Rahul Bose, one of the speakers at the workshop, emphasized on the role of youth in politics. “Voting will not be the end to all problems but just a beginning to the end and the youth can be a deciding factor in bringing about change,” Bose said.

Activist Ajit Ranade said that informed voting was needed most at the grassroots level. “The major chunk of voters belongs to the lower strata who do not have much information about the party or the candidate they vote for. We have to educate these people,” he said.

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