Your Opinion

Yesterday, the Indian Express came up with a startling revelation that Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran tried to misuse his official position by trying to persuade the Tata Group into adding SUN TV as a partner in the Tata-News Corp DTH joint venture. Also what is more startling is that fact that Dayanidhi Maran demanded that Tata Group give SUN TV a huge concession. DTH connectivity is crucial to SUN TV for maintaining its leadership. Given that elections are so close and with the fact that the ruling ADMK led DPF alliance is trying to use role of SUN TV as a key election issue, do you think this might blow up into a huge controversy and affect the election prospects of the DMK?

49-O – the right to not vote

Over the past few weeks, 49-O has been in the lips of many. The concept of casting a null vote, though being publicised now, is not a new one. The Election Commission of India's website reveals that such a thing has been in existence since 1961.

Here is the procedure. Suppose you decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray, you can visit your polling station, and when your turn comes, you can walk up to the election official stating your intent to cast a null vote. You have to fill out a form and sign the register. And walk out!

The relevant section of the EC's Guide for Voters (PDF link) is as follows:

The homepage of the Election Commission has many more informative documents, that are worth a perusal.