Congress reshuffling an empty deck?
The clock is ticking for the ruling Congress party. Ever since the national auditor’s report blew the lid off the 2G spectrum scandal, the second term of the UPA government has been clouded by incessant talk of premature general elections or who will lead India in 2014.
As rumours do the rounds of a possible reshuffle of the Congress party after the Budget session, one gets the sense that India’s grand old party is starting to prepare for national elections, even if they are two years away. And rightly so, especially after its disastrous performance in Uttar Pradesh, the state that sends the largest number of lawmakers to parliament. While no political party is likely to secure majority if national elections were to be held today, regional parties could hold sway.
The Congress’ present situation is a throwback to the 1960s when the party was trying to revitalise its functioning in the face of declining popularity and vote share. Indira Gandhi ruled India for eleven consecutive years, followed by another term later that was cut short by her assassination. After her son Rajiv came to power and his destiny followed his mother’s, the Congress returned to power for only one term until the UPA government came to power in 2004.
This time it is unlikely the reshuffle will actually revive the party — with a generation of leaders close to retirement and a severe shortage of mid-level talent, Congress has few obvious options. There is still little clarity about succession.
It is also unlikely Manmohan Singh will be the prime ministerial candidate again. There is uncertainty over whether party president Sonia Gandhi’s son Rahul can run both the party and a government, if required. Nor does the party nurture its leaders to lead from the front. And with no other option in sight, Sonia Gandhi ailing and unwilling to lead, and the current PM conspicuously inert, the Congress party is increasingly faceless.
The Congress’ leadership vacuum could boost the fortunes of regional political parties, their rising power evident in the recently concluded assembly elections. As for the BJP, which has its eyes on New Delhi ever since its 2004 India Shining campaign bombed, there could be two scenarios — elections could cost the party dear if it doesn’t put its own house in order; or the unpredictable Indian voter might just have a typical mood swing and decide to elect the pro-Hindu party once again.
Much ado about Rahul Gandhi’s ash claim
By Annie Banerji
Days after Rahul Gandhi’s dramatic motorcycle pillion ride to twin villages in Uttar Pradesh to quell land acquisition agitations between police and farmers, the Congress general secretary told Indian media that he found a 70-foot pile of ashes with human remains inside.
He added that women had been raped, people had been beaten up and the police had torn down houses during the protests.
On questioning the villagers of Bhatta and Parsaul, the Indian Express found that not a single person backed Gandhi’s assertions. The main refrain was that of police beating up villagers and mistreating them.
Gandhi’s claims of unaccounted-for people seemed undermined with the Times of India reporting that the only officially “missing” person was traced to a hospital in New Delhi. Even those who have been staying away fearing police brutality are trickling back to their homes.
Even though Gandhi produced pictures to corroborate his claims, the startled expressions of villagers in reaction to the allegations and the ground reality of the situation hints at a political gimmick from his ruling Congress party in a state where it is trying to strengthen its base with assembly elections looming next year.
Congress had earlier chosen Gandhi, son of party chief Sonia Gandhi, to face the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state and his focus has since been on Dalits, Muslims and the backward classes.
This Are Turbulent Times For Indian Politicians Across The Vast Spectrum Of Political Class.
Average Citizens With Strong Leadership Coming From Within The Civil Society And Along With Certain Media Supporting The Civil Society, Have Shown The Government What Can They Achieve If desired.
This Are The Times When One Person Can Take This As An Opportunity Of A Life Time And Take His Career To Greater Heights As A Politician…
With Narendra Modi Not So Keen To Get Into The Fold Of National Politics, Only One Man Has This Opportunity, As No One From The Opposition Parties Nor The Partners Of The UPA Have That One Person.
This One Person Is Non Other Than Rahul Gandhi, Who IS Doing A Miserable Job Of This Opportunity, This One Incident Has Proved Beyond Doubt That Mr. Rahul Baba Has Not Yet Grown As His Age Has.
The Reason For This Is… He Has To Build His Coterie Who Understand The Pulse Of The Nation And Are Willing To Put Their Ears To The Ground, But Incidentally He Follows Someone Who Is On His Own Trip… A Certain Mr. Digvijay Singh.
If At All, Rahul Baba Has To Grow To Be A Man… A Man Who Went On to Become The Prime Minister Of India… Then He Need To Rethink His Association With Digvijay Singh, Cause What Ever Happened In Bhatta Parsaul… Happened Cause Of Irrational Thinking Of Digvijay Singh, What Was He Thinking When He Instigated Rahul Baba To Say All Of The Nonsense About Human Ashes… Who Would Believe This… For God Sake… This Is Not Bosnia… This Is India…
Rahul Gandhi, If Cant Take His Own decisions, Will Be Better Off To Leave His Ambition Behind And Let His Sister, Priyanka Vadhera Take The Mantel Of India, She Is A Far Sensible Politician Than Rahul.
Shiv Sena, secularists and politics of regionalism
India’s ruling Congress party and main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have found themselves on a common platform after Gandhi family scion Rahul Gandhi slammed the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for their tirade against ‘outsiders’ – mainly north Indians – in Maharashtra.
Earlier, BJP president Nitin Gadkari invoked the constitutional right of every Indian to live anywhere, in a snub to erstwhile political ally Shiv Sena, whose agenda is to promote the interest of Marathis, sometimes with violent effect at the cost of non-Marathis, especially those living in Mumbai.
Waving the politics of regionalism is nothing new for the Sena and its breakaway faction MNS, who derive their political base from the ‘sons of the soil’ ideology.
And so far, they have mostly gotten away without being prosecuted for their agitations ranging from destroying public property to beating up non-natives in the streets of cosmopolitan Mumbai.
The state’s ruling Congress-NCP government has also been accused in the past of allowing MNS to have a free run in Mumbai because of political expediency – as a counter to the Shiv Sena.
So why are the country’s two biggest parties now coming out with a common voice against the Sena and MNS? Is it a confluence of ideology despite differences for the cause of the country’s secular credentials? Or, after so many years of silence, is it just rhetoric with every party eyeing their respective constituencies.
The BJP’s cold-shouldering of the Sena, its oldest political ally, is seen by some as the outcome of political calculations under new leader Gadkari rather than a change of ideology, as it feels the regional party’s agenda is not in tune with the BJP’s pan-Indian aspirations.
“The 2 biggest parties give the cold shoulder to RSS and MNS” (coz the national parties do not reckon them to be a potent force anymore), “will not allow north Indians into Maharashtra” (A poor gimmick to garner local support and gain political mileage), “Will not allow screening of MNIK” (downright marketing/ well done SRK&co).- At the end of the day it remains a fact that their (RSS & MNS) insipid and senseless overtures will only make them a laughing stock and give enough fodder for the ruling parties to impose necessary sanctions on a now defunct outfit.
Will the Congress party’s austerity drive work?
When India’s ruling Congress party asked ministers and bureaucrats to cut down on needless expenses at a time of recession and deepening drought, many in the country had one question on their lips: will the austerity drive work?Rahul Gandhi tried to set an example by travelling by train as an ordinary passenger. His mother, Sonia, abandoned her private army plane and flew economy class on a commercial flight for a party rally in Mumbai.But there is still a great deal of scepticism among people. Some of the doubting was fuelled after the train Rahul was travelling in was pelted with stones. Experts said Rahul’s train trip was a security risk, which could cramp the austerity drive.But it’s not just the security concerns alone. The austerity drive also drew ridicule following a controversy over two senior government ministers staying in luxury hotel suites priced at $1,000 and $1,500 a night until their official residences were ready.Both ministers said they’d paid for their suites themselves, but stung by criticism amid the government’s austerity drive, they moved to more modest temporary homes.However, it was too late to change the mind of ordinary Indians who over years of Nehruvian socialism had begun to associate Congress politicians as leaders in simple hand-spun cotton, or khadi, clothes who drove around in old-fashioned Ambassador cars.Now, the question many are asking is: will the austerity drive last with election campaigns for Maharashtra and Haryana about to begin?True, with the economy in trouble, the government is making an effort with the finance ministry appealing for fewer overseas trips and smaller entourages as well as a ban on conferences in luxury hotels.But it isn’t easy: one minister protested he was “too tall” to fly economy while another said their positions demand they entertain in style.So, will the government’s austerity drive last? The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doesn’t think so. A BJP spokesman said it was just an “election gimmick” and they would go back to their usual ways once the state elections were over.Will they?
Ganesh Naik duo clean sweep in Navi MumbaiIT WAS a clean sweep for the Nationalist Congress Party in Navi Mumbai with the father-son duo of Ganesh Naik and Sandeep Naik emerging victorious in Belapur and Airoli, the two Assembly constituencies in the satellite city.While it was a smooth ride for three-term MLA and state excise, labour and environment minister Ganesh Naik against BJP’s Suresh Haware, son Sandeep Naik faced nervous moments as Shiv Sena’s Vijay Chougule steadily garnered more votes in the initial phase of the counting. Despite having lost to Sandeep’s brother Sanjeev Naik in the Thane constituency in the recent Lok Sabha elections by over 40,000 votes, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had again fielded Airoli corporator Chougule to challenge the Naik supremacy. http://www.ganeshnaik.com/http://navimum bai-ganeshjinaik.blogspot.com/ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ganesh _Naik
Is Rahul Gandhi prime minister material?
He’s been called the “Quiet Revolutionary“. And India’s prime minister-in-waiting. But does Rahul Gandhi, a virtual novice in the rough and tumble of Indian politics, have what it takes for the country’s top job?
He didn’t exactly set the house on fire during his first five years in parliament. And until this election, Rahul’s only USP was that he belonged to India’s first family, the Nehru-Gandhi family which has given the country three prime ministers.
He’s only 39, and has no experience with complex subjects such as Pakistan or the economy.
But after the recent election, Rahul has emerged as a savvy politician, a grassroots activist with a finger on the pulse of the real India.
His strategy of not allying with any of the regional parties in northern India despite pressure from party officials paid off big time.
The Congress party’s decision to go it alone in northern India helped it more than double its seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Initially, based just on his political strategy for this election, there was much speculation over whether he would join the cabinet, and if he did what portfolio he’d get.
Dear Rahul
I’am writing this open letter to you and sincerely hope that this letter reaches you. I’ll be too optimistic to hope that you will reply this letter, but it is man’s nature to dream and so be it.There has been a wide spread belief in the country(read Congress workers) that you are the wind of change that will sweep the country and pull the rug under the opponent. They firmly believe that you will bring Congress back to its glory days( I sincerely does not mean emergency days)and it will come back to power on its own , without support of nagging allies( Mamtas and Laloos) , like your father did in 1984( thanks to sympathy wave generated). But before to fulfill the wishes of your followers, iwould like to pose few questions for you:-
1. What are you going to do to introduce democracy in the largest political party of the world’s largest democracy? The party in which the party post are nominated and not elected. The party in which it is the name of the father and not the sweat that you lose is your qualification.
2. What are you going to do to end the dynasty rule in your party? Your so called youth brigade is just a bunch of dynasty children , born with silver spoon in mouth.
3. You keep on emphasizing the power to youth . Can you highlight any one of your achievement, which has reduced the misery of the youth in this country? If you can’t remember any of the misery of the youth ( Off course you can’t because as you have never undergone any of that), then I’ll help you. It’s like Un-employment, Lack of quality education, lack of equality in opportunity, etc. And please these are not all, I’ve not included generic problems like poverty, in-human living condition, corruption, caste system, high inflation, etc because they ar common for everybody.
4. The austerity drive taken you and your party has been highly appreciated by the media. And off course it should be . You have been travelling along the country side in air conditioned SUV’s , taking chopper to places where SUV can’t go ( in this you have been taking high risk ,by flying beyond the stipulated timing all this just for the welfare of the people..!!) and obviously travelling by aircraft. Oh I ‘am sorry, I did not mention that you travelled in poor Indian railways in I’st class AC of Shatabdi Express(in which you got stoned remember) , which was a nightmare for your security staff.
5. It is also appreciated that you travel ( In AC SUV’s) to dalit homes and take meals them and even sleep there( Off course Mayawati ,who supports you in the center, alleges that you take bath with special soap after that). What real actions have you taken for the upliftment of the dalits? ( Cleanliness begins at home) ). None of congress CM is dalit; there are very few dalit in your party holding high post and your youth brigade does not have a prominent youth face (I can’t remember anyone now). How about the idea of giving your party president post to a dalit…!!!!
6. Your visit and its reference in parliament in your speech, to Kalavati residence in vidharba has been a lot talked about in Indian media. I would like to ask you who is responsible for the present state of Kalavati and millions other like him in Vidharba? She lives in a state which has been ruled by your party most of the time since independence( barring a small patch of SS-BJP rule) and at the same time your party was at the center too…!!!
7. Your party proudly takes credit for bringing liberalization in this country and taking it to the path of progress. I’ ask you that why was liberalization brought in 1991 and not in 1951? Why was the country denied opportunity that it has today? Was it the lust of power hungry people who wanted to keep the strings of power with then(red tapeism)?Or was independence just the extension of British rule, with now brown ruling instead of whites. Or is it because the foirst Pm of the country was of socialist ideology. So the country run based on the likes and dis-likes of only one individual and not based on what the country needs. Now the irony is that the liberalization was initiated by a PM who does not belong to your dynasty. Although Rajiv Gandhi could have done wonders , if he wanted , because he had the greatest majority ever in parliament.
8. Isn’t it pitiful that a person who was born in this country , suddenly realizes that he should know his motherland and starts his “discovery of India” after 30 years of having fled and bled in this country?
9. Isn’t it ironic that you spend a night in dalit home in a full media glare and you celebrate New Year in a five star resort in Jaiselmer with no media flash lights…!!!
10. Why are you afraid of conducting press conference? But it seems that your party is more afraid of you conducting press conference, because whenever you conduct press conference, the aftermath is that the entire congress party is on the media giving clarification on your statements . And the same applies to your party president also.
11. You give impression that you believe in social justice and equality . But your party follows feudalistic culture. What steps you intend to take to reduce sycophancy and feudalistic culture in your party? Isn’t it shameful that when you visit Mumbai the CM of the state waits for you under the sun for three hours( time which he could have well spent in the welfare of the people) and the Minister of state for home lifts your ‘chappals’..!!!!Is it just because you belong to the dynasty? You say that you don’t like people calling you “ Yuvraj”, but you don’t mind getting the treatment..!!!!(action don’t confirm your words)
12. Nowadays you have been repeatedly saying in UP that the funds send by center are not being spend by the state government. Can you just tell what happened when it was your government at the Center and in the state? Why was nothing done then? By the way very few of the states ruled by your party appear in the top ten best states , according to the survey by India Today, so what is happening to center funds there?
14. You have been travelling around the country meeting people from all sphre of life, but did you visits the house of any of our brave soldier who has laid for the country . Or is it just that they don’t for a formidable “Vote bank” and are therefore insignificant and expendable.
13. You have very willingly embraced the perks of your dynasty . But why aren’t you equally willing to accept the blame for 1984 Anti-sikh riots, Bhopal gas tragedy( and shameful fleeing of Anderson) , Kashmir problem, and countless other?
I expect you to answer above question and come clean so that the people of this country know the truth before you rule them.
By a Common Indian
for more details, comment and contribution http://lettertorahulgandhi.blogspot.com
Indian voters – spoilt for choice?
With 8071 candidates contesting 543 seats – that’s an average of 15 candidates for each seat — the 400 million Indian voters who chose to vote sure looked spoilt for choice.
But were they?
Though democracy means choosing who our rulers are going to be, many say there is a crucial missing link in Indian democracy — the lack of inner-party democracy.
This results in the lack of people’s participation especially in choosing candidates, unlike the U.S. where primaries are held by political parties to elect candidates.
Rahul Gandhi says he is trying to make reforms.
At a recent press conference, commenting on his position within the ruling Congress party he said, “It is undemocratic and it is a reality.”
“The Indian political system tends to be related to who you know, who your brother is, who your sister is, and it’s in every single party, in the BJP it exists, in the Congress it exists, that’s a fact of life, that’s the reflection of a closed system.”
ELECTION RESULTS 2009
INTERPRETATIONS OF JANTA’S VERDICT
I.BIG NO TO CRIMINALS
These results have been remarkable in many regards. First and foremost, most politically significant aspect of all, we must congratulate the electorate for cleansing the system effectively. Almost all the Mafia/goonda element has been wiped clean by the voters in this election –
Atique Ahmad(Apna Dal)from Phoolpur,
Mukhtar Ansari(BSP) from Varansi,
Afzal Ansari (SP)from Ghazipur,
Mitrasen(BSP) from Faizabad,
D.P.Yadav(BSP) from Badaun,
Arun Kumar Shukla(Anna-BSP)from Unnao.
Akshay Pratap Sigh(Gopal Ji-sp)from Pratapgarh also lost .
Congress was saved from embarrassment as Ranjeeta Ranjan(Wife of Pappu Yadav)and Shanti Priya(Mother of Pappu Yadav) contesting from Supaul and Purniya -with full congress support- respectively both lost and along with Sadhu Yadav.Hena Shaheb(W/o Shahbuddin)contesting on RJD ticket also lost from Sewan.
Lessons (if they are willing to learn)-
A.We do not want criminals in the parliament. We have cleansed the system once ,keep it clean now by not giving them tickets in future.
B. Ms. Mayawati do not take us for fools, there is no way that you can get away with enrolling all the big time criminals for parliamentary elections. How ignorant can a person try to be, telling that BSP could not get the expected number of seats because people were scared that BSP will later start negotiating with BJP-bring something more audacious ,anybody. Truth is staring in your eyes, you are not willing to look at it and expecting everybody else to close their eyes also.
C.If a systematic effort is made to make people understand ,they do understand. All the Corporate and Media houses are to be congratulated for their all out efforts to keep the system clean. What is most encouraging is that such efforts were made for the first time, were spontaneous, motivated by a sincere desire to clean the system and they proved to be so effective.
II.BLACK-MAILERS/BROKERS/ARM-TWISTERS KINDLY EXCUSE
How many King Makers/Prime-ministers in waiting had to eat their words-Lalu Prasad and Ramvilas Paswan duo,Mayawati,Sharad Pawar,Mulayam Singh-Amar Singh Duo,Jayalalitha,Prakash Karat in particular and Left parties in general. These are people /parties with loudest ambitions and most unveiled threats and demands. People of this country have had enough of them. I found the fate of RJD/LJP in Bihar funniest along with SP in UP. Congress did the right thing by calling their bluff-when your closest allies suddenly leave you in the lurch and you have to slug it out all alone, do it with all the heart and there is an old saying(as Lalu,Paswan and Mulayam must have learnt the hard way)-Luck favours the brave. People have started understanding that these are all small time leaders with truncated visions ,doing politics of/for one particular caste or region without the capacity to realize the ill-effects of what they are doing, how much fragmented the society is becoming due to all their social-engineering or Madndal- Kamandal experiments and most importantly they do not have any ideology or vision at all except for a fierce desire to keep clinging to the seat of power for making as much money as they can. Thank god their next generations are much better and educated and seem to understand that politics is about the nation(As In Bharat that is India) and not about their own clan,region,language and so forth….
III.GOOD GOVERNENCE HAS FINALLY STARTED PAYING IN OUR COUNTRY ALSO
Chief ministers of Delhi,MP,Andhra Pradesh,Gujrat,Chhattisgarh and most notably Bihar and Orrissa have reaped rich harvest for all their good works and also some of the policies at the central level have paid handsomely for Congress overall(Agricultural Loan Waiver Scheme and NREGA in particular and being able to contain free fall of economy in general).I hope one day they will all learn that governance only can lead them to the seat of power, even more importantly, people will learn to vote on the basis of policies and governance only keeping aside the usual divisive issues that are created to confuse and befool them.
IV.DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF ONE
All the big ,grown up leaders, political stalwarts in their own eyes ,who were laughing openly at Rahul Gandhi or watching him with bemused expressions and calling him Kal Ka Chhokra, must understand that if your conscience is clean, you can talk to your audience maintaining eye contact all the time(i.e. you do not have any guilt inside),you have faith in what you are doing, you do not have any intentions of grabbing power by hook or crook rather you are willing to refuse what may be duly yours, then illiterate population of this country has a uncanny ability to somehow judge it all. Emergence of Rahul Gandhi is a remarkable phenomenon, it is very clear that he is a political novice, but at the same time and even more forcefully are conveyed his intentions and his basic thought process, the bondage with the audience is instant and spontaneous they seem to understand that this young man is speaking from the core of his heart for their sake and has come to them with an open mind and clear vision. They could see that his vision is not clouded by Religion, caste, language or political or financial gains and they responded in the only way they could have responded (By casting their votes in his favour).This was a natural chemistry between a straight forward person full of youthful energy and a population fed up with convoluted politicians. Almost similar traits were displayed by Priyanka during her campaigns.
V. DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF CALLING A SOFT SPOKEN AND DECENT PERSON A WEAK PERSON
I have a feeling that calling Manmohan Singh a weak Prime minister might not have gone well with any soft spoken ,well behaved ,decent person. How can you call him weak-He managed to run his government without any major hiccups DESPITE Left support for full tenure, he did not release any terrorists in response to attack on Mumbai, he went ahead with Indo-Ameriacn nuclear deal despite severe arm twisting by Left, he managed the economic crisis well without any major tangible effects till date. Yet, suddenly everybody from BJP to his own allies start calling him weak. Despite their ideologies, many well meaning persons will vote in favour of congress just to prove his detractors wrong.
So, in my opinion this is clear verdict in favour of a stable Congress government, expunging the criminals, excluding any scope of arm-twisting and was influenced by sound judgement and a few good decisions of the Mamohan Singh Government with remarable contribution from sensible politicking of Gandhi Family and a clean image of Manmohan singh. At the same time,good governance at state level was also rewarded in general and people have given a vedict more complex and mature than reasonably expected.
Many cheers to this verdict.
Regards,
Vikasendu.
http://vikasendu.blogspot.com/
P.S.-These elections are important for another reason also, cutting across all the party lines, tickets were given to many young politicians in these elections and a very healthy percentage of young MPs will be visible in the Parliament this time-there must be more than a hundred MPs who are 45 years or less in age (87 already and I am still counting)most notable among these being Rahul Gabdhi,Varun Gandhi,Jyortiaditya Sindia,Priya Dutta,Akhilesh Yadav,Jayant Singh,Milind Deora,Supriya Sule,P.Venugopal,Kumar P.,Dayanidhi Maran,Sarika Singh(Only 29 years),Kunwar Jitin Prasad,Dhanajay Singh,Sanjay Nirupam,Ajay Makan,Sandeep Dikshit,Ravneet Singh,Dev Ji Patel,Sachin Pilot,Jitendra Singh,Meenakshi Natrajan,Shruti Chaudhary,Ashok Kumar,Deepender Singh,Naveen Jindal,Ashok Tanwar etc..etc….The list is really a long and impressive one. If somehow they are given a chance to form and run the government cutting across party lines………………IF ONLY……………..
Sonia keeps Indira legacy alive in election
With her greying hair, elegant cotton sarees and accented Hindi, Sonia Gandhi resembles her mother-in-law, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, somewhat.
It is a resemblance that Sonia uses to her advantage on the campaign trail ahead of the election, frequently referring to the contributions and sacrifices made by the Nehru-Gandhi family, particularly Indira and husband Rajiv, who were both assassinated.
Sonia, dragged into politics after a stunning defeat for the Congress party in 1998, is clearly the party’s star campaigner, speaking at three or four rallies everyday, criss-crossing the country in a chopper which holds as much fascination for people in rural India as a glimpse of the nation’s “bahu” or daughter-in-law, as Sonia is called.
She definitely packs in the crowds: men and women, many dangling babies from their hips, and dressed in their finest, break into loud applause when she rises to speak.
She speaks clearly and simply, with little of the rhetoric, vitriol or poetry that mark speeches of older, more seasoned campaigners. Her voice rises as she criticises the BJP for its communalist practices, and as she invites the crowd to cry “Jai Hind” (Long Live India) at the end of a speech.
Once called the “Sphinx” for her inscrutable ways, Sonia waded into the crowd at the end of a recent speech in Sakoli in Maharashtra state, waving and smiling at the blessings and pleas shouted at her by the enthusiastic crowd.
Son Rahul, 38, who has also hit the campaign trail with fervour, is being hailed as the next prime minister while daughter Priyanka, who was earlier touted as heir, has said she will not say “never” to politics.
UNMAI
Congress had no second opportunity to prove it otherwise in Tamil nadu, though. Further, turning a blind eye to massacre of innocent tamils caught in the crossfire has buried any hopes in foreseeable future. Its sister state Andhra had some opportunity and consistently squandered it beyond all lingering doubts. The crores amassed by incumbent state congress ministers are the principal source of congress partys funding for its current electoral expenses nationwide. The scope of corruption had increased leaps and bounds since the amounts allotted to construction projects are staggeringly high these days (it’s a richer country by any standards now). The business of politics is so good that all businessmen are flocking to this filthy profit making profession even giving up their legitimate businesses (one is compelled to make a product which needs to be sold in a business proper).
Iam not praising Mayavathi, I brought her into picture as a deterrent she posed for congress playing the favorite card of -uplifting the underprivileged- anymore, that’s all. They are already uplifted (as we can see a dalit sitting in CMs chair). Agree with you. She will be a disaster in Delhi.
Dont please panic, we dont need the Nehru kids to lead/ educate indians. India remains a global leader on its chosen democratic and secular path in spite of the dynasty and not because of it. The dynasty is the cause of failure of congress party; the very many good leaders have left congress, fed up with dynasty, and became leaders of their own successful parties. Stop seeing nightmares of a Bengali eating a malayali or a telugu swallowing a Marathi. Since when Indians turned so aggressive against one another, they are characterized as a soft state by outsiders for crying out loud. They irrefutably proved their pro minority beliefs. As the record proves that neither Abdul Kalam nor Manmohan Singh was tarnished during their terms in office, leave alone an assassination attempt.
Does youth trump experience in the Lok Sabha stakes?
Indian political parties and leaders are courting young voters for the upcoming general elections and the age of political leaders like L.K. Advani and Rahul Gandhi is being made into an electoral issue.
After all nearly two-thirds of India is below 35 years of age, the cut-off for ‘youth’ according to the National Youth Policy.
A number of surveys and studies seem to suggest otherwise.
One nation-wide survey reported in the ‘Mint’ newspaper shows voters may not quite prefer “fresh and young” candidates, with two-thirds of the 17,640 people sampled preferring experienced candidates.
A series of post-poll surveys carried out since 1996 by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies shows voter turnout is highest in the age group 46-55. The turnout in the age group 18-25 has been consistently lower.
However, a study by the Imagindia institute says parties that put up candidates in the age group 30-45 have an advantage. This is based on what the institute calls ‘Age-Voter pulse model’. It assumes that the ability of a candidate to connect with the pulse of voters depends upon the age difference with the electorate.
i totally agree that being a young candidate doesn’t necessarily translate into votes, for other factors such as experience also count, and in a vast and a socially varied country like India, where fruits of development have still not reached a vast majority, many still prefer to vote for familiar faces, for multitude of reasons such as caste or religion, but very rarely development..however i disagree that these leaders get votes because they perform better in parliament. It is also a fact that it is the inapt handling by these legislators, which has left country’s economic, social and political fabric in tatters.
Do Indian voters really choose?
Rahul Gandhi spoke at a news conference in Amritsar last month. Somewhat predictably newspapers and TV channels covering the event focused on his comments on the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 and his defense against being called a rookie by a seasoned political rival.
They ignored the context of his visit — to review preparations for the local youth Congress elections, being conducted with greater involvement of party workers at the grass-roots level. It’s a practice he apparently wants to replicate across other states.
If Gandhi is serious about it and succeeds in doing so, it will further the cause of internal party democracy, which is a major blind spot in the working of our democracy.
The expression ‘political party’ did not even enter the Indian Constitution for the first thirty-five years of its life and even afterwards it did so cursorily in a Schedule.
The Constitution ensures that we elect our representatives but does not specify how political parties should choose the candidates — it’s a decision that does not involve citizens.
For me, the most fascinating aspect of the the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, even more than the final outcome, was the manner in which candidates are chosen.
Constant and intense interaction between the potential candidates and the party members brings out with a degree of clarity the political agenda of the candidates who in turn get a chance to tweak them to the expectations of voters.
Recent case in IL about selecting governer shows there are flaws in democracy of every nation. No need to compare our election system with US. Atleast when I was there they showed much respect to our democracy.
It depends on peoples and not parties who produces leaders or candidates. In UP, Bihar we vote for all time criminals who are capable of winning the seat from jail.
In South we respect actors rather than social workers. In west bengol I dont know where we are heading same party ruling them but things are in same place where they were at time of independance.
We allways vote for parties and not peoples and thats where we fail.
Will Indian politicians follow in Obama’s e-footsteps?
As the dust settles on a two-year-long election campaign that has now given the United States its first African-American president in Barack Obama, I do wonder if there is a message for Indian politicians from the messenger of change… at least from the way he ran for the White House.
Obama aka ‘the digital candidate’ left no stone unturned in the race to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. For a man who managed to draw crowds in tens of thousands wherever he spoke, Obama realized early in his campaign that his message of ‘change’ had to spread well beyond Democrats and the undecided voters. He wanted America’s youth to be on board and he ensured they did.
He reached out to them by making himself accessible online. Obama used Web 2.0 with a passion, engaging and interacting with them on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and also used new platforms like podcasts, online video and text messages to get his message across.
So, is there a lesson there for Indian politicians, especially the younger lot led by Rahul Gandhi?
Rahul and his team of young Congress leaders like Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia are known to data-mine and number crunch to understand their support bases. Even the BJP’s Arun Jaitley is said to maintain an extensive data base of electorates and voting patterns in states and constituencies.
Some of them have Facebook groups dedicated to them, but none with more than 500 supporters- a pittance in comparison to Obama’s three million.
Are Indian politicians missing out on an opportunity at a time when voter apathy is only growing? There are actually messages on Rahul Gandhi’s Facebook group page (which has less than 100 members) where a member has requested him to log on so they can interact with him.
In 2004 Ms. Sonia Gandhi launched the website http://www.JoinCongress.com which has now come up with Social Networking concept. May be it will help the new congress leaders.
