Tomorrow, May 16th, is the judgement day for the latest edition of LS election. Dragged over a span of 1.5 months, this election is bigger than cricket or any reality show. A lot of the this enormity can be attributed to "Modi wave" or "NaMo effect" - a man single-handedly swept media and mass alike for last few months. He traveled across the country, addressed every section of the society, gave the most interesting speeches. His oratory skills are appreciated by all, his tall personality and passionate campaigning caught the attention of the whole nation - including the youth. If exit polls are to be believed, BJP/NDA are heading for a comfortable majority. Congress is silent, BJP is preparing for a new beginning at the throne, smaller allies of NDA and UPA are busy choosing sides. News media is flooded with the latest fonts and styles of presentation of numbers and forecasts.
It's a matter of 12hrs when all our nerves finally soothe with the results, even if they are predictable this time. A new cricket tournament or maybe the soccer world cup in Brazil will be the next destination of our frenzy. The quietest PM, Dr, Singh, has already stepped out as he declared in advance - there wouldn't be a third term for him, irrespective of the outcome of the polls. AAP has almost made themselves irrelevant. In India, success always lies in accurate identification of your target audience and feeding them exact doses of their diet.
Modi or BJP did it right - for last 2 decades. They created riots, communal tensions and cleverly tuned up and down the volume of soft and hard-liners of their so-called 'Hindutva' ideology. They broke into the national political scene with an Ayodhya game plan and recharged their batteries with a Godhra incident. People of India, the majority community in particular, have blessed them spontaneously. Forget what the intellectuals had to say on papers, regular Indians have always appreciated any act of 'valor' by a Hindu leader.
Manmohan Singh, on the other hand, moves to oblivion after serving in the office for a decade... working 16-17hrs a day, taking all the curses for price hikes and inflation in the days of severe economic crisis, making some of the most unpopular moves... the only reward he asked for is a little more patience, time and faith in his prescriptions. I don't know whether he was right, nor I understand what the justifications of a dynasty in a democracy are. But Manmohan Singh will remain my hero, even if he was too weak to speak up about his own preferences against the wishes of 'the powerful family'. He was hardly a politician by Indian standard. I'll surely miss such a humble and wise gentleman in that chair. His class will stay unmatched in the face of rise (and fall) of men in (and out of) form.
Till Brazil happens... we have to wait!
It's a matter of 12hrs when all our nerves finally soothe with the results, even if they are predictable this time. A new cricket tournament or maybe the soccer world cup in Brazil will be the next destination of our frenzy. The quietest PM, Dr, Singh, has already stepped out as he declared in advance - there wouldn't be a third term for him, irrespective of the outcome of the polls. AAP has almost made themselves irrelevant. In India, success always lies in accurate identification of your target audience and feeding them exact doses of their diet.
Modi or BJP did it right - for last 2 decades. They created riots, communal tensions and cleverly tuned up and down the volume of soft and hard-liners of their so-called 'Hindutva' ideology. They broke into the national political scene with an Ayodhya game plan and recharged their batteries with a Godhra incident. People of India, the majority community in particular, have blessed them spontaneously. Forget what the intellectuals had to say on papers, regular Indians have always appreciated any act of 'valor' by a Hindu leader.
Manmohan Singh, on the other hand, moves to oblivion after serving in the office for a decade... working 16-17hrs a day, taking all the curses for price hikes and inflation in the days of severe economic crisis, making some of the most unpopular moves... the only reward he asked for is a little more patience, time and faith in his prescriptions. I don't know whether he was right, nor I understand what the justifications of a dynasty in a democracy are. But Manmohan Singh will remain my hero, even if he was too weak to speak up about his own preferences against the wishes of 'the powerful family'. He was hardly a politician by Indian standard. I'll surely miss such a humble and wise gentleman in that chair. His class will stay unmatched in the face of rise (and fall) of men in (and out of) form.
Till Brazil happens... we have to wait!