Ishrat Jehan Case: Congress Is Scared And Desperate

“So jah beta Rahul, so jah nahin to Amit Shah aah jayegaa”. One can almost envision Sonia telling Rahul while tucking him for the night. When my friend Swami Tambi and I heard of Amit Shah’s appointment as the BJP point man for UP we were very happy. When we heard of his game plan we became convinced that Bhai Narendra’s confidence in the man’s abilities as an organizer. Swami thought that he should not be revealing his game plan. I told him that it would be found out anyway but what I did not realize how his appointment was going to unhinge the entire Congress machinery.

It is obvious to everyone including the diehard Congress supporters that this government has been an unmitigated disaster at all fronts and in both the terms. If it weren't for the disastrous campaign run by Advani and his crew, UPA would not have won in 2009 but that is neither here nor there. Congress has redefined corruption and scams by making them bigger and sleazier. Even their professed concern and love for the so called Aam Aadmi rings extremely hollow. The latest blow to their claim is a report which claims that India constitutes 40 per cent of the world's malnourished population and the highest rate of underweight children due to improper implementation of government policies. Writing about Congress’ sins and crimes has become repetitive, tedious and painful. But despite of all, it would be foolish to assume that the most corrupt government in our history will give up their dreams of continuing their astonishing run (Thank you Indian Voter!). They will try every dirty trick in their book to win. Since they are in power, they have their faithful babus and lawmen (whose only qualification is how loudly they can bark for the Gandhi family) in charge of important institutions. Subversion of Indian judiciary is chump change for the Congress.

Since the riots in the aftermath of Godhra Station carnage, Congress, their ilk and their media hyenas have tried everything that they could to bring down Modi and his government. They could not have failed more miserably. Since then, Modi has won two more terms, has shown his genius in governance and has become the most popular politician in India. His popularity scares all those who benefit from the status quo in New Delhi. This includes people from BJP also. If BJP brass is scared of Modi cleaning up New Delhi then how scared must the Congress be?

After all the judicial investigations, bullied witnesses (by Teesta Setalvad and others NGOs), lying weasels (like Sanjiv Bhatt), name calling (maut ka saudagar by the wife of Rajiv “Jab ek bada ped(Tree) girta hai to aap-pass ki dharti hilti hi hai” Gandhi), Goebbelsian smear campaign run by Congress’ media vultures, Congress could not bring the Modi government down. With no place to hang their hats on, they have rehashed an old encounter case where a known LeT operative (confirmed by Let, US FBI, jailed terrorist David Coleman Headly) was killed in an encounter with the Gujarat police. Again, despite their best efforts, Congress’s corrupt machinations could not bring Amit Shah down. Now that they have rehashed the case, one now wonders what is it that they could have (proof) or what is it that they hope to achieve?

The latest episode in Uttarakhand where an efficient Modi achieved so much in a short period of time while the Congress leaders were busy doing imitations of a headless chicken, has done nothing to change the voter perception of Modi and Rahul. Now with the Modi juggernaut moving along Congress now are really really afraid. A very conveniently leaked report to Tehelka (Congress owned) and NDTV (The sleaziest media liar. Watching this channel should be declared treason), they claim to have hearsay proof that implicates Amit Shah. It clearly is a gambit of a scared and desperate group who hopes to throw all the lies and insinuation at Shah and Modi and hope to create doubt in the minds of the independent voters (the kind who would vote for Modi but not BJP). Even a false case against Shah would divert his attention, time and energy from his campaign in UP.

I think that this move is going to backfire because Shah and Modi have been up against this for a long time and have successfully bested it. It is also becoming clear that not all the news channels are buying NDTV / Tehelka lies. Differences of opinion on the case among MHA, IB and CBI, have been openly talked about. That has to be expected. Babus in New Delhi are survivors and have loyalty to the chair not to the occupant. With a clear pro Modi wave in the nation why would they lie and cheat to implicate him? After all, if BJP wins then these guys would not want to be seen as Congress stooges.

Only in India and during Congress rule can a terrorist Like Ishrat Jehan (proofs coming from a diverse group of people including the American intelligence machinery) be declared innocent while Sadhvi Pragya and Col Purohit (exonerated by ours and American intelligence) be held without any charges for close to a decade.

I hope and pray for all this to change. The only way that can happen is for the BJP to ignore the barking dogs and soldier on and for the Hindu voters to ignore the incessant barrage of Media inflicted lies and unite and vote for the right person.

A brutally honest assessment of Indian media’s bias can be seen at:
http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/06/i-agree-with-madhu-kishwar-part-1/
http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/06/i-agree-with-madhu-kishwar-part-2/

Modi Is Rambo. Rahul Is Fredo.

Devbhumi in Uttarakhand has been destroyed. Nature has struck back hard and shown us the results of ignoring environmentalism and human greed. We are still counting our dead and rescuing whomever we can. Various parties and people have done their best.

Here is what CM of Uttarakhand, Vijay Bahuguna did:

Did not stop people from going into the disaster zone for three days despite of heavy rains. Key district did not even have a DM. And even though tragedy of this magnitude had struck his state, this man was still hesitating in cancelling his vacation to Switzerland (why do Indian politicians go to that country for vacation? We all know the answer, don’t we?). Truth be told, the disaster management conducted by Bahuguna was a bigger disaster than the disaster itself. And this man is supposed to have the right political pedigree because he comes from a small political dynasty himself – father (Hemwati Nandan)was CM of UP and his sister (Rita) is a Congress bigwig from UP. I wonder what nickname can we use for him?

Here is what Sonia and Rahul Gandhi did(in the words of Sanjay Singh of Firstpost):

(Congress) let party vice president Rahul Gandhi, who faced severe criticism from the opposition for his disappearing act at the time of a national calamity, make a grand appearance with mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the party headquarters in New Delhi to flag off 25 trucks carrying relief material to Uttrakhand. The whole exercise looked more like a Presidential salute at the Republic Day parade rather than a sincere helping hand to the victims of the natural disaster.

Of course stung by severe criticism of their appointee in Uttarakhand and his headless chicken act, Sonia and Rahul are still mulling his removal. Hopefully they can come to a decision soon. In fact this whole exercise left him so exhausted that Rahul flew to Spain (rumor has it that his girlfriend is Spanish) to relax. Because of criticism of his vacation, he has since cancelled his vacation. What nickname is apt for him? I will have to think about that.

Here is what those “communalist” “Hindu Terrorists” from the RSS have done:

In flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh cadre has hit the ground running and brought relief to tens of thousands of flood-affected people. Working with the Indian Army, the RSS has contributed greatly to the rescue and relief initiatives.

According to Sangh Praant Karyavah Lakshmi Prasad Jaiswal, 19 mini trucks full of relief material have already been sent to Uttarkashi, Joshimath, Guptkashi, Rudraprayag, Ghansali, Chamba, and other places. In addition to this, nearly 20 to 30,000 people have been fed at relief camps.

Of course here is what that “fascist”, “divisive”, “maut ka saudagar” and “credit stealing” CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi did:

The Gujarat CM, who flew in on Friday evening, held a meeting till 1am with his crack rescue team of five IAS, one IPS, one IFS and two GAS (Gujarat Administrative Service) officers. Two DSPs and five police inspectors were also part of his delegation. They sat again with the nitty-gritty of evacuation in a huddle that a senior BJP leader said lasted till 1am on Sunday.

He made good use of the BJP’s organisational machinery at district, mandal (block) and village levels in Uttarakhand and synchronized their activities with that of Gujarat state officials who had descended in good numbers and were camping at different trouble-torn places since 18 June, a day after calamity struck. By the time he landed at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun on 21 June with a team of officers, a mix of senior and intermediate level officers, he had all the relevant statistics at hand and logistical support in place. It was perhaps the first ever rescue and relief act of its kind where the chief minister of a state camped in another state for three days and evacuated people of his own state without assistance from the host state.

Modi later in the day even offered to "completely rebuild" the temple at Kedarnath using "the latest technology available" in such a way that no natural calamity would ever shake it again.

The effort resulted in saving 15000 stranded Gujarat pilgrims. Bhai Narendra Modi did all this in a state which is enemy / Congress territory. This was akin to those Hollywood movies where the hero goes into Vietnam and rescues forgotten POWs. Thanks to Manish Tiwari of Congress, we now have an apt nickname for Modi: RAMBO (a character made popular by Sylvester Stallone). Of course it is safe to say that Tiwari did not mean it as a compliment but I could not have come up with a better name.

So if Bhai Narendra Modi is Rambo then who is Rahul Gandhi? The movie Godfather came to mind. Godfather’s second son was portrayed (brilliantly by Late John Cazale) as a weak and indecisive person. Yes. Rahul Gandhi is Fredo Corleone.

Sarcasm aside this effort by Modi has to be acknowledged as a proof of his excellent management style with whatever available resources. This is what Times of India (we all know which party this rag supports) says:

While Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna appeared completely at loss and helpless, his Gujarat counterpart won many admirers in the Uttarakhand administration. A senior Uttrakhand state official said, “One cannot stop admiring Modi’s administrative skills and grasp of the situation.”

We all know what Bhai Narendra Modi is capable of because our objectivity is unhampered by any leftist ideology. I hope that all thinking voters can set aside any preconceived notions about this man and see what he is capable of (this is just one example of Modi’s administrative brilliance). If he can save 15000 Gujaratis (at present he is only responsible for them) with a few IAS officers (why do these guys seem to perform better with Modi?) and limited resources, what do you think the rescue efforts would have looked like with the entire national machinery at this disposal?

It would be an act of suicide by the Indian voters if we bring back Congress. Of course if we fall for the disinformation and leftist lies then it is our fault. In my mind and a lot of others, there is no competition between Narendra “Rambo” Modi and Rahul “Fredo Corleone” Gandhi. I hope that between now and the next elections, the Indian voters see that as well.

The highlighted statements have been taken from

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Narendra-Modi-lands-in-Uttarakhand-flies-out-with-15000-Gujaratis/articleshow/20721118.cms

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/uttarakhand-cong-could-learn-from-rambo-modis-rescue-model-901315.html

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/06/24/rss-swings-into-action-in-flood-ravaged-uttarakhand-94456.html

Read Madhu Purnima Kishwar  original article:

Neither a Rambo Act Nor a Publicity Gimmick Modi Led Relief Efforts in Uttarakhand

http://www.manushi.in/blog_content.php?blogid=58

First Published in : The Economic Times

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-26/news/40206863_1_narendra-modi-gujarati-pilgrims-team-gujarat

Dump Advani. Reinvent BJP.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Lal Jaichand Advani pushed Nitish Kumar over the top in order to cause the recent events to turn to his advantage. When the BJP leadership (Rajnath Singh) dug their heels in, the break up happened thereby reducing the NDA to three likeminded parties who believe in the importance of a religious identity. Now with a major distraction gone, the BJP can start their campaign. But it would seem that Advani has another card to play. As per the intrepid Sandhya Jain, Advani is now trying to get rid of Suresh Soni who is the perceived power behind Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi. Here is what she writes in an eye opener of an article.

With Nitish Kumar formally calling off the alliance with the BJP on Sunday, June 16, the Advani coterie is working overtime to replace Suresh Soni as RSS coordinator with the BJP, as Soni is widely perceived as the power behind Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi. Though some RSS stalwarts deny such a move is afoot, others say that the organisation did ask Dattatreya Hosbale to step in, but he declined. There is now pressure on sarkaryawah Bhaiyaaji Joshi to replace Soni.

Advani’s aides claim that if he (Advani) works out the post-election coalition, he should have a shot at the Prime Minister’s post before paving the way for Modi. This plan rests on two assumptions. First, that BJP will not win an independent majority. Second, that BJP will not be able to sew up alliances without Advani, and will have to give him veto power.

I have some thoughts in the matter but before that, I would like to point out that Nitish Kumar is going to come out of this a much weaker politician. Vivek Kaul after a lengthy and lugubrious (IMHO) analysis surmises the following:

So the BJP’s attempts to resurrect this issue (as it is plans to in Uttar Pradesh by appointing Modi’s lieutenant Amit Shah as in-charge of the party in the state) won’t really work in Bihar. Given these reasons, it will be difficult for the party to win more than 10 Lok Sabha seats from the state, on its own.

His logic is that the real reason for Nitish’s break up is that unlike before, he will not be able to stop Modi from coming to Bihar which will hurt his delicately held together vote bank (you really have to read the analysis). He makes certain assumptions but does not talk about Nitish’s PM ambitions which renders his entire article ( as well researched as it maybe) null and void. He also fails to mention the importance of Narendra Modi’s own caste (OBC) will play in the caste ridden politics of Bihar. Therefore his prediction of ten seats is a rather pessimistic one which Kaul has made to prove his point. I think that Nitish is will be able to prove a wafer thin majority and continue as the CM but he will cease to be an effective administrator because now he has an upset BJP and a vulture like Lalloo Yadav to deal with. I will personally enjoy ever misery this man is put through.

Coming back to LJ Advani, I have one question: What leverage does this man have other than nostalgia to demand anything from the BJP cadre and RSS? I don’t think that he has any leverage at all and people are just humoring him like they would an old man. Moreover, if you really get down to the brass tacks and ask Advani one thing: What have you won or enabled the BJP to win in the last decade? Wins in Gujarat, MP and Chattisgarh are due to their charismatic CMs. In fact, the rootless BJP leaders who are just sitting in New Delhi waiting for their turn have brought once powerful national party to this pass where it has become a “Super Regional Party” (Thanks Shashi Shekhar!). People like Ananth Kumar (who with Advani and Swaraj) destroyed the BJP in Karnataka, Swaraj who seems to nurse political ambitions but has no pocket of support, or Venkaiah Naidu who is our man in Andhra but our presence there is next to nothing. These people also have little more than nostalgia to back up their claims to their current posts.

Now the RSS may bow down to Advani’s Chanakyan machinations (if everyone knows about these then how Chanakyan are his machinations?), remove Suresh Soni and install someone of Advani’s preference. But there is a problem with this plan as well. What leverage does Advani have over RSS? Now even if there was some small leverage (old time’s sake kind) then what can the RSS do to Modi that they have not done already. RSS never liked Modi and we all know why. In fact they went out of their way to undermine him and in some cases hurt BJP to upset Modi (making that buffoon Gadkari in charge and then installing Modi’s bête noire in important posts like the head of BJP’s campaign in the last state elections in UP which they badly lost). If RSS now seems to back Modi then they do so very reluctantly and because they also realize that without Modi, the BJP has no chance of winning anything. Modi is a bitter pill that the RSS finally have swallowed. Now after all this, why would the RSS capitulate to Advani’s demands? It renders Advani’s machinations rather Quixotic doesn’t it?

The cadre based support that Modi seems to have (don’t believe BJP’s statements about it. Watch Congress’ reaction to Modi’s ascension and their desperate maneuvers since and you will realize Modi’s ground level support) and Advani does not also should be a revelation to all parties involved. BJP is not a dynastic party where seniority and family trump merit and ability. Even Nitish Kumar who is making noises to the contrary, sidelined George Fernandes. But I don’t think that any of this is getting through to Advani. It may be a hard thing to do but the time has come to fire him from the party as part of reinventing the BJP and making them into a national party from their current super regional party. Shashi Shekhar whose articles are published in niticentral.com (along with the Daily Pioneer, the only unapologetic conservative newspaper) and are a treat

“With too clever-by-half political calculations the BJP’s permanent Delhi-based leadership has timidly submitted itself to conventional wisdom that the role of the Opposition is to merely oppose the Government with rhetoric. This timidity has prevented it from taking sharp ideological positions on the UPA’s Left-liberal socio-economic agenda”.

“Three years later, in 2013 with the elevation of Narendra Modi, the BJP finally has found an anchor to begin the process of evolving as a credible alternative to the Congress. The marathon mission to get to 272 will not be completed by getting nostalgic over alliances of the past. The BJP needs to look ahead to future growth of its own merit. A beginning was made back in April when Narendra Modi took the arduous route from Shivagiri Mutt in Kerala to Patanjai Peeth in Haridwar, Uttarakhand as he sought to connect his political vision with local idioms and icons. It is along this trajectory that the marathon mission for 272 must proceed”.

It is obvious that there exists a dire need to reinvent the BJP and we either need a brand new leader with no allegiance to the old guard or someone who is associated with the old guard but is not afraid of taking on them and challenging the existing political dogma – an outsider. Modi model of administration worked well for Gujarat. There is no reason why it cannot work for India. It is imperative that the party put all the NiKu/LJK drama behind them and focus on the task ahead. It is important that BJP win, it would be awesome if they win with 272 or more. The first step has been taken in UP by Amit Shah in UP where he has asked the state BJP personnel that each voting booth be adopted by one person who then will be responsible for campaigning in that area. Shah himself is going to adopt a booth. That is the kind of grassroots campaign that had been missing so far.

The blueprints have been provided by Bhai Narendra Modi. It is up to the party to adopt it while getting rid of distractions. To that end, firing Advani from the party would be the first step.

Nitish Kumar Is Disingenuous, Myopic, Selfish And Dangerous

People are trying to make sense of the game Nitish Kumar is playing. Before we get into that, I would like to point out that he could not be doing all this without some wink and nod arrangement from people in BJP who have this desperate need to stay relevant. You get no points for guessing the identity of this Jaichand.

In the movie “Magnum Force”, Clint Eastwood says: “A man's GOT to know his limitations”. Sun Tzu said: “He who knows his enemy and himself well will not be defeated easily. He who knows himself but not his enemy, will have an even chance of victory. He who does not know himself and his enemy, is bound to suffer defeat in all battles.” Both these statement apply to Nitish Kumar right now. Bihar which was in a massive hole was brought up somewhat and was put on a path to recovery by him. However, it still is one of the worst states and a lot of work needs to be done before Kumar can claim any kind of victory. It took Narendra Modi three victories and numerous achievements before he could throw his hat in the ring. This man has started to dream big based on positive signs and that is flabbergasting. Pseudo-secular jackasses in the media proposed Kumar’s name as an alternative to Modi because of their pathological aversion to Modi and the BJP. Kumar obviously fell for it proving that he does not know his limitations and thus he does not know himself. He also does not realize that he draws a lot of his strength from his pre poll tie up with the BJP. Now as to the enemy part of the quote, do you think that Nitish knows his or the state’s or the country’s enemies? I don’t think so.

He was fine with the BJP until they acceded to all his demands. He used BJP’s voters to win not once but twice. Now with Modi as the PM candidate, he is being forced to wake up from his stupor and his so called dream of becoming PM seems to be over along with it. For him, the “communal” BJP is fine when they enable you to win but not when they demand merit based reciprocity. This is why this man is disingenuous.

If he breaks from the BJP and somehow holds onto the power in Bihar, he will become vulnerable to Lalloo Yadav and Paswan because they all have the same votebank. As he saw in Maharajganj, he cannot win without BJP’s support. Yet he continues on this dangerous path of self destruction. How long do you think that he can lead Bihar with a razor thin margin with help from unscrupulous independent MLAs? Instead of leading Bihar with a solid margin and making tangible developments in the state, this man seems to be chasing the PM’s seat like Don Quixote chased those windmills. This is why I call him myopic.

If by some miracle he can see that he has no real chance of becoming PM or that the third front is an impossibility then his best chances are to stay put, rule Bihar well and get better quality help from the central government especially if the NDA is at the helm. Bihar can benefit greatly that way and achieve her full potential instead of remaining mired in the ongoing caste war (What do YOU call dividing the society into dalits, OBCs, mahadalits, upper caste?). But as we can see that currently he is angry, delusional, arrogant and blind to the reality and cannot think of anyone but himself. Bihar is not a priority for him anymore. A lot of BJP voters voted for the pre-poll alliance i.e. they voted for the JD(U) candidate (with no BJP candidate opposing) thinking that it was the same thing. By breaking up with the BJP, this man is betraying all those voters and their faith. Does it sound like a man who is concerned about Bihar and Biharis? This man is extremely selfish.

We wrote a blog on the topic of terrorism in Bihar and how the incessant pampering of Muslims for votes has turned pockets of Bihar into terrorist havens. Terrorists from Nepal, Bangla Desh and the SIMI kind seem to congregate there. They go over to other parts of the country, commit their heinous deeds and return to Nitish Kumar provided safety nets. Please read our post and the references therein to appreciate the gravity of the situation. It is Nitish Kumar’s love / apparent need for Muslim votes which is causing a lot of trouble. A man who claims to be a smart politician and able administrator would realize the follies of appeasement of an entire community without any safety measures. In this respect he is no less dangerous to the country that Mullayam Singh or Mayawati or Mamata Bannerjee.

Readers of our blog know our sentiments on the regional parties and the dangers they pose to our safety and progress. We are at a point in time when we have a chance of electing a leader like Narendra Modi who can make a real difference to the country. But with BJP members like Lal Jaichand Advani and delusional political caricatures like Nitish Kumar, we may not be able to get to the Promised Land. In fact these banes of our existence may even enable a third Congress term by keeping voters confused and divided. What a pity that would be.

Modi, Not BJP Versus Congress In 2014

After Narendra Modi’s promotion, people said that Modi is an idea whose time has come. I beg to differ with them. Modi is an idea whose time was in 2009. He should have been the PM candidate back then instead of Advani. BJP WOULD HAVE won. But I bicker. I am happy the way things are turning out to be and dismayed by the nautanki that is LK Advani. Now Advani is an old time politician. He should have seen the writing on the wall. I did. I knew that Modi was going to be our guy when Amit Shah became in charge of UP (read my post below) and I am not a politician (however, I have won as many Lok Sabha elections as Manmohan Singh). Advani should have resigned to his fate and bowed out gracefully. But typical of a desi politician (or cricketers), he will not resign but go out kicking and screaming like a petulant child.

In my opinion, Advani was BJP’s Mamta Bannerjee (well not that bad but I am angry right now). He did well to put BJP on the map by his yatra (which was organized by Narendra Modi). SO he proved himself to be a street level fighter but as a Home minister, the man was a big flop. I can cite examples of his incompetence but I will repeat myself. Instead read what NV Subramanian (who is a man in the know) writes:

To an extent, Advani did try to play the strong man in the mould of Sardar Patel to counter the soft image of Vajpayee. He hoped that as home minister, he would make a mark like Patel and even surpass him. That was the reason he chose home. But as home minister, Advani was lacklustre. India has never had a home minister as capable as Patel and it won’t in the future. But Advani brought nothing to the home ministry. No plan. No vision. He simply let the bureaucrats run the show.

Advani never appeared to have a mind of his own in matters of administration and governance. Whether this was a result of having remained in the shadows of Vajpayee is hard to tell, but it seems the most likely reason. By the time he had had enough of being Vajpayee’s number two, he had acquired limited skill sets. His expertise of organizing the street was no longer needed. His knowledge of Indian constitutional law and parliamentary procedures was handy but didn’t equip him in any serious way for prime-ministership.

I am sure what NVS had in mind was the Coimbatore bombing and the way Advani dealt with SIMI in its aftermath. During his tenure, we got bullied by Bangla Desh rifles who returned or murdered jawans, trussed up like animals. Advani being in charge of the security set up must shoulder a big part of the blame for the Kandahar fiasco. It was his responsibility to set up a security infrastructure where in case of an emergency (like hijacking) there are no turf wars between IAS babus and security personnel. But he failed. And despite of repeated failures, he still felt entitled for the top job. Amazingly, no one opposed him. It is because in India, merit always loses to entitlement. One of the biggest complaints about Modi is that he is creating a personality cult where the man becomes bigger than the party. The reason why this is such a problem (in the minds of politicos) is that incompetent leaders who hang around long enough know that collectively they will be in charge. On the other hand, individually, they will be exposed and lose their position. Advani wanted to become the PM based on seniority and not ability. He is not alone in BJP which is why it is in such a mess. That is why we lost badly in 2009 even though it was a winnable election.

What we now have is the first real opportunity to win the next election. Even if you ignore polls, it is clear that the kind of support Modi enjoys are unprecedented. All you have to go and talk to people out there who are independent voters with no pseudo-secular baggage. A lot of them say that they will vote for Modi but are not sure about BJP. A whole generation of new voters who has no memory of Advani’s rath yatra have seen Modi take Gujarat from strength to strength are willing to take a chance even though they are not politically inclined and have no Hindutva allegiance.

Consider the following data points written in an extremely good article by Shashi Shekhar in Niticentral:

- In 2004, the BJP either won or came second in a total of 271 seats.

- In 1999, that number stood at 294 seats.

- There are about 286 Lok Sabha seats that the BJP has won at least once between 1996 and 2004.

- In 2009, there were 113 Lok Sabha seats where the margin of victory was less than 3 per cent.

While the above is no assurance that the path to 272 is realistic, it provides the statistical basis to aspire for 272 as a wildly important goal rather than allow for complacency to set in with a much lower and easily achievable target.

These are real numbers not polls and provide us with a feel for the number of party faithful voters. Now if you add potential independent votes to this then you have a winning formula. Barak Obama’s two campaigns provide a blueprint for that. If you observe the way Modi has won in Gujarat and the way potential youth voters reacted to him tells you that the only man in BJP who can capture this ever eluding independent votes is Narendra Modi. As we have said on this blog that it is evident to the voters and now the media that Modi has changed the way India does politics. The BJP would be well advised to treat the next election as a presidential election, support and work for Modi and let him do his thing. We need proven winners, not seniors whose only skill is survival.

It is going to be between Congress and Narendra Modi. On one hand you have a man who is a performer, honest and incorruptible. A man of vision with energy to bring it to fruition. He has no baggage that the party has (Reddy brothers etc.). On the other hand we have Congress and the voters know who they are and what they do. If you give the voters that choice then even the most biased will be forced to look upon it objectively. That approach will win BJP the next election.

PS: By the time this article was finished, Advani come to his senses but the points made about him still stand.

The NVS article can be read at:http://newsinsight.net/Advani’stragedy.aspx#page=page-1

The Shashi Shekhar article can be read at:http://www.niticentral.com/2013/06/10/modi-will-reach-for-magic-number-272-87768.html

Are Indians Weak Or Forgiving?

It is said that if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. Of course standing for something requires conviction, moral fortitude, commitment, energy and willingness to sacrifice. It may seem a lot but path to righteousness is not an easy one and certainly not for the weak. Why do I raise a topic of this nature? I may seem to ramble but I do have a point. I want to look into the mirror and hope that you would do the same.

Until two days ago, if anyone read the newspapers, they would get an idea that the biggest problem facing the biggest democracy and one of the oldest civilizations was corruption in Cricket. All other problems were brushed aside and Srinivasan, Jagdale, Shirke, Meiyappan, Dalmia and other men who should be ignored at the least and sent to prison at best, dominated the headlines. This left me breathless. These men and the scandal they represent, is in a GAME. It is a stupid British game which we have raised to the level of religion. A whole generation of youngsters is being raised on a steady diet of instant gratification, skimpily clad cheerleaders, and news about rave parties and orgies. Should we have any realistic expectation from these kids who are supposed to be the future of this nation of ours? But what can we do, you ask? STOP WATCHING THE BLOODY GAME. No TRP, no advertisement monies, no money to be made by greedy industrialists, netas and Bollywood crooks. Problem will be solved.

Out of the last nine years of Congress misrule, it is only of late that we (not the BJP supporters but the regular voter) have started to question the honesty and integrity of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. Instead of trying to inform themselves of the truth, the lemming like Indian voter was willing to believe whatever the media pimps were ready to peddle. They are ready to believe the worst about Narendra Modi and willing to give any benefit of the doubt to Manmohan Singh and the Gandhi family. Blindly following the regional politicians and media has brought us to this pass. In fact, in the name of regionalism and secularism, we are willing to forgive and forget any and all scams. Incredible, isn’t it? Of course solution to this problem is rather obvious.

We have been humiliated by the Chinese on a routine basis. We have been attacked by paki terrorists on a regular basis. The man on the street can voice their dissent by the power of their wallet. Stop buying Chinese shit. Even if you have to pay twenty rupees more or walk a kilometer extra to buy an Indian made article then do it. If enough people do it then it will get noticed. We all know about boycotts from our history lessons and our fight against the Brits but are we willing to make a little sacrifice and do the right thing?

Why do we forgive a felonious filmstar and keep watching their movies and make them rich instead of boycotting them and forcing them to rectify their behavior? Is forgoing a movie that big a sacrifice?

My point is that we have the power right in our hands or our minds or our wallet but we do not use it. Are we forgiving or are we weak? Is cricket and cricketers more important than problems of the common man? Who does the IPL benefit? In fact if the latest is true then one of the biggest beneficiaries in Dawood Ibrahim, i.e. Pakistani terror. And yet, people out there are loudly proclaiming that they will not stop watching the game.

So I ask you again. Are we forgiving or weak or ignorant or lazy (intellectually and physically)? Of course I am also guilty of some or all of it sometimes but I do try.