This post might be a little late. The hype and hoopla around the elections is well past. But I have been pondering if we got the best result. I did not vote this time. I am registered in Thane and
didn't take the effort of a getting registered in
Chennai. So I am not sure how the more "awakened" (
Jaago re campaign ;) ) junta will think about this post.
I
don't think I would have voted for Congress. I do nurse a grudge against them for implementing the
OBC reservations in higher education institutes. I find it grossly unfair and against meritocracy and nothing but a political gimmick which might have long standing
repercussions in the years to come. On second thoughts I have realised India has got a strong Prime Minister.
People seem to
perceive Manmohan as a soft PM. But in the last 5 years, it seems to me that they have been more
hard lined than
BJP was. Be it the ab
ove mentioned
OBC reservations or the nuclear deal or the guts to tell Karat and his Politburo to buzz off.
BJP finally got its chance in 1999-2003 after waiting in the wings for many years. They did well but messed up a few things. They like to be seen as a
hardline party when wooing voters, but when it came to governance, they
couldn't find the magical middle path. The Ram temple issue , the uniform civil code, the unfortunate Kandahar hijack, the spiralling onion prices, the divestment of
PSUs,
Godhra and so forth...they always seemed to be swinging in
opposite directions.
The
Varun Gandhi issue where they
wouldn't publicly admonish him gave an impression to me that if they won then their second
innings with new captain (A
dvani) also
wouldn't be much different. I just hope that
BJP collects itself, starts building again from the grassroots and begins resolving real problems. It will be a sad thing if they go back to the recluse of "Ram
Bhoomi" and "
Hindutva" campaigns. The Congress needs to be kept on its toes and who better than
Loh Purush and his young turks.
On a lighter note, the incessant election coverage on TV and newspapers finally affected the brains of one of our close
NITIE batch mates. So much so that he grandly announced to me that we wants to be the Primer
Minister of India. He made this comment NOT at a election rally or, when he was campaigning for his party but in the couch comforts of his living room :). Thankfully all that is past and now he is back to normal, worrying about cracking his
CFA Level 1.
Also I and
Arup Angle think that
Prakash and
Brinda Karat's story has something common with
Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi. Looking at
Brinda's snaps I am sure she was a charming lady in her youth,
Prakash was a dapper youth with ideals, rich and sophisticated chick falls for emerging leader of
tomorrow and the rest is history ..hehe..atleast in my imagination...