As Delhi goes to polls, I feel more and more convinced that each candidate…no matter to which party he or she belongs…must undergo a medical test and present its report as their credentials to the voters when make house to house visit for canvassing.

The most important test is that of the eyesight of the candidate. How else can they see the pot holes on the roads and the numerous problems faced by the voters of their constituency? We do not want short sighted or long sighted candidates to represent us. And, we certainly do not want candidates who are blind to our needs to do that.

The ears of our candidates too need to be subjected to a thorough test. Once they are elected they seem to become hard of hearing. If they are tested before the elections, we would be able to ascertain whether the problem existed before the elections or whether it developed after the candidate got elected.

The mouth and the throat too need to be looked into. That is just to ensure that he voices our concerns at suitable forums and attends to our problems.

After the ENT test, the candidate must also undergo a thorough test for his heart. We do not want heartless politicians occupying positions of power because their heart would never go out to our sufferings.

We also need to get the candidate’s legs tested. We do not want politicians who would busy himself in feathering his nest. Rather, we need someone who would walk an extra mile with us when there is such a need.

A medical test is not only imperative to ascertain the health of the candidate but also to ascertain how healthy he is for his political mission of nation building. While all these medical tests can be performed to ascertain the physical suitability of the candidate, there is one thing that is difficult to test—the conscience of the candidate!