MANMOHAN LACKS CHARISHMA , ADVANI BEREFT OF AURA

Mamohan Singh is among the most uncharismatic leaders in the higher echleons of Indian polity- in that he is not the motivating factor for anyone to perform out of his skin; he is decent and his integrity is beyond doubt but he appeals only to the head with little impact on the heart; Advani on the other hand, has all the outward qualities of a leader - he is a decent orator ; has a mass base and possesses a long and eventful political record; however , there is something negative about his aura that people do not implicitly trust him; In the light of these, projecting the two as prime ministerial candidates was an exercise in selfishness of the vested interests which harmed the parties as well as the country. Sonia by projecting a non- threatening leader in Manmohan Singh wanted to keep the seat warm for Rahul Gandhi- in the process, the country has got a dependant Prime minister and the post has been devalued. My take is that had Manmohan not been projected Congress may have got more seats ; likewise by projecting Advani ,the armchair politicians surrounding him harmed the party's prospects and conse quently gave the country a relatively weak opposition. In a way, it has turned out to be a Hobson's choice in 2009 as far as electing Prime ministers is concerned.