THE SHOE THROWING FETISH

We Indians are quick at aping the worst features of global culture - the incident of shoe throwing at Bush is a case in point. Whereas , shoes were hurled at Bush and the Chinese premier outside their countries - as a protest against their dictatorial attitudes -in India , where we have a functional democracy (even if ineffective ) there is no such scenario and hence no place for these gimmicks. Furthermore , after the initial incidents, there has been no recurrence in the west while in India it has triggered a chain reaction. If only we could imbibe some of the positive aspects of the west!

LEFT - THE RIGHT CHOICE ?

Perhaps in these troubled economic times , Left seems to be the right choice ; it is likely that the slowdown will last upto 2010 - in sync with which we're likely to have an unstable government. During this period the poor and the weak are likely suffer the most.For such people leftists are the best bet. The flip side is that their pro poor stance comes in tandem with the opposition of the rich and the powerful. As there is no achievement phase immediately anticipated , survival is the key issue. For which the left is best placed to provide an answer.The bonus is that the people will have a "real" third alternative for the first time in which Left plays aleading role.( The earlier third front formations were at best pseudo third fronts being the splinter transformations of Cong / BJP ). After their historic mistake in 1996 wherein they blocked Jyoti Basu from being the PM they've amended their constitution and are sending signals that they're ready to have a go. Besides , they have ample experience of running coaltions - in West Bengal as also in Kerala. Till some time back such a proposition was considered bunkum but after three rounds of polling, it certainly has come into the realm of possibility. If I could have my way , I'll go for it - albeit only for this transition period for course adustment.Moreover,this'll make Indian Democracy healthier - India needs a " real" break from the two of a kind- BJP & Congress.If only wishes could be horses!

STEALING EACH OTHERS' THUNDER ?

The two major parties - Congress & BJP- are both accusing each other ( rightly so ) of stealing each others' policies and schemes . Whereas Congress has gone ahead by taking the entire credit for the Prime Minister's rural roads scheme ( which was initiated and partly implemented during the Atal regime ) BJP has usurped the Congress' loan waiver scheme for farmers by claiming it as theirs ....and so on In a way each of the two has tried to steal the others' thunder . When doe s this kind of a thing happen? Whenever the contestants do not have any thunder of their own.

DIABOLICAL POLITICIANS AND MEDIA SUBVERTING THE DEMOCRACY

Politicians and the media are subverting democracy by their diabolical ways .... the former while castigating communalism and criminalistion of politics in public conveniently give tickets to rabid communalists and notorius criminals ; and the media, while pretending to be the mirror of public opinion plants sponsored election related information dresesd up as news onto the unsuspecting readers in the garb of impact features and the like.

LS POLLS - 28 SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS ?

S ome people take great pride in the fact that the LS polls of 2009 are like 28 simultaneous elections on account of the hegemony of the re gional parties in various states . They term it as a healthy sign for the Indian democracy. My take on it is slightly different - had there been 28 national parties contesting the polls , it may have been a healthy sign but a dozen odd regional par ties dictating the show is certainly unhealthy. For, by design or circumstance, the regional parties lack a national outlook which is the cornerstone of Lok Sabha.Thus, while they might put up a facade of unity in the face of emotive issues such as war, communal riots etc, many a time they act as breakers in the acts of progress. The reason being that it is virtually impossible to satisfy all regions in any act of development . In such a scenario the regional parties wield their disproportionate clout to scuttle / delay it (viz. the women's reservation bill, nuclear deal etc).

VOTE BANKS AND VOTE EXCHANGES

Wherever there are emotional factors - religious minorities , backward castes , castes in backward states , regionalism etc .- people act as vote banks. As the polity becomes relatively caste and class neutral, the masses act as vote exchanges - voting for those who deliver and booting out the non-dynamic ones.Ove r time , as the country develops (in particular with increasing urbanisation) vote banks will reduce ( though they 'll never vanish ) and vote exchanges will grow - esp.on the national scene.Parties seem to have realised this and are thus downplaying the emotional element in the national elec tions viz. both BJP and Shiv Sena have highlighted development as the main plank in their manifestos and not the emotional factors such as Ram temple , Art. 370 , common civil code or aggressive nationalism.

P.S :(i) No party can make two traditionally antagonistic vote banks collaborate viz. Right wing Hindus of BJP& Muslims- the moment you bring in one the other slips away- as Mulayam Singh is discovering to some extent; Likewise no party can expect cooperation from ideologically opposed vote exchanges viz.Pro- west Capitalists and the left -as Manmohan Singh found out .

SONIA-MANMOHAN POWER DICHOTOMY NOT SUCH A BAD THING

The existence of two power centres - that of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi - is not such a bad thing for our democracy. In f act to call them as twin power centres is slightly off mark since the former is a "power" centre focussing p rimarily on what needs to be done come what may ( vi z. nuclear deal , e conomic measures , defence policy etc.) while the latter is more a pillar of "strength" - for the poor, weak and the minorities - focusing more on what should" not " be done ( Viz. petrol price rise, NREGP etc .). Thus , it is somewhat of an internal c heck on the polity.In a tangential sort of a way, the Sangh parivar does the same for the BJP (ensuring that it never goes too much off the ideological path). It w ould've had more sanctity if it had evolved as part of a planned process; but then like all things in India, it came about a s a " reaction" to a chaotic situation.

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT IN REVERSE

Some people have been suggesting a national government comprising Congress and the BJP to counter the menace of the regional parties . Something like that happened in Israel in 1964 when the two major rival parties joined hands after being sick of the armtwisting
tactics of the minor players. My take on this is that eventhough both the BJP and the Congress
secretly wish to decimate the regional parties , it is highly unlikely that the two will join hands - whatever the scenario. However , what is likely to happen is that if by some chance the third front does manage to cobble up a government with the support of either BJP or Congres (from outside or ins ide ) a fter a while ( maximum till 2010 ) the two will tacitly come together to bring it down. It 'll be a sort of national government in reverse.