Modi's micro initiatives for the farm sector are quite an eye opener

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The oft-talked about Gujarat development model is something that has caught the fancy of the entire nation. What I found particularly impressive was the concept of Krishi Mahotsav where every summer government officials virtually spend a whole month on the field with the farmers, helping them update to newer technology and increase their farm productivity. Last month, I decided to witness this phenomenon first hand and got in touch with Narendra Modi's office. "Mr. Modi will be visiting a very innovative animal husbandry camp in the last week of May. Would you like to accompany him?" I was asked by an official from the CMO. So far, Modi had been synonymous with the 'industrial development' of Gujarat. I thought it would be good fun to witness the development in other sectors which the media doesn't talk much about. Hence, I was only too glad to grab the opportunity....

An Open Letter to L K Advani

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Dear Shri Advaniji, In 1990 when the nation was going through the second-most turbulent phase of internal strife after the Emergency, you revolutionised the politics of the land and gave the country a viable alternative to the Congress. You played a pivotal role in installing the first non-Congress government that completed its full term. You inspired a whole generation of younger leaders and have perhaps mentored more young politicians and activists than any other leader did in the country. In 1994, at the peak of your popularity, you showed amazing selflessness and foresight in proposing Vajpayeeji as BJP's PM candidate. In 1996 when your name was dragged into the hawala scam, you took the most principled stand of quitting Parliament and not contesting elections until your name was cleared. Throughout Vajpayeeji's tenure as PM, your hands-on involvement in the formulation and execution of almost all important government policies,....

Modi needs to take his battle to Amethi and Rae Bareli

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Even though the BJP might still be nowhere close to officially declaring its PM candidate, Narendra Modi has decided to go all out and focus his energies on the key state of Uttar Pradesh. His trusted aide Amit Shah has been made in charge of the state while Modi himself is apparently very close to finalising a Lok Sabha seat in the state from where he would be contesting the polls. Modi's ambitious plans for UP which constitutes 15 per cent of the strength of Lok Sabha actually make a lot of sense. Modi is only too well aware of his polarising impact and if he can succeed in converting the battle for UP into a pro vs anti-Modi battle, there is every chance of that pattern extrapolating itself across the country. Of course, the plan is dicey and laden with perils but that's where his proactive approach shines....

The curious case of Salman Khurshid

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Nearly six decades ago when Nehru had espoused the NAM (non-aligned movement), it reflected his vision of India's independent foreign policy. The policy had its flaws which the nation was to discover in the years to come but it was still better than not having a policy at all and being embarrassed by all and sundry. Today, one feels sorry for our external affairs minister, Salman Khurshid, when he employs puerile metaphors to cover up for his intellectual bankruptcy, the latest being his comparison of India with the legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali. Consider this: In January, when Pakistani troops mutilated two of our soldiers without provocation, India's first reaction was to ask Pakistan to probe the killings. Now, the problem with such a reaction is that even a schoolboy will tell you why the reaction was utterly flawed: after a robbery at your house, would you ask the....

What tasks are cut out for Rajnath Singh

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Rajnath Singh's surprise elevation as the BJP President last week coincided with an ABP poll suggesting that if elections in the country were to take place today, the BJP-led alliance would outsmart the Congress led alliance by a significant margin. The prediction augurs well for the party which has been battling chaos and uncertainty for the last few months. A change of leadership invariably instills fresh energy into the cadres and it is indeed heartening to see the mood of optimism in party workers across the country. However, one year is a long time in politics and to retain this momentum till the 2014 elections, Rajnath Singh has his tasks clearly cut out. Rajnath Singh's biggest challenge is to get the party's focus right. It is to restore the credibility of the party by being the relentless crusader that is used to be, on issues which the....

Renunciation of chief ministership will be key to Modi's elevation to the PM's chair

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So Modi has indeed vanquished all threats and odds to score a resounding win, proving that pro-incumbency can beat anti-incumbency! The 2012 Gujarat elections were important for three reasons. One, there were no real issues; it was a plain verdict either for or against a personality. Two, for the first time in India, perhaps a CM was fighting the state elections with an eye on the PM's job instead. And the end result has only proved that Modi did indeed do a great job of balancing the dichotomy. Three, contrary to what the Congress party and the media would want the country to believe, a significant percentage of Muslims in Gujarat have embraced Modi. So with Gujarat won, Modi now has to chart out his roadmap to the PM's chair. This roadmap will have to be phased across the next 16 months or so. In phase one....

Blame mediocre Shinde for the Rehman Malik fiasco

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The one thing that's common between the present Indian and Pakistani home ministers is that they're both wannabes who shoot off their mouths at the drop of a hat, in sheer desperation to be heard and taken seriously. However, this time around, Shinde's quest for limelight has resulted in another major embarrassment for India vis-à-vis Pakistan, with Malik shooting off his nonsense on every sensitive issue. At the end of this futile engagement, Shinde ought to be made to answer the following questions: A. What was the pressing need for India to engage with a man, whose credentials have always been suspect, especially when Pakistan has steadfastly refused to act on 26/11 and a new regime is likely to take over in Pakistan soon? B. The convenient rational used for easing visa restrictions is farcical. It certainly won't enhance the kind of 'people to people' contact that....

BJP ought to declare its PM candidate quickly unless its focus is 2019

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It's interesting how most recent political developments are building up towards a scenario, where much like the ongoing Gujarat elections, even the 2014 LS elections could be fought on just one idea: are you for or against Modi as PM? There are two factors that are contributing towards the creation of such a scenario. The first, is the ever increasing deceptiveness of two major regional players -the SP and the BSP, who will have their stakes in 80 LS seats of UP. Interestingly, even on the FDI voting in Parliament both these parties chose to toe the 'secular' line to browbeat the BJP. How ironical is that considering that just three years ago, Mulayam had been brazenly hobnobbing with Kalyan Singh while Mayawati has twice formed a government with BJP's support. It's well known that every time 'secular politics' is revived by Congress and other parties, it only strengthens....

North-East: a volcano waiting to erupt

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Around a week ago, I was chatting with a friend wherein I remember mentioning that there was more to the Mumbai rioting of August 11 than met the eye. My speculation was based on a simple fact: the ethnic clashes in Assam and its retaliatory violence in Mumbai had coincided with the mass exodus of Hindus from Pakistan, who have some horrid stories to share about the way Hindus are still treated in Pakistan. I could sense that there was a larger design to the way the situation seemed to be unfolding. On one hand, Muslims were being provoked with suspect videos while on the other, Hindus were being pushed against the wall in Pakistan, evoking anger among Hindus here. The result was obvious: communal sentiments began to flare up once again, the social media becoming one of the key devices to aggravate the animosity this time around. ....

Why Nitish might have actually helped the BJP decide on its PM candidate

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It's strange how Mamata Banerjee's rejection of Pranab Mukherjee played a key part in helping a confused Congress party get its act together and become more determined to have Pranabda occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The BJP, interestingly, seems to be in a similar dilemma vis-à-vis its old ally, the JD-U. Time and again, Nitish Kumar has left no opportunity to deride the Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi. But fortunately the BJP this time round seems to have woken up to the need to cut down the JD-U to size. The first indication of this came from the RSS chief himself who, in retaliation, virtually declared Modi to be the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. It will be interesting to understand why the 'Modi for PM' clamour is growing by the day, despite the obvious hurdles that Modi will have to confront all along the way. The BJP's planning is....