Wannabe PM?

The art of forming political coalitions seems to have acquired a new mantra. ‘Wannabe PM?’ syndrome is gaining ground all over the country. Prominent aspiring political leaders are being lured into this syndrome and on the basis of their anticipated affirmations new coalitions or fronts are manufactured.

During the Nuclear Deal turmoil a lot of unlikely groups made unlikely coalitions with the promise of making someone PM. Now with general elections round the corner the process of making ‘strange bedfellows’ is naturally getting accelerated. Some leaders cannot help but keep a lifelong ambition of becoming the PM. Some of them succeed, no matter even if it means for a few days only, and others remain eternally hopeful. If we call it a baser instinct then it is ‘pandering to baser instincts’. What is wrong if ‘pandering’ leads to an endless stream of fronts?

In Maharashtra too the ‘Marathi Manoos’ (son of soil) sentiment is playing its part in the overall unfolding of the syndrome. If a son of soil of a particular region wants to be the PM political parties of that region tend to forget political affiliations and ideologies. Thus we get ‘regional integration’. Now, if someone like that finally becomes the PM how s/he is going to reconcile to the eternal theme of ‘national integration’ is a question better left alone.

For the moment we can enjoy the great entertainment show of ‘wannabe PM’ and wait for the suspense drama to end after the elections. Or, do we have a say on who should be or would be or could be the eventual PM?

Cricket Stays in India!

So IPL-2 is moved out of India to South Africa. Not that it had to be moved out. While clashing with elections in India the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) insisted on the same starting date that is April 10th and allowed only intermingling of other dates and venues. Now in South Africa the tournament is postponed to 18th April. Why?

Apart from the big money of the franchisees and the consequent high stakes, the dates of the top international players there is in all probability another factor of ‘ego’ involved here. Rolling in millions the BCCI naturally is fast cultivating a zero tolerance to any kind of objections and criticisms. Else, why didn’t it agree to a delayed start in India, why it refused to recognize the security implications of the general elections, why India was compared to Pakistan, why can’t they see the risks involved in holding the tournament in the same time period with the elections and why they cannot rise above revenue considerations?

Cricket stays in India. IPL-2 is starting in SA okay, but see the timings of the matches, 4pm and 8pm as per Indian time. Why forget the huge revenues from the satellite channels! Cricket is a national obsession here and it stays like that only. The only hitch is that a purely business minded private board is allowed to handle a national obsession.

Why can’t we have a NBCBCCII? A National Board for Control of BCCI in India.

Cricket: Security Hassles

Elections and cricket can no longer go hand in hand thanks to growing security requirements to prepare for sudden terror attacks. Terror had recently selected cricket too as a target, Lahore 03/03.

Indian parliamentary elections are going to be held in five phases during April-May all over the country. This is the biggest democratic exercise of the largest democracy of the world and, to make it free and fair tremendous security arrangements are need of the troubled present day times. The second part of the high profile Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament was also planned during the same period. This has led to a security dilemma and raging debate on priorities.

IPL is big money no doubt, but whose money and what are the first priorities. Additional forces cannot be spared by the Indian Govt. and the states which is quite natural. IPL was rescheduled, but again the problem of making foolproof security arrangements was not solved. Now IPL hangs in the balance.

We must set our priorities. Cricket of this variety is just entertainment and it involves the responsibility of safeguarding the top international cricketers. So it can definitely wait. Elections cannot wait. The new government has to be formed by June to take the country safely forward.

Cricket fans must see the point.