Do the trends in the country's political landscape point to ominous signs? While I'm not supportive of any particular party, the one that provides good governance and takes the country forward, in terms of growth, would be my party. I'd cast my vote in favour of that party, without doubt.
Narendra Modi, as the Prime Minister, has enhanced the country's prestige abroad and has proven to be an effective leader within the constraints that he has to live with. The economy has improved by some of his bold initiatives and he has been able to put in a number of far reaching reforms which will be good for the well being of the country in the long run.
However, having come to power in the three north eastern states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, Modi and his party have suddenly begun to feel the heat of the opposition moves towards forming a broad alliance to fight the general elections of '19. The electoral wins of Laloo Prasad Yadav's RJD in Bihar's Araria and of the totally mismatched duo, Akhilesh Yadav-Mayawathi's in UP's Gorakhpur and Phulpur throw an important lesson for the party in power.
The final shape of the much touted opposition alliance of 26+ parties will only become clear, closer to the elections considering their inherent contradictions. There are many people who nurture prime ministerial ambitions among them like Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the jail borne Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mamatha Banerjee and K Chandrasekhar Rao. Besides all of them, Rahul Gandhi, would like to consider himself as the 'safest' bet thanks to his background but the Congress' battered stature will not permit his easy acceptance by the others!
What are the ominous signs that I'm talking about? Consider these:-
(a) Already, there are murmurs as to why none among the opposition leaders have gone into jail
for their involvement in the CWG scam, the 2G spectrum scam, the Hindustan Times scam and
many others and ask as to whether those scams really happened or were they all cooked up?
What they conveniently forget is the manner in which the cases are purposely
made to drag on in courts......play for time, seems to be the watchword.
(b) As the noose tightens around Karti Chidambaram and his father, the fightback is getting
stronger and bitter, along with the unnecessary obfuscations in the courts.
(c) The recent revolt of the four judges in the Supreme Court.
(d) The long marches of the farmers in Bombay, Maharashtra and now, in Lucknow, UP
with a hue of red, complete with CPM flags! Is the entire lot of the Indian kisans pro-CPM?
What about the other parties? Don't they have any stake in the agrarian vote bank? And is it
that the marches have a JNU touch? What I'm trying to say is that the farmers have been taken
care of by, both, the central and the state governments, so what grievances do they have now?
Another pitfall while organising such massive rallies is that anti-social elements have a way of
getting into it and changing its peaceful texture; the organisers, I'm sure, are guarding against
any such possibility of it going out of hand. The march to New Delhi has been soft pedalled
because of Kejriwal.
(e) Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the Indian diaspora abroad which invariably gets into
Modi-bashing. How I wish it was a brief mention, followed, by his vision for the country!
(f) Sonia Gandhi's vehement assertion, "We will not let Modi come back in '19", in the recently
concluded India Today conclave.
(g) The media, literally, celebrating BJP's electoral reverses in Araria, Gorakhpur and Phulpur!
(h) The YSR Congress' no confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government
in parliament. Or is it Chandrababu Naidu's after threatening to quit the NDA?
(j) Pakistan calling back its envoy. That country knows that it's election year for India. And
one can't forget an appeal made earlier to it by Mani Shankar Aiyar to remove Modi. Is it
that country's way to influence our elections?
My take.
All political parties must play the general elections in a fair manner, thrashing out at each other on issues. The Indian voter is intelligent and sane, he'll exercise his franchise for the good of the country and may the best man win!
Tailpiece.
My cellphone has gone duff. I believe I'll have to go to an Airtel outlet and change the sim. It's disgusting!
Narendra Modi, as the Prime Minister, has enhanced the country's prestige abroad and has proven to be an effective leader within the constraints that he has to live with. The economy has improved by some of his bold initiatives and he has been able to put in a number of far reaching reforms which will be good for the well being of the country in the long run.
However, having come to power in the three north eastern states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, Modi and his party have suddenly begun to feel the heat of the opposition moves towards forming a broad alliance to fight the general elections of '19. The electoral wins of Laloo Prasad Yadav's RJD in Bihar's Araria and of the totally mismatched duo, Akhilesh Yadav-Mayawathi's in UP's Gorakhpur and Phulpur throw an important lesson for the party in power.
The final shape of the much touted opposition alliance of 26+ parties will only become clear, closer to the elections considering their inherent contradictions. There are many people who nurture prime ministerial ambitions among them like Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the jail borne Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mamatha Banerjee and K Chandrasekhar Rao. Besides all of them, Rahul Gandhi, would like to consider himself as the 'safest' bet thanks to his background but the Congress' battered stature will not permit his easy acceptance by the others!
What are the ominous signs that I'm talking about? Consider these:-
(a) Already, there are murmurs as to why none among the opposition leaders have gone into jail
for their involvement in the CWG scam, the 2G spectrum scam, the Hindustan Times scam and
many others and ask as to whether those scams really happened or were they all cooked up?
What they conveniently forget is the manner in which the cases are purposely
made to drag on in courts......play for time, seems to be the watchword.
(b) As the noose tightens around Karti Chidambaram and his father, the fightback is getting
stronger and bitter, along with the unnecessary obfuscations in the courts.
(c) The recent revolt of the four judges in the Supreme Court.
(d) The long marches of the farmers in Bombay, Maharashtra and now, in Lucknow, UP
with a hue of red, complete with CPM flags! Is the entire lot of the Indian kisans pro-CPM?
What about the other parties? Don't they have any stake in the agrarian vote bank? And is it
that the marches have a JNU touch? What I'm trying to say is that the farmers have been taken
care of by, both, the central and the state governments, so what grievances do they have now?
Another pitfall while organising such massive rallies is that anti-social elements have a way of
getting into it and changing its peaceful texture; the organisers, I'm sure, are guarding against
any such possibility of it going out of hand. The march to New Delhi has been soft pedalled
because of Kejriwal.
(e) Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the Indian diaspora abroad which invariably gets into
Modi-bashing. How I wish it was a brief mention, followed, by his vision for the country!
(f) Sonia Gandhi's vehement assertion, "We will not let Modi come back in '19", in the recently
concluded India Today conclave.
(g) The media, literally, celebrating BJP's electoral reverses in Araria, Gorakhpur and Phulpur!
(h) The YSR Congress' no confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government
in parliament. Or is it Chandrababu Naidu's after threatening to quit the NDA?
(j) Pakistan calling back its envoy. That country knows that it's election year for India. And
one can't forget an appeal made earlier to it by Mani Shankar Aiyar to remove Modi. Is it
that country's way to influence our elections?
My take.
All political parties must play the general elections in a fair manner, thrashing out at each other on issues. The Indian voter is intelligent and sane, he'll exercise his franchise for the good of the country and may the best man win!
Tailpiece.
My cellphone has gone duff. I believe I'll have to go to an Airtel outlet and change the sim. It's disgusting!
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