Resurgence of the India Voter

Hearty congratulations to Dr. Manmohan Singh, and Sonia Gandhi, for the thumping results in the General Elections.

The segmented Indian voter has given a clear mandate against the secularist, and narcissistic forces of the country. Is the Indian voter truly segmented?. Does the dalit appeasement work?.

The changing face of the voter was evident in the initial phase of the campaigning wherein people from rural India were raising their voices against the demi gods of their constituency. There were instances of villages threatening to boycott the elections due to lack of development. The writing was clear on the wall, vote bank politics would take a hit.

General elections 2009, saw the resurgence of the grand old party. The electoral bashing of the regional parties and the opportunistic alliances, the third and the fourth fronts clearly pin points to the emerging face of the voters. Like all elections, there was enough drama in this one too. The shoe throwing incidents, Varun Gandhi hate speech, black money, and mud slinging to name a few.Seems like most of these factors worked in favor of the congress, despite being at the receiving end on more than one occasion. It is quite clear that the pivotal issue in this election was Development, which not many parties realised. They embarked on a flawed election strategy based on the tried and tested formula of divisive politics.

What turned it around for the UPA?

Analyzing the electoral trends across various states, one tends to identify the two decisive forces, were a State Government high on a development agenda, or a Newly instated State Government. The states of Gujarat, Andra Pradesh, Maharastra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,New Delhi and Bihar corroborates the former argument, while the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, J&K ratifies the latter point. The left parties recorded their worst ever performance in the elections owing to anomalies in their policies and an ego centric leader. To large extent the failure of the left parties can be attributed to their central leadership. The people were forced to believe that many reforms brought in by the UPA government could not see light owing to the left parties. The left was seen as a thorn in the flesh of the erstwhile UPA, and they have paid for it. Their performance in their bastions, WB and Kerala needs special mention. In WB, they refrained Buddhadeb Bhattacharya from pursuing his policies, while in Kerala, they neglected VS Achuthanadan's pro people stand (arguable to some extent!!) and has paid the prize for it. The press conference's by the two CM's authenticate my claim. The WB CM was critical at the central leadership's anti-congress stand and the Kerala CM was all smiles at the electoral bashing, and his body language suggested that his stand was vindicated.

UP, the home turf of the SP and BSP, the key state as was suggested by all the news channels turned upon it head. The ground gained by the Congress, still baffles the BJP, BSP and the SP alike. The SP openly endorsed that the presence of a pre poll coalition with the congress could have swept the BSP away. The BJP, still groping in the dark to find a reason for their electoral bashing, blaming Varun Gandhi for his extremist comments which seems to have driven away the muslim votes. After all, How could they have expected to receive the muslim votes by endorsing on a hindutva campaign? The aspirations of Mayawati to become the prime minister too took a hit. Little did she realize that development doesn't come along by building her statues across the state. The state of UP testify Rahul Gandhi's ability as an election strategist. He persuaded the congress to believe that they can go alone in UP, a stand vindicated by the electoral triumph.

The Shoe hurling at the Home Minister as a mark of protest of the Sikh community did create some nerves at the congress headquarters before the elections. The congress had switched to damage control mode and revoked the candidature of the person in question. However the people of Punjab proved that the lack of good governance at the state was the core issue than their sentiment against the anti-sikh riots of 1984.

In this elections verbal assaults were at an all time high. Advani vs Dr. Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi vs Priyanka Gandhi to name a few. The people of India has proved who is weak and who is not. Dr. Singh proved once again to the opposition that 'Singh is King'. He seems to be the dark horse. The people of India has reposed faith on this honest and workaholic Prime Minister. He is neither a crowd puller nor an eloquent speaker like Mr. Modi or Mr. Advani, but has the qualification to run this secular country. The party has done away with their dynastic politics by taking charge as Prime Minister in 2004. The endorsement of a democratic setup within the party too has helped in that regard. The congress governments of the past were tainted by the charges of corruption, but the previous UPA saw some of the honest and trusted politicians donning the mantle as Cabinet Ministers. Critics often point that congress is an old man's party. The emergence of Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot has brought in the much needed youthful exuberance to the party. What really turned it around for the UPA is the NREGA, and the farm loan waiver. A right mix of pro poor and corporate policies helped the party to garner votes from the various sections of the society across caste and party lines.

General Elections 2009, has drawn to a close. The Indian voter has simplified numbers game. This election saw the prime ministerial ambitions of many leaders taking a hit. The beginning of the election season the emergence of many potential king makers. As the season draws to a close, it is evident that there would be no more horse trading or king makers to destabilise the government. I hope a stable UPA government under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh can take our country to greater heights.

Calamity implies Political Mileage

The attempt to gain political mileage out of a national calamity is disdainful.It makes no sense what so ever when the opposition is gunning for the neck of the Home minister,while on the other hand,the HRD minister supports the cause of the Jamia University,to defend its students accused as terrorists.On one side the Govt says they ll come up with tough terror laws,and hence the statement on the part of Mr.Arjun Singh needs to be viewed with suspicion.

A blast occurs, Govt, and political parties condemn it saying 'cowardly act' and so on.It sounds like 'words are all they(I) have to take ur heart away'. Will the people of the country feel comfortable when top leaders condemn terrorism.We all condemn it and is a known fact.Once they finish condemning the blasts,the political games begin.It was quite funny,when a senior member from the BJP made a statement saying the 'blasts were part of a conspiracy to divert attention from cash for votes scam'(i believe it was with reference to Ahemedabad blasts).The party distanced itself from 'her' view point,and it clearly indicated how far politicians would go.Maybe the politicians should stop mud slinging and instead sit together to work out a strategy to root out this evil.

Terrorism, is the menace of the modern world.A cowardly act,against humanity.Innocent lives are lost,many injured.The time is ripe for a 'community policing',like initiative.Finding terrorists from among a hundred thousand people is more like searching for a needle in a hay stack.People have to be alert,and any suspicious activity needs to be reported.It is not only the responsibilty of the police,but we too have a role in it.

Having paid careful attention to the nuances of Indian politics for over a decade,I can say politicians have become more ruthless,in their accusations.There seems to be a leadership crisis in our country.Senior leaders from the congress party suggesting Rahul Gandhi,as Prime ministerial candidate is a clear indication to that front.BJP is facing the worst crisis,having to field a pro-hindutva leader in Advani as PM candidate (no wonder the party has decided to maintain its hindutva agenda).The third front,as the media puts it,had to resort to choosing 'Bahanji' as their leader,in an effort to woo dalit votes (though the left is still beating around the 'bush').The left parties have resolved to an Anti-America campaign.The economic crisis in America should be an example for the Central Govt,says the left.They seem to have grown over the failure of communism in various parts of the world.

The attack on Christians in Kandhamal in Orissa, indicates the growing religious extremism among Hindu's.Action against the Bajrang Dal activists were initiated after the centre evoked article 355 on Karnataka,and Orissa (coincidentally BJP ruled states).The top brass of the BJP,criticized the central govt, for the interference in the affairs of the state.The major concern in this case is the state backed violence,be it the Bajrang Dal,VHP, and of course 'left' organisations in WB,and Kerala

I had started on a simple topic,but seems to have overdone it.All i wish to say is,extremism in whatever forms is the root cause.Hindutva, Jihad,etc fall on the same wavelength.It is high time the younger generation start to think over religious barriers and perhaps work on a peaceful world to live on.We can't change the politicians,but we can indeed make sure that we are not puppets in their hands..
Feels gr8 to have written an unbiased article,on politics..