General elections are round the corner and the parties are trying all the tricks in the book to woo the voters. The myriad of strategies from money to hate speeches are being thrown into the arena to see what exactly would work.
In the election with all the flavors of the wicked Indian politics, there seems to be a beginning of a beginning. To see it coming from a party which has thus far depended on complete anti-thesis of the ideology, is a welcome change. They have handed their fortunes in the hands of ideology others have only pay a lip service to.
I am talking about congress and their decision to go out to the polls as a secular outfit. A group which is neck deep in the same shit of Indian corrupt leaders but has a progressive outlook. I would not say that appeasement has become zero but if you look at the rhetoric of congress leaders in this elections, they have steered away from sure-fire religious and castist mantras. On the other hand, likes od BJP, BSP, SP, DMK etc all have toed the line of religious extremism. A point to be noted here is that, in the last 5 years, none of the religious rioting has been noticed in congree led states.
Kandhamal, Manglore, Banglore, Goa, west bengal, Gujarat etc all have been a blot on the face of civilized society. So is India going to embrace this pioneering attempt to rise above the age old mantras of winning in India. Is India ready for tolerance which has only remainded a cliched hostorical fact? I sincerely hope it is so. Because if this attempt fails, it will only coroborate that India still likes to live in its factions caring not even an iota about the our guiding principle of 'vasudeva kutumbakam'.
If Congress doesn't come in power this time as well, India will have lost a chance to shake away its past. I personally would be dejected at the thought of being ruled by the makers of Gujarat or Kandhamal or Banglore or Manglore or West Bengal. Or people who would like to stick to Relegious minutae vis-a-vis development. Wishing the new era of Indian politics all the best!!
Update 16/06/2009 - Congress won. They were rewarded not only for the good governance and pioneering schemes like NREGA but also I hope the points I have outlined here. This point gets credence from a lot of urban votes which they got. They swept Delhi, got a log of votes in Karnatka. Congress-NCP got a lion's share of seats in Mumbai and Maharashtra. On the other hand Mumbai seats did not go to MNS. I am not political pundit but this time I hope the reason for the verdict are right.
Update 01/08/2011 - BJP - JDU won in Bihar for a second term by a better majority. The news channels were abuzz about how Bihar has voted for development and restoration of the law of the land. Nitish Kumar did appease muslims by not allowing Narendra Modi to campaign but I think that is fair. I think, I just think, that a new order is on the rise. The change is bound to be slow, but it sure is there.
In the election with all the flavors of the wicked Indian politics, there seems to be a beginning of a beginning. To see it coming from a party which has thus far depended on complete anti-thesis of the ideology, is a welcome change. They have handed their fortunes in the hands of ideology others have only pay a lip service to.
I am talking about congress and their decision to go out to the polls as a secular outfit. A group which is neck deep in the same shit of Indian corrupt leaders but has a progressive outlook. I would not say that appeasement has become zero but if you look at the rhetoric of congress leaders in this elections, they have steered away from sure-fire religious and castist mantras. On the other hand, likes od BJP, BSP, SP, DMK etc all have toed the line of religious extremism. A point to be noted here is that, in the last 5 years, none of the religious rioting has been noticed in congree led states.
Kandhamal, Manglore, Banglore, Goa, west bengal, Gujarat etc all have been a blot on the face of civilized society. So is India going to embrace this pioneering attempt to rise above the age old mantras of winning in India. Is India ready for tolerance which has only remainded a cliched hostorical fact? I sincerely hope it is so. Because if this attempt fails, it will only coroborate that India still likes to live in its factions caring not even an iota about the our guiding principle of 'vasudeva kutumbakam'.
If Congress doesn't come in power this time as well, India will have lost a chance to shake away its past. I personally would be dejected at the thought of being ruled by the makers of Gujarat or Kandhamal or Banglore or Manglore or West Bengal. Or people who would like to stick to Relegious minutae vis-a-vis development. Wishing the new era of Indian politics all the best!!
Update 16/06/2009 - Congress won. They were rewarded not only for the good governance and pioneering schemes like NREGA but also I hope the points I have outlined here. This point gets credence from a lot of urban votes which they got. They swept Delhi, got a log of votes in Karnatka. Congress-NCP got a lion's share of seats in Mumbai and Maharashtra. On the other hand Mumbai seats did not go to MNS. I am not political pundit but this time I hope the reason for the verdict are right.
Update 01/08/2011 - BJP - JDU won in Bihar for a second term by a better majority. The news channels were abuzz about how Bihar has voted for development and restoration of the law of the land. Nitish Kumar did appease muslims by not allowing Narendra Modi to campaign but I think that is fair. I think, I just think, that a new order is on the rise. The change is bound to be slow, but it sure is there.
