Shut Up & Vote Tour is a success in making

Thermal And A Quarter recently embarked on a ‘Shut Up & Vote Tour,’ an awareness campaign in association with Jaago Re! One Billion Votes, in five cities including Bangalore. The campaign asked educated urban youth to cast their vote. But the poor turnout in the city has raised questions about the efficacy of such campaigns. Bruce Lee Mani, guitarist and singer of the band, spoke to DNA in defence of the campaign against criticism.

Despite the tour, the video of which clocked up over 15,000 views, there was a poor turnout.
We’d like to think that in the 46% that did turn up, there were more young voters — our target audience. Maybe we should get some statistics on that. We’ve always been saying that our part in this campaign was intended to light the first spark; we cannot expect change to happen so soon. What we’d like to see is three or four years down the line, when the decisions made now could result in some real difference. Don’t think the campaign was a failure at all. If you think about the way our country has been run, in the last few years at least, there are far more spectacular ‘failures’ that deserve mention. We believe that the campaign is a success that is still in the making.

Krishna Byre Gowda said “efforts like Jaago Re and Smartvote have failed”.
It’s the usual pointing fingers thing, right? Exactly the thing this campaign has been railing about! The assignment of blame is perhaps our nation’s most absorbing pastime; there’s always someone else responsible for your problems.

The general thinking is that even something that is close to youth’s heart — music — failed to move them to just go out and vote.
This instant gratification problem skews everything; the campaign and our role in it are part of a much bigger plan – no intelligent planner is going to expect an instant reaction, especially with inertia of colossal Indian proportions.

What is the current mood in your band?
Buoyant! We believe we did something right, something we felt was needed. And we’re proud of the association — despite what people might say.

Will Thermal And A Quarter take part in a similar campaign if it were to happen in future?
Absolutely. To be quite candid, ‘artists’ and ‘influencers’ today consistently take the ‘safe’ routes, and try and be liked by everyone and his uncle. What do they really believe in? Are they willing to stand up for their beliefs despite the fact that their ‘public’ might not like it?

How did it feel to vote for the first time in this elections?
It felt good to use the finger. I can’t say it was the best candidate who got my vote, but in the context of the ‘big picture’ maybe it was the right choice!