So, here's what I wanted to say to the key players in this 2014 Lok Sabha election
1) Narendra Modi/BJP : I am looking forward to three things here.
a) Dr. Manmohan Singh was always accused of having been a puppet of Sonia Gandhi, who along with Veerapa Moily was in turn supposed to dance to the tune of Reliance. I would like to see how Narendra Modi develops his equations with the RSS. This Right-wing, Hindutva propogating organisation played a major role in Modi's victory with their disciplined cadre. But, I don't care much for their ideals. And, if Narendra Modi is to truly become the Prime Minister of a diverse country like India, he shouldn't either.(Yes. I am very proudly sickular and pseudo-liberal.) On a similar note, Reliance as well as the Adani group contributed hugely to the BJP campaign. Does this also mean that status quo will be maintained on the corporate stranglehold over Indian polity?
b) The Gujarat riots will continue to haunt you. Appeals will be filed and you will continue to be tested for your role in the riots. Yes. The Special Investigation Team might have cleared you of direct culpability but the lapse in stronger administrative actions is equivalent to the same. I wonder what your reaction will be as the existing trials progress.
c) This was a resounding victory for BJP. Yes. I think it was more of a resounding victory for the dream you sold of development and governance rather than Hindutva alone. Towards the final days of Congress regime, the economy was showing signs of recovery. However, many of the fundamentals are still weak. The manufacturing sector is in the midst of a damning stagnation. Inflation is still on the higher side. It'll be very interesting to see whether you'll be able to change any of these for which the blame was squarely put on UPA-II. The mob is fickle, Modiji, as Shakespeare once mentioned in Julius Caeser. So, you need to wave your "magic wand" soon.
2) Congress : Rahul Gandhi is an okay guy but he is very unsuited to politics, I think. Not the sort of person, the general public would find as inspiring. Of course, the dynasty politics and the supremacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family made Congress an even easier target. Even though dynasty politics does exist in other parties, perhaps it's not as prominent and showy as in Congress.
The economic debacle, corruption and policy paralysis ensured that Congress would bite dust. What can the Congress learn? Loosen the reins of this family politics. The Congress has talented and skilled youngsters(though the anti-incumbency factor ensured that they were all soundly defeated). Allow them to rise up in the hierarchy. And if you can't do that, at the very least bring in Priyanka to the forefront minus the Vadra attachments. (I sometimes wonder why the liaison happened at all) Priyanka is cool-headed, suave and has the charisma of Indira Gandhi. The Vadra and the Nehru-Gandhi tag can be problematic in the coming days but she might do much better than Rahulji.
3) AAP : I have been a strong critic of Arvind Kejriwal. The authoritarian tendencies of the central committee including him led to dissensions among the rank and file. Not only that, AAP spread too fast and tried to compete in too many constituencies with their very limited budget when they should have focused on Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Their resources were spread too thinly. Even if the candidates succeeded, it would have been a ragtag bunch of disunited MPs held together by the anti-defection laws rather than any common cause. Quitting the Delhi government was a bad move but I guess your hand was forced. For now, the AAP should not lose heart in its defeat. They should stick to their original ideals of Swaraj(Practise within the party before you preach, btw.), develop viewpoints on broader issues and slowly develop a pan-India grassroot movement. Even the BJP secured just two seats in its initial LS elections. I am looking forward to the rise of this fledgling party and I have criticised it so much only because of the kind of expectation I have in its ideals.
4) CPI(M): Karma is a bitch. That's the only thing I can say about the results in West Bengal. For more than three decades, West Bengal was ruled with an ironfist and rampant use of coercive power by CPI(M). TMC seems to have given them the just desserts by employing the tactics they invented against them during this election including poll rigging and goonda-ism. The Kollam constituency results also indicate the tactical errors that have been committed by the leadership. The T P Chandrasekharan case influenced the results at Calicut and Vadakara. It was a very narrow victory even in Kannur, a CPI(M) bastion. In my opinion, the Left in India has degenerated into a bunch of hooligans and some intellectuals whose ideas haven't kept pace with the changing world.
This is extremely sad. I for one, with all my heart believe that the Left thoughts and ideals are very important to this country. They are the bulwark against sectarianism and corporate exploitation. Their intellectual vigour lends depth to our country's governance. It was very visible in UPA-I. Right now, the Left has much work to do. It needs to mold a younger generation on whom leftist thought is inculcated and not just the ability to disrupt. Young bloods should definitely boil but it shouldn't translate to mere violent streaks that disrupt the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Also, the Left needs to update its ideals with the changing times and think about the really relevant issues. It's sometimes funny to see them acting high and mighty over things like US neo-imperialism when those are not the problems ailing this country.
5) The Youth : Hmm. Is it just me or do I perceive in this country an upcoming generation, who is more violent/extremist in their tendencies? As I scoured through the social media, I saw youngsters impatient with debates, swearing at people with opposite inclinations and launching personal attacks against the candidates. It was more than just a freak occurrence and in sufficient numbers to make me concerned about the path we are taking. It doesn't matter if your orientation is left, right or centre but if you can't reason out with sound arguments and communicate with nothing other than poison spewing and malicious words, there is really no use blaming the political parties running the show for the state the country is in.
I really wish for this country, a new generation who are going to breathe down on politicians every second and make them wary of committing mistakes. More importantly, I hope for this country that this generation wouldn't turn out to be just a bunch of cheerleaders.
Of course, these are just my personal views and may have its share of inaccuracies. You are welcome to contemplate and criticise. So, that's all folks. See you, next post.
Update : Thanks to Aravind Nair for correcting certain factual inaccuracies.
1) Narendra Modi/BJP : I am looking forward to three things here.
a) Dr. Manmohan Singh was always accused of having been a puppet of Sonia Gandhi, who along with Veerapa Moily was in turn supposed to dance to the tune of Reliance. I would like to see how Narendra Modi develops his equations with the RSS. This Right-wing, Hindutva propogating organisation played a major role in Modi's victory with their disciplined cadre. But, I don't care much for their ideals. And, if Narendra Modi is to truly become the Prime Minister of a diverse country like India, he shouldn't either.(Yes. I am very proudly sickular and pseudo-liberal.) On a similar note, Reliance as well as the Adani group contributed hugely to the BJP campaign. Does this also mean that status quo will be maintained on the corporate stranglehold over Indian polity?
b) The Gujarat riots will continue to haunt you. Appeals will be filed and you will continue to be tested for your role in the riots. Yes. The Special Investigation Team might have cleared you of direct culpability but the lapse in stronger administrative actions is equivalent to the same. I wonder what your reaction will be as the existing trials progress.
c) This was a resounding victory for BJP. Yes. I think it was more of a resounding victory for the dream you sold of development and governance rather than Hindutva alone. Towards the final days of Congress regime, the economy was showing signs of recovery. However, many of the fundamentals are still weak. The manufacturing sector is in the midst of a damning stagnation. Inflation is still on the higher side. It'll be very interesting to see whether you'll be able to change any of these for which the blame was squarely put on UPA-II. The mob is fickle, Modiji, as Shakespeare once mentioned in Julius Caeser. So, you need to wave your "magic wand" soon.
2) Congress : Rahul Gandhi is an okay guy but he is very unsuited to politics, I think. Not the sort of person, the general public would find as inspiring. Of course, the dynasty politics and the supremacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family made Congress an even easier target. Even though dynasty politics does exist in other parties, perhaps it's not as prominent and showy as in Congress.
The economic debacle, corruption and policy paralysis ensured that Congress would bite dust. What can the Congress learn? Loosen the reins of this family politics. The Congress has talented and skilled youngsters(though the anti-incumbency factor ensured that they were all soundly defeated). Allow them to rise up in the hierarchy. And if you can't do that, at the very least bring in Priyanka to the forefront minus the Vadra attachments. (I sometimes wonder why the liaison happened at all) Priyanka is cool-headed, suave and has the charisma of Indira Gandhi. The Vadra and the Nehru-Gandhi tag can be problematic in the coming days but she might do much better than Rahulji.
3) AAP : I have been a strong critic of Arvind Kejriwal. The authoritarian tendencies of the central committee including him led to dissensions among the rank and file. Not only that, AAP spread too fast and tried to compete in too many constituencies with their very limited budget when they should have focused on Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Their resources were spread too thinly. Even if the candidates succeeded, it would have been a ragtag bunch of disunited MPs held together by the anti-defection laws rather than any common cause. Quitting the Delhi government was a bad move but I guess your hand was forced. For now, the AAP should not lose heart in its defeat. They should stick to their original ideals of Swaraj(Practise within the party before you preach, btw.), develop viewpoints on broader issues and slowly develop a pan-India grassroot movement. Even the BJP secured just two seats in its initial LS elections. I am looking forward to the rise of this fledgling party and I have criticised it so much only because of the kind of expectation I have in its ideals.
4) CPI(M): Karma is a bitch. That's the only thing I can say about the results in West Bengal. For more than three decades, West Bengal was ruled with an ironfist and rampant use of coercive power by CPI(M). TMC seems to have given them the just desserts by employing the tactics they invented against them during this election including poll rigging and goonda-ism. The Kollam constituency results also indicate the tactical errors that have been committed by the leadership. The T P Chandrasekharan case influenced the results at Calicut and Vadakara. It was a very narrow victory even in Kannur, a CPI(M) bastion. In my opinion, the Left in India has degenerated into a bunch of hooligans and some intellectuals whose ideas haven't kept pace with the changing world.
This is extremely sad. I for one, with all my heart believe that the Left thoughts and ideals are very important to this country. They are the bulwark against sectarianism and corporate exploitation. Their intellectual vigour lends depth to our country's governance. It was very visible in UPA-I. Right now, the Left has much work to do. It needs to mold a younger generation on whom leftist thought is inculcated and not just the ability to disrupt. Young bloods should definitely boil but it shouldn't translate to mere violent streaks that disrupt the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Also, the Left needs to update its ideals with the changing times and think about the really relevant issues. It's sometimes funny to see them acting high and mighty over things like US neo-imperialism when those are not the problems ailing this country.
5) The Youth : Hmm. Is it just me or do I perceive in this country an upcoming generation, who is more violent/extremist in their tendencies? As I scoured through the social media, I saw youngsters impatient with debates, swearing at people with opposite inclinations and launching personal attacks against the candidates. It was more than just a freak occurrence and in sufficient numbers to make me concerned about the path we are taking. It doesn't matter if your orientation is left, right or centre but if you can't reason out with sound arguments and communicate with nothing other than poison spewing and malicious words, there is really no use blaming the political parties running the show for the state the country is in.
I really wish for this country, a new generation who are going to breathe down on politicians every second and make them wary of committing mistakes. More importantly, I hope for this country that this generation wouldn't turn out to be just a bunch of cheerleaders.
Of course, these are just my personal views and may have its share of inaccuracies. You are welcome to contemplate and criticise. So, that's all folks. See you, next post.
Update : Thanks to Aravind Nair for correcting certain factual inaccuracies.
