General Elections-2014: Overwhelming Public Mandate For A New Government!

Perhaps only one of those exit polls ventured out giving around 340 Lok Sabha seats for the BJP led NDA and a number in excess of simple majority for BJP on its own. In the most emphatic mandate since 1984 that exit poll proved to be the most accurate one. On the counting day yesterday that saw India glued to television sets, almost empty streets and offices and live-wire packed newsrooms Indian citizens proved why democracy is still the raging spirit in this country. They did not mince words or showed any waywardness. They rejected the incumbent government and brought in a new government in all democratic glory. All small political parties including Arvind Kejriwal’s much talked about AAP could not even give a fight. It was a clear choice for BJP alliance rejecting the Congress alliance. Only in states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal the regional parties continued to hold sway with Jayalalitha and Mamata Bannerji sweeping the polls promising strong opposition groups in the Indian Parliament. However, they are denied like all other power mongers waiting for a situation where BJP would need support to achieve the magic number of 272 in a 543-member Lok Sabha of having any horse-trading or manipulative hands in the formation of the new government. The Congress party got reduced to its worst ever performance since independence with a paltry 44 seats while the UPA got just 60, unable even to sit on the opposition effectively.

After noon yesterday trends started revealing the inkling of an overwhelming victory for the BJP under the aggressive leadership of Narendra Modi—the next Prime Minister in the new government to be formed shortly. The BJP led alliance, NDA, cruised to 336 seats while BJP got 282 technically allowing it to form a government on its own. If you leave out Gujarat as Modi’s state then you must take note of the spectacular performances of BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and of the BJP led alliance in Maharashtra.  Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra do stand out, because in the former the BJP overcame the Mulayam Singh Yadav led Samajwadi Party and the Mayawati led BSP capturing 73 of the 80 seats and in the latter in its alliance with Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India and farmers’ political parties BJP scripted the incredible defeats of some of the most dominant Congress and NCP leaders of Maharashtra including central and state cabinet ministers. BJP got 23, Shiv Sena 18 and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana 1, thus capturing 42 of total 48 seats. It has been a significant comeback for Shiv Sena that had been sort of languishing after the demise of its father figure Balasaheb Thackeray and due to leadership issues and continuous attacks by its breakaway party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Shiv Sena is now rejuvenated and set for the potent future with Assembly Elections due in October this year in Maharashtra. The coming Assembly Elections will be the biggest challenge for the staggering ruling combine led by Congress.

And of course, Mumbai. As you know Mumbai hit its second half-century in 25 years this General Elections when it voted in excess of fifty percent. That was supposed to be a wave and we explained it in detailsfor you recently. Indeed, it was such a wave that the saffron alliance (BJP-Shiv Sena) swept the city winning all six seats. Standing, outstanding and traditional candidates just lost and lost by huge margins—another trend visible nationally as BJP or its partner parties won with margins of hundred thousand or more. The all-time record of the biggest win margin was made by none other than the next Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi when he defeated his Congress rival by over 5,70,000 votes in his home state Gujarat.

With the new government in place it will be hardly easy for BJP and partners to rule India. They have to perform on issues like corruption, inflation, economic policies, foreign policy relating mainly to Pakistan and so on. In the role of the national opposition BJP had been attacking, harassing, cornering the ruling coalition and stalling Parliament most of the time. Then there is the ‘fear factor’ associated with the BJP or Modi Government. They will also have to overcome the fears of the minorities who are suspicious of their religiously aggressive Hindutva, communality and polarization. Would-be Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take all these into account and must continue to respect peoples’ overwhelming faith in his leadership.Today Modi flew to New Delhi to attend BJP's Parliamentary Board meeting. Then he visited his second constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh where he defeated Arvind Kejriwal by a huge margin.

President Obama talked to Modi over phone inviting him to visit the US. Many other countries including France expressed willingness to associate with the new Indian government closely. International media gave wide coverage to BJP and Modi’s thumping victory.  Meanwhile the outgoing Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has tendered his resignation to the President of India today after giving his farewell speech. The Parliamentary Party of the BJP is going to meet in the capital on Tuesday, the 20^th of May to formally elect Narendra Modi as their leader and the next Prime Minister of India.

General Elections-2014: Would 16th May Bring In A New Government?

General Elections-2014 for Lok Sabha—the lower house of the Indian Parliament—has been a record in terms of maximum number of phases. The polling process was completed in nine phases starting 7^thApril and ending 12^th May. Voting percentage has been a record too for General Elections-2014 as this has been the highest since 1984. In 1984 voting percentage was 64% and it gave a landslide victory for the Congress led by late Rajiv Gandhi who became the Prime Minister. Following the assassination of Indira Gandhi a sympathy wave was cited as the main reason for the mandate. However, the high percentage of voting normally accompanying a wave was not anti-incumbency that time. This time the national average percentage is around 66% and this could normally signify an anti-incumbency wave. One more record has been made in terms of the lowest ever level of politics with unprecedented aggression, personalized attacks and polarization for General Elections-2014. Even the constitutional body of the Election Commission of India (EC) became the target of attacks by almost all political parties and often a part of the conspiracy theory that has been raging for the last few months making mainly the BJP to smell a Congress hand or the AAP smelling a Congress-BJP hand in any happening of any sort. Anyway, the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi became the No. 1 campaigner holding on average two rallies daily for at least two months accompanied by a sound and aggressive marketing strategy. The Congress thought the counter offered by Rahul Gandhi might not be optimal and therefore the party unfolded the Priyanka Gandhi card at a later stage leading to a high-voltage climax.

The highlight of the last phase of polling was the Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh where PM candidate Narendra Modi is having a direct fight with Arvind Kejriwal of AAP. Attention of not just India but that of the whole world has been focused on this exciting contest. The moment polling came to an end on the evening of 12^th May exit polls invaded almost all the national news channels. The interesting trend that emerged from all these exit polls was that a new government was going to be formed at the centre. And the national opposition party BJP led by Narendra Modi is clearly signaled to be the single largest party and that the new government was almost sure to be formed by them. The seats given to the BJP led NDA ranges from 250 to 340 indicating situations of looking for support from new allies to clear majority or absolute majority or even a two-thirds majority. The stock market has responded in a big way with the Sensex crossing 24,000 mark for the first time ever and is set to surpass even 25,000 on 16^thMay if BJP is given a clear public mandate. Well, the share market looks forward to having a stable government possibly ending a period of policy paralysis. US President Barack Obama has also expressed his eagerness to welcome a new government in India. The euphoria, particularly in the BJP ranks, across the country is visibly palpable with the sulking and the outgoing Congress-led ruling coalition UPA-2 having to blame only themselves for the unending series of scams and unprecedented levels of corruption.

Exit polls are not right every time. Some have already pointed out that exit polls wrongly predicted a BJP comeback in 2004 when there was actually a wave for change of power. However, this time all exit polls predicting similar results is being looked upon seriously combined with the record voting percentage and a clear perception of an anti-incumbency wave. These factors taken together only heighten the suspense created around the Counting Day on Friday, the 16^th May, 2014. Finally this day would reveal the full truth and could be historic in many ways. The countdown for the counting day is getting almost unbearable. Whole of India is focused on this day and waiting to see who would finally govern them.

Humor: The Virtual Travel Package!

Emboldened by his earlier encouraging experiencewith the banking hawks Mr. Thames Pond decides to carry on from there. He takes a pledge to encounter any call from any credit card or banking executive with guts and intelligence. He must ensure that he refuse all unnecessary offers or entrapments. He’d no longer be vulnerable. And then, as usual, he gets a call right away…

  

“Hello…am I speaking to Thames Pond please?”

“Who’s this please?”

“This is Moneycanny Sir, from UC bank!...Mr. Pond?”

“Right, this is Pond. Thames Pond!”

“So nice to talk to you again! Good morning Sir!”

“Good morning..Ms. err…!”

“Mr. Pond…can I take just two minutes of your most precious time?”

“Regarding what?”

“Sir, you are one of our most privileged customers. We’ve reviewed your payment record over the years and found your credit history absolutely sound. Therefore, we’d like to offer you a rare privilege in terms of travel benefits. We are sending you a package of travel vouchers allowing you to have free five-star hotel comforts in various tourist locations you’d like to visit. We need your consent Sir so that we can forward that package to you readily.”

“You are giving me all these free, milady?”

“Absolutely Sir! This is our thanksgiving to one of our most privileged customers.”

“No payment? No hidden costs? Are you sure?”

“Yes Sir! All you have to do is to receive it!”

“Okay…in that case I can consider…Ms…err…!”

“Thanks Sir! Your package is worth more than ------ bucks. So there will be a service tax and other charges. You will pay an amount of ---- bucks for receiving the package. We’ll bill this amount in your next card statement…”

“Hey…wait a minute! What are you saying…I’ll have to pay to receive your benefits?”

“Right Sir! You are not making a payment, you are only paying taxes. Your package is worth a lot of money and so service charges apply naturally…”

“Wait a minute…you see…”

“Ours is one of the largest banks of the country with a huge network…”

“Hey..Ms…err…I’m not referring to your bank…I mean you see…that is you..and see here! You see…err…you…see…I will have to take leave from my office…book tickets…plan it perfectly to be able to avail of your travel package, right? And considering your five-star privilege I must travel by air…I cannot just crawl and slog to land up there, no? Now, the problem is it may not materialize in that specified period of yours…due to so many reasons…”

“But Sir, we expect you definitely won’t let go of such money-saving opportunity!”

“…Okay…you expect…I want too. But it is not in my hands. Now, if I fail to avail of your ‘free’ package why on earth should I pay you in advance? You send it…I’ll see, and then if I do travel and enjoy your five-star luxuries please bill the service charge…this makes perfect sense.”

“Sorry Sir! We offer you a value package and therefore we have to charge the service tax. Please confirm your agreement so that we can send it across immediately.”

“I’m sorry too…milady! I cannot give my consent…” (Cuts the line.) 

Mr. Pond watches his phone ring again. He rejects the call, deliriously happy. The process repeats itself one more time. Then silence as Mr. Pond indulges himself a broad grin.