Posts Tagged ‘punjab’
How Kejriwal lost the plot
I wrote about it earlier how Kejriwal got the tide wrong. He fought against Modi head-on who was riding the wave of great public support. As Kejriwal fought with Modi, he kept losing support; hence his fate in 2017.
Last 2 years or so, he has continued his tirade. As I mentioned earlier, people get tired of prolonged drama. Even if BJP was not letting him work in Delhi, continuous cries don’t work. People get fed up. Either find a way or quit. He has all the right to badmouth Modi, but given the support that Modi commands today, it’s a self-goal. AAP came out as an immature party, with no dent to Modi popularity.
He could have made a mark in Punjab, but got the calculations wrong. You don’t berate a popular leader, without repercussions. He should have fought against Badals and Congress, whom public dislikes and should have left Modi alone. Demonetization was another thing he miscalculated. He was the most vocal against the move and look where it got him. He should have highlighted the fumbled implementation rather than the intent of Modi. Voters like strong and decisive leaders, not cry-babies. Have you ever seen Modi cry about lack of Rajya Sabha support? He let people around him do that but he himself gives a vibe of not caring and finding a work around.
Hope Kejriwal and AAP learn their lesson. Modi is ‘once in a generation’ leader and nothing good with come out by fighting him directly. People supported you when you took on Jaitely and that’s the way to go. To outsmart Modi, you have to hurt his cronies. People love Modi but not so much people around him.
It’s still early days for Arvind and his party and hope they come stronger out of this. Congress has ceded the space of principal opposition party and for a healthy democracy we need a strong opposition leader. If you continue acting immature, people will find some other strong leader. Long live democracy!
AAP goes the BJP way: Destination for Party Changers
Those who follow elections closely would remember, in 2014, when BJP was riding high on Modi wave, it was perfect destination for people who wanted to change their party. From Disgruntled, sidelined people to those who saw pegging back on Modi wave was a winner, hopped on to the BJP train. BJP too accepted them with open arms. Some inductions were controversial, others less controversial. From Congress to AAP to JDU everyone was welcomed. It was in fact necessary as BJP, having not won elections for so long faced a dearth of faces. This was addressed by inductions from other parties.
The same trend I see for 2017 Punjab elections. Siddhu is the biggest catch. Names of Congress leaders are also coming up. It’s free for all. Again as party it is necessary as there are no faces, no leadership for AAP in Punjab other than Bhagwant Mann. Hence AAP seems to be going the BJP way. However Kejriwal hates Modi, this is one thing he has learnt from him fairly quickly.
I feel these inductions will help AAP, which is riding on a huge anti-incumbency wave. But AAP has to be careful while letting people in. IT has to have a food proof vetting process. One wrong move can harm bad. More than a face for CM’s post, AAP would need faces for MLA’s. This would be the biggest challenge. I assume a lot of people from other parties will contest on AAP ticket. This makes vetting process even more necessary.
Hope the good sense prevails.
By-Election Result: What it means?
By-election results surprised quite a few. It was first major vote since the General elections earlier this year. Some even called it a feedback on 100 days of the much celebrated Govt.
Outcome seems far from promising for the ruling party. Grand alliance in Bihar have triumphed. Karnataka and Punjab are also not a good omen.
Besides General elections, the biggest achievement of the PM seems to be bringing together the cut-throat foes in Bihar. To gain some perspective we only have to look back
There has always been a consolidation against the ruling party, however the ideological differences may be. JDU-BJP alliance of the past; NC joining NDA Govt. are just some examples. Late 70’s saw anti-Congress forces coming together only to fall apart. Such were their opposing beliefs. It was not until Vajpayee’s management that different ideologues learned to work together under the Common Minimum Program (CMP).
The CMP coalition method perfected by Vajpayee has come back to haunt BJP. Now that Congress has become irrelevant, regional parties have found a new foe. What confounds me is that the once anti-Congress parties have become anti-BJP. Perhaps they were always anti-ruling. It’s what gave them their anti-establishment credentials; a channel for much abused poor to vent out its anger.
The future seems even trickier for BJP. It has got a feel of Congress’ shoes. What a collective onslaught feels like; the fort getting attacked. It never saw a bigger victory and it will have to see even bigger opposition.
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