Month: May 2009

I will start this post quoting last lines from my last post –

PS – as a closing note, I feel UPA (congress) will have good majority, and it will be less chaotic than last time… and congress will be in a better position to rule. (I am thinking 230 seats for UPA, plus 30 support from outside) …. let’s see if my prediction comes close to the real thing on saturday/sunday.

It is 2:30am at USA (12pm in India), I am watching CNN-IBN Election 2009 Live Coverage + following NDTV votemap and trying to understand and observe the trend in election results of 2009.

This is truly history in making and a historical “Judgement day” for India, I cannot afford to sleep today.

As I expected it looks like UPA is leading on 240 seats, and it is almost confirmed to have support from 4th front… and hence confirmed to form government.

(Updated@ 5/16 2:30pm – It is now 12 hours since I am following the results, it is now 2:30 pm here in US and 12am in India, I made above comment yesterday night after which I went to sleep at 6-7am in the morning.

At this moment, all results are almost out and looks like UPA will get 260 seats, just 10 seats short of majority, which as we all know will be easily fillled up by others/4th front … superb!! amazing!!)

I am jubilant!! The last time I was this happy was maybe a year ago when Left tried to topple the government on issue of Nuclear Energy and congress came back stronger.

There are many things that I am pretty much excited about seeing this result and the trend following –

• “Leadership” is now an important factor to win Indian Elections!
  
  In fact, I will not be wrong if I go to the extent to say that it is the single most factor to win elections in India now
  • 1st Example – In my opinion, BJP won in 1999, only because BJP led NDA had a good leadership in terms of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (as opposed to Congress of that time who were fighting among themselves, let alone think about leading a country like India)
  • 2nd Example – fast forward to 2009, Congress pulled all its act together in last 10 years and now they have a good leader – Manmohan Singh and not only that Congress has a young/clean/likeable future leader “Rahul Gandhi” which as we all know is going to play bigger role in coming times.
    
    • I think “leadership” plays a very critical factor now in Indian Voter’s subconscious, although it may not be very much obvious.
• India is turning out to be a very unique democratic system of Bi-Polar but still multiparty system
  • This is second most interesting thing!! … this is opposed to strictly biparty system in USA or themultiparty system (of chaos & coalition) in India we saw for last 10 years.
  • To substantiate this, we can clearly see Conrgess and BJP comings as the two major parties in the election results on all 2-3 past elections… and all other smaller parties sticking to them.
    
    • So, unless either of these two biggies mess up themselves in big way, they are gonna rule us in times to come.
    • I predict that these two parties systems will continue to come in power alternatively every 5-10 years from now onwards. (depending on performance of government)
      
    • This arrangement will keep the ruling government on toes and make them perform and make them inclusive and not try to divide India.
  • In my opinion, it is good that we dont have clearly demarcated two party system in India because this way, in current system, if both the parties are not performing or not providing leadership required … India can go ahead and check any 3rd alternative, 4th alternative and so on … that is what we did around 1998 and although the result was disaster but I think that gave Indian political parties the much needed shock therapy to improve and reinvent themselves.
• Good Governance and Development is In + Left (dumb) ideologies are out (Communism is out?)
• • I was expecting (and hoping) for a result like this, where left will be thrown out. It shows many things –
    • India will not let party or people whose only mandate is to keep blackmailing the government, especially on development issues. (Indian voters will not let them get away with it.)
    • Energy reforms are here to stay. Nuclear Energy is the future.
    • Development of India needs to be top of mandate for any party who wants to come to power
      • Another example for this is Nitish Kumar who has sweeped Bihar, whom I am hearing is doing good job in Bihar..
    • WB sweep out of Left is the single most surprising thing I have seen in Indian politics ever!!!!
      

Lastly, as I was searching youtube to find a tribute/fan video on Dr. Manmohan Singh, I couldnt find any. So, I created one tribute video of my own. Enjoy!!

The election in so called “biggest democracy in the world” got over today (technically yesterday in India) and we are due for the results by end of this week.

So, as per tradition, media moguls are now doing 2 plus 2 equals four, and putting together the so called “exit poll surveys” – while hoping to catch some more TRPs and eyeballs in process.

The results so far shows chaos ahead with no-one getting clear majority and looks like we will be served same old junk politics that we are living up with last 10 years, and which we painfully and sadfully are getting used to now.

This is certainly depressing!
It is like coming back home after hard day at work and seeing chaos, but can do nothing …
Think about it … you and I (“my fellow citizens”) are doing “our work” with honesty and sincerety… right? .. then why those having the reigns of system cannot do their work and fix the system and make it the way it is supposed to be …. (maybe we are not doing our part, the poor percentage of voting shows that too … maybe it needs more from our part than grunting over it from sidelines)

How I wish if we can just have a stable, non partial and good government at center?
How I wish if there is no more so called coalition government anymore?
How I wish if the coming government knows what is priority and what is not?
How I wish if no-one can blackmail my government anymore on what to do and what not to do?
How I wish if there is such a leader (person) at center – which whole country can look upto and want to follow! (in present scenario, i think Manmohan Singh is the best we have … but still I feel we can have better leadership from 1 Billion people to choose from … I hate to compare things, but we do need someone like obama who is good thinker+leader+communicator etc)
How I wish if this chaos doesnt result in some bigger losses. (like loosing opportunities for economic development … or like loosing much needed energy reforms like the nuclear deal which left and even BJP wants to scrap if they come in power … which is scary)

These are the very simple things a citizen like me can ask for … to the so called “the biggest democracy” of the world?
But then I remember the quote – ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Hmpphs!

PS – as a closing note, I feel UPA (congress) will have good majority, and it will be less chaotic than last time… and congress will be in a better position to rule. (I am thinking 230 seats for UPA, plus 30 support from outside) …. let’s see if my prediction comes close to the real thing on saturday/sunday.