Is it possible to be neutral and political at the same time?

The topic of this post also originated from one of my Facebook discussions. One of my Facebook friends wondered if one can be neutral and support any political party or ideology? According to me, definitely one can. It's really a tough balance to strike, no doubt about it, but it's possible. Being neutral doesn't necessarily mean being politically inactive, one can choose to remain politically inactive, and nothing wrong with it, however, being neutral about one's opinions does not make someone by default politically inactive. Voting is one of the fundamental rights of citizens of any democratic country. While voting, one has to choose from the given options, this is how it works. Nowadays, in many places, there is an option for a write-in candidate (you can write the name of the candidate which you think is more suitable but not on the ballot), or NOTA (none of the above), but realistically, these options rarely make any difference. A neutral person can support a political party or vote for a particular candidate irrespective of her or his party. The only difference is that just because she voted for them such a person does not stop questioning or opposing whenever she feels there is a deviation from the agenda based on which she offered her support. Rather, such people are the first ones to ask for accountability and transparency, raise concerns, offer constructive criticism, and keep up the pressure. This is healthy for democracy. When a voter of any political party or a leader asks for accountability or raises difficult questions that party or a leader has to listen to those voices. The risk of losing an election is one of the biggest motivators for a political entity to take action. 

It is common to ignore criticism coming from opponents as the perception is they will criticize no matter what, that is why it is important to have a pressure group within the party that keeps an eye on what's going on. This means neutral voters or independent voters have a bigger role to play in politics than supporters of any political party or leader. There has to be a substantial number of independent voters to create this pressure otherwise populist politics is going to overtake. This is what's going on in many parts of the world where a certain political leader, party, or ideology has a massive fan following resulting in unilateral political discourse. In this situation, neither opposition nor independent voices matter much as they do not have any influence on the electoral outcome. That is why if you have an independent voice, and protect your independence, occasionally, you might feel isolated or out of place, but cherish that independence as it's neither a common thing nor easy to achieve. Be politically active without being bothered by the political undercurrents, and make sure to connect with right-minded people so that your voice is loud enough to register its presence. In any real democracy dissent or neutral voices are encouraged, if not, it's not a real democracy yet.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic.