It's the Graduation season. Here is one of the best Commencement speeches.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Singh is indeed King
It's a sad day for us who believed that BJP would come to power. There were two kinds among the supporters of BJP. One, like me, who did believe in the Exit polls but still had a ray of hope for a miracle. And two, those who thought exit polls were all wrong and BJP would sweep the polls. Both the kinds were proved wrong today.
I was really shocked to see this huge swing in favor of UPA and Congress in particular. A change of +78 seats from 2004 for Congress ! Something definitely went wrong for BJP. Or something went unexpectedly right with Congress. I genuinely want to understand the rationale behind voting for Congress. Why did people give a huge landslide victory to UPA?
1) Is it Rahul Gandhi's charm?
2) Is it the clean image of Manmohan Singh?
3) Is it the wave of sympathy towards Singh who was under bitter attack from BJP? Or because he has to follow orders from the high command?
4) Did people really believe that UPA government did a good job of leading the nation in last five years?
5) Did people forget all the terror attacks including Mumbai massacre?
6) Did Modi repel the voters away from BJP?
7) Did people underestimate UPA's failures in economic policies? (For whatever it is worth now, go through this article on WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124109098695372847.html
8) Did people forget the row created a few years ago by Arjun Singh for reservation?
Or it's just that people are too infatuated by the Gandhi dynesty to have any discretion. A servile, mindless fascination towards anyone and everyone who enters politics from that family. That family seems to have some sort of invisible grip on the psyche of the people of India.
I can find some comfort in the fact that now the regional parties and their rogue leaders will not hold the central government hostage. A clear majority is always good for democracy. It shows a clear mandate by the people. (God knows what people where thinking when they gave this mandate! But anyway...)
Mr Advani's hopes are dashed. Now the history books will never have his name as one of the Prime Ministers of India. He had come so close so often. And yet destiny deliverd a blow everytime.
Modi is in a very delicate position now. And a very unenviable one for that matter. He could not even gain seats in his own Gujarat. And his campaigning was supposed to be a major factor in BJP's success. The party leaders joined the band wagon and pronounced him as the next PM candiate. Now they are swallowing their words and are feeling like kicking their own butts.
BJP's stratagists must be feeling completely flabbergasted. They failed to see the red signs. If at all there were any! Many people in the party are going to face the heat in near future. They need to do some serious introspection.
The Left too was caught on the wrong side. May be finally the people of West Bengal are realizing that Communism is probably not the best governance system in 21st century.
Rahul Gandhi is 'The Blue Eyed Boy' for Congress and a natural successor of Singh. Mr. Singh himself has given several not-so-suble indications of that. I won't be surprised if he is elevated to the most coveted position in the world's largest democracy soon.
Whatever happens, one thing is for sure. This is going to be a stable government for next five years. And all I can do is hope that they have a little more to offer to the people of India than just stability.
I was really shocked to see this huge swing in favor of UPA and Congress in particular. A change of +78 seats from 2004 for Congress ! Something definitely went wrong for BJP. Or something went unexpectedly right with Congress. I genuinely want to understand the rationale behind voting for Congress. Why did people give a huge landslide victory to UPA?
1) Is it Rahul Gandhi's charm?
2) Is it the clean image of Manmohan Singh?
3) Is it the wave of sympathy towards Singh who was under bitter attack from BJP? Or because he has to follow orders from the high command?
4) Did people really believe that UPA government did a good job of leading the nation in last five years?
5) Did people forget all the terror attacks including Mumbai massacre?
6) Did Modi repel the voters away from BJP?
7) Did people underestimate UPA's failures in economic policies? (For whatever it is worth now, go through this article on WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124109098695372847.html
8) Did people forget the row created a few years ago by Arjun Singh for reservation?
Or it's just that people are too infatuated by the Gandhi dynesty to have any discretion. A servile, mindless fascination towards anyone and everyone who enters politics from that family. That family seems to have some sort of invisible grip on the psyche of the people of India.
I can find some comfort in the fact that now the regional parties and their rogue leaders will not hold the central government hostage. A clear majority is always good for democracy. It shows a clear mandate by the people. (God knows what people where thinking when they gave this mandate! But anyway...)
Mr Advani's hopes are dashed. Now the history books will never have his name as one of the Prime Ministers of India. He had come so close so often. And yet destiny deliverd a blow everytime.
Modi is in a very delicate position now. And a very unenviable one for that matter. He could not even gain seats in his own Gujarat. And his campaigning was supposed to be a major factor in BJP's success. The party leaders joined the band wagon and pronounced him as the next PM candiate. Now they are swallowing their words and are feeling like kicking their own butts.
BJP's stratagists must be feeling completely flabbergasted. They failed to see the red signs. If at all there were any! Many people in the party are going to face the heat in near future. They need to do some serious introspection.
The Left too was caught on the wrong side. May be finally the people of West Bengal are realizing that Communism is probably not the best governance system in 21st century.
Rahul Gandhi is 'The Blue Eyed Boy' for Congress and a natural successor of Singh. Mr. Singh himself has given several not-so-suble indications of that. I won't be surprised if he is elevated to the most coveted position in the world's largest democracy soon.
Whatever happens, one thing is for sure. This is going to be a stable government for next five years. And all I can do is hope that they have a little more to offer to the people of India than just stability.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The D-Day arrives
It's time now. Only a few hours to go. The fate of the politicians and the country is sealed in the boxes. And tomorrow it is going to open up. Some will give pleasant surprises, some will get dejection and despair. If we are to go by the exit polls, most likely scenario is a Govt formed by Congress with support of almost all the rest anti-BJP parties and someone like Sharad Pawar becoming PM. It is to be seen if such a government will be any more successful than past governments like Deve Gowda or I.K. Gujaral. If Congress indeed is able to gather up a larger chunk of seats, we might see repeatation of 2004 with UPA government coming to power under Manmohan Singh's leadership. In any case, the chances of NDA forming government look bleak to me. However, deep down inside my heart, I still have the hope that people of India have made the right decision and chosen L K Advani as the leader of the nation for next five years.
So what will be the expression on your face tomorrow? A smile, a grimace, a frown or complete apathy? (Provivded, you even know what I am talking about tomorrow!)
So what will be the expression on your face tomorrow? A smile, a grimace, a frown or complete apathy? (Provivded, you even know what I am talking about tomorrow!)
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