The Sangh Parivar and the 'Ajit' factor

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The RSS mouthpiece Organiser, in its recent issue, has dwelt at some length on causes that led to the dismal showing of the BJP at the hustings. The Organiser emphatically arrives at certain conclusions which, more than the necessary 'aatm-chintan' by the parent body, inadvertently pops up a mirror of its down-the-hill relationship with the BJP. The Organiser editorial displays an overwhelming sense of unabashed over confidence when it concludes there is "no evidence to show the ideology of the party has failed." If that were to be taken as unadulterated gospel truth, emanating as its does straight from Hedgewar Bhawan, then RSS will have little evidence to offer that party won 116 seats only because of its "ideology." If Hindutva and its related brand of cultural nationalism is the cornerstone of Sangh Parivar's ideology, the RSS suggestion that the BJP failed despite its ideology does not hold....

An Ode to Coalition

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Looking back in history late Prime Minister V P Singh beat poll pundits hands down having prophesized more than a decade ago the coalition era was here to stay. And cannot be wished away for good 20 years or so. The country has travelled the road just half-way through. The results of the 15th Lok Sabha elections may have given a decisive edge to the Congress and have raised its confidence bar that much in Uttar Pradesh but it will only be wishful thinking that it's time up for regional parties. Congress gains in Andhra Pradesh can hardly be attributed to Rahul Gandhi. It was YS Reddy's persistent thrust on all-round development of the state, as against Chandrababu Naidu's 'look city' approach, made him King second time in a row. In Rajasthan, the groundswell of anger against 'Maharani' Vasundhara had only swelled past six months resulting in....

Discovery of India (Part II)

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His great grandfather discovered India for the country that woke up to a new dawn of freedom a year later in 1947. The Discovery of India was hailed as a brilliant work of history, philosophy and culture. Sixty two years later Nehru's great grandson Rahul Gandhi would embark on a similar journey. Not to write another book on India's history but, like his great grandfather, enrolling himself as a student of contemporary political history of India and becoming an active participant in rediscovering Bharat that is India. He traversed nearly more than a lakh kilometers, criss-crossed 17 states, addressed more than 120 rallies in 106 constituencies, hand-picked young faces, and authored the unprecedented triumph of the Congress in more than a decade. Critics of dynastic politics can take a walk. If dynasty speaks the language of development, upholds the secular credentials of the country, seeks to address....

Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri: Cracking the political Sudoku

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If Rahul Gandhi is to be believed, no coalition partner of the UPA other than the Congress has the rightful claim to the PM's post. This is what he meant when he said if the Left Front or Mr Sharad Pawar can win seats close to 200 then the Congress can think of supporting the NCP or the Left Front candidate for the Prime Ministership. The sarcasm in his declaration cannot be missed since the NCP and the Left Front put together are not contesting more than 100-odd seats in the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha. By any reasonable logic and given the party's sway as the oldest national party, across states from Kerela to Kashmir and from Assam to Gujarat, the Congress is destined to log close to one-third of the seats it is contesting. (No pollster yet has allowed his/her psephological instinct to run wild....