#indiaelections2014

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Which political party do (should) you side with?

Your beliefs on Social, Transportation, Religion, Healthcare, and Domestic Policy side you mostly with Indian National Congress. You are most concerned about Domestic Violence, Healthcare, Electricity, Right to Food, and Metro Rail.

Elections 2014 in India. Yes they deserve a blog post.

Try this short survey to see which political party you side with. The results will surprise you.

[gottowrite]

Voting 101

For those who are completely clueless, CEO of Delhi’s “A Guide for the Voters” remains as relevant as ever.

Another very useful and remarkably engaging piece of resource for the young voter is a handbook called Vote Smart by Tanvi Ratna aka the Policy Girl.

Another useful page pdf, on the CEO Delhi website is the Know your MP/MLA which lists the Lok Sabha MPs as well as the Rajya Sabha MPs and MLAs from the December 2013 elections. This is useful as a reminder that AAP was a surprising winner in the last elections, and cannot be written off easily.

Of course, among those who think AAP is a joke, The Hindu today came up with a comparison of manifestos of the three of its MOST FAVOURITE parties in the world: INC, BJP, and CPI (M). A similar article appeared in Hindustan Times which is why HT sells and TH doesn't, but anyway. OR if you’re too lazy to play the match-the-following-game and keep track of what party you most agree with, you could use this quiz to give you an idea of what party you’d most agree with.

If you want to have a look at the candidates in your constituency I’d recommend this page which has drawn its data from the affidavits which are available in zip (ugh) format on the ECI website.

For those voting in Delhi (esp the New Delhi constituency), please do take out the time to explore the options, despite the “race” being a “three-legged one”. How about the youngest candidates? In India, you can get employed in hazardous industries at 14, get married with parental consent at 16 (21 if you are a male though), not get jailed for rape till 18, vote at 18, get employed as a civil servant at 21, drink at 25 (varies between not at all-25 across the country), and get elected to the Lower House at 25. If you've survived all this, you could try getting elected to Rajya Sabha at 30. But I digress.

Another article about Delhi as a whole and the New Delhi constituency in particular.

Finally, if you’re still unsure, confused, or dazed by all the election mania, you could simply use the NOTA button. OR better still, vote for this lady.

BONUS link 1: Interesting facts and figures about the mammoth task that is the Indian elections. As an aside, the MEA seriously needs better editors.

BONUS link 2: An infographic about Indian elections by Al Jazeera.

[persis]

India Votes!

 My mum called me in the morning. Today my home town goes to the polling booths and she called at 7:30 a.m. to tell me they were on their way to vote. She said that she had called because she knew it'd make me really happy to know that they had voted. You gotta love your politically and emotionally conscious parents! 

I voted last week in Delhi, sadly India does not approve of non-human franchise.

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Beta, congratulate your friends and let them become AAPtards, within 4-5 years they will come back with shamed faces of a traitor. And I will continue to criticize AAP because they are faked - marxists - pro congress - pro Pakistan - pro Mulla - Anti Hindu ideologies they dont have any economic policies, Defence policies, International reforms, Internal security perspective .. Marxism left USSR in 16 pieces .. AAP will make 32 .. Hence I criticize them ..

Conversation between Dr. Prasanna Lodh and Subramanian Swamy 

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AAP Already A Lost Cause | Lack of Vision & Governance Experience Spell Doom

Prashant Bhushan, senior leader of Aam Admi Party (AAP), has stirred a hornets nest by seeking a plebiscite on the issue of Kashmir. This highly controversial comment, which is no doubt condemnable, clearly brings to fore the lack of imagination and any kind of views for a party planning to go national. In this blog post we will explore this issue in depth apart from the power issue and the controversial background of some of the AAP inner core leaders along with those of Kejriwal.

Prashant Bhushan's controversial commentary - an expose on the greater design

Prashant Bhushan has been known to defend terrorists and particularly in the Batlahouse Encounter where the terrorists have been already sentenced, he continues to maintain that they are innocent. Now making such a statement and that too coming from a champion of purity and righteousness & member of AAP is just not expected. Questions arise as to whether to Prashant Bhushan made this deliberate statement to promote his own vested economic interests. 

Althugh Arvind Kejriwal has distanced himself from this statement and Prashant Bhushan has retracted his statement on the same, the latter on many occasions in the past has held the same firm view (http://goo.gl/tOBonP and http://goo.gl/9qrU3c ). This double speak further raises questions of whether the AAP is just another dose of more of Congress where someone says one thing and the Party HIgh Command says something else.

The excuse that AAP is a young party will just not wash cause we are talking about the  issue of national security. And if the AAP which has national ambitions does not show maturity in voicing their views that concern national security then they should grow up politically and then think of representing the Indian people in the Lok Sabha.

Rather peculiar is the position of Prashant Bhushan echoing the indifference practiced by the UPA during the 50+ border penetration attempts on the LOC with Pakistan during the last one year and inroads by the Chinese into Indian territory on many an occasion. The Abdullah's, who are distanced relatives of the Nehru dynasty too have been attempting to have the army removed from Kashmir. Is the AAP a clandestine supporter of the greater design for compromising India's security? The AAP in many a political quarters is believed to be the B team of the Gandhi family. 

A referendum on withdrawing the Army from the state of Kashmir is not only political suicide but foolish and the AAP has shown no foresight in refraining from making such irresponsible statements.

A hypothetical situation where the army is withdrawn from Kashmir and  the latter is allowed to secede from the Union of India will only lead to more trouble along the states that border China and the North Eastern India. This will further compromise India's water security as the molten glaciers feed the perennial rivers of Northern India. (And Pakistan has fought three wars with India only to gain control of these very water bodies). 

So Prashant Bhushan while a righteous stand on the issue of corruption is laudable, questions will be raised as to your loyalty to the nation. Saying you were quoted out of context is a cliched excuse and you would do well to expand your views in public on whether you support the Jihadi's cause or are vehemently against.

Core AAP members have direct linkages with the Gandhi family and Congress

AAP core members have direct linkages to the Gandhi family and raises doubts as to the true design of this party. Or are they simply  toeing the line of American foreign policy. After all there are strong rumours of  AAP having received funding from the Ford Foundation and hence they are dutifully bound to promote the American agenda.

To understand the issue of AAP being a close political aide of the Congress we need to take a look the political antecedents of the core team members. (This blogpost does a great job of establishing AAP links to the Gandhi family). Arvind Kejriwal has confessed to Aruna Roy being his mentor. Aruna Roy is a member of the extra constitional body National Advisory Council (NAC) of which Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson. Surprisingly both Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal during their 10 year tenure as IAS Officers were both never transferred out of Delhi purely on representations of Sonia Gandhi. Now why would Sonia Gandhi recommend a small time officer to be stayed in Delhi? Something just does not smell right!

Another AAP core member Yogendra Yadav was Rahul Gandhi's advisor during the 2009 general elections. He later was part of the NAC and all members of the NAC are hand picked personally by Sonia Gandhi.

So is it entirely possible that these are mere coincidences? And is it also mere coincidence that a party that refused to take support from the Congress has come to power purely on the patronage of the latter. How can the Congress party which is going all out to attack Modi for his Congress-hate speeches provide support to AAP which has been carrying out a virtriolic attack against them. The inconsistency in action against two similar events raises suspicions that AAP and the Congress are in cohorts. 

Further, the leftist and social populist policies of AAP are also Nehruvian and one wonders, what if not a clone of the Congress is AAP.

AAP's populist policies not only imprudent but a bad example of fiscal profligacy

Subsidies and populist policies never ever benefit the common man. And the reduction in the tariff of water and electricity is only going to leave a gargantuan hole in the finances of the Delhi State. And when the shit hits the ceiling it would only mean more burden on the common man.

While these populist measures have caught the fancy of the people of Delhi and India at large, it has panic written over the faces of all political parties. In an effort to water down the AAP effect and ape their style many state governments are looking at options of reducing power tariffs. This is going to have a telling effect on the finances of all these states resorting to populism and eventually India's overall finances. Populism never pays and only ends badly.

AAP the way they executed their  election campaign and  that too winning the elections in the state of Delhi, everyone thought that at last India had found a pragmatic and corruption free alternative. However to highlight their shallow understanding of the power situation prevalent in the capital state we need to table issues facing the Delhi State Electricity Board.

Power consumption in the National Capital varies from 3000 -5000 MW. This great intra day fluctuations cannot be evened out as Delhi does not have much manufacturing activity which uses the power in the night.

To provide uninterrupted power to Delhites, the discoms have to resort to purchase of costly power and that too over a period of 24 hours. So during nights when the load demand drops this power needs to be sold to other consumption centres. And the states incur losses in their trading activities during the night. These trading losses need to be considered while deciding the tariff structure.

The accumulated losses of the past years and the returns that the discoms need for the investments that they make are also to be considered while calculating the tariffs.

Cost of power generation has risen substantially since the discoms were privatised in 2002 and while the distribution losses have been more than halved from the ~50% levels, more needs to be done.

Now when Sheila Dixit raised power tariffs by a steep 24% AAP was quick to point out that this was against the recommendation of the DERC at that point in time. They also raised issues of

addressing power theft

bringing the significant non-tariff payers like the Indira Gandhi Internation Airport (IGI) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to pay, and 

getting the discoms books audited by the CAG for gold plating the cost of their assets to which returns are linked.

In their election manifesto they never spoke of giving subsidies which they adopted with much fan fare. It is to their credit that the CAG audit has been announced in record time and they have threatened to cancel licences of discoms if the latter were to refuse the same. The timeline in which this announcement has been made is laudable.

However their rush to announce the populist measure of slashing tariffs by 50% and that too only for certain sections of society was a clear deviation from their manifesto of relief for one and all. This too my mind is a betrayal of the people who voted for AAP. 

Further they should have waited for the CAG audit report to come in and taken stock of the AT&C losses and the arrears of the IGI and DJB. Once the observations made were noted a well thought out strategy should have been initiated to mitigate the tariffs. However they acted in a very immature manner in announcing the dole outs.

Having won the election with a seat count far in excess of his wildest imagination and unexpectedly finding himself the CM, Kejriwal was in a vulnerable position as the Congress government which had extended outside support was not giving his party enough time to act in a methodical manner. With a short time frame and national political opportunities suddenly looming large the temptation was too much to resist and AAP bit the bullet of acting first and then analyzing. 

AAP would do well to learn from the Gujarat Model (instead of berating Modi) on electricity tariffs and the smart grid concept which is to be implemented in the state. The folly - a 50% cut in the power tariff - and the finances of the state screwed up forever. In my opinion Arvind Kejriwal would have risen taller had he refrained from taking the populist measure and stood up to the Congress on the time line and instead enacted a methodical solution to the electricity issue without compromising on fiscal prudence.

In my opinion the austerity measures undertaken with respect to personal security and blindly indulging in populism is akin to saving nickels while squandering the pounds. 

The haste shown in enacting the populist policies is clearly indicative of the the power hungry party. So what is the difference between AAP on the one hand and the BJP and Congress (that Kejriwal so clearly enjoys criticising) on the other.

Winning the elections and ruling a nation are two entirely different activities. Lack of vision on a number of issues plaguing the country is indeed alarming (and the content for another blogpost) and does not bode well if AAP is to play a major role in politics at a national level.

The single issue of corruption while striking a chord with the frustrated people of India might have worked in bringing popularity to AAP. But having no views on development and India's problems only makes AAP seem to be a coterie of opportunists with no national agenda. Seems like Arvind Kejriwal and Co. are in a tearing hurry to occupy the Lok Sabha. If AAP does not get its act together and quickly evovle into a mature outfit, it would not be too early to say that India's Arab Spring failed even before it started. Then would it not be better to elect Narendra Modi led BJP. Atleast our future would be in tried, tested and successful hands. Hands that deliver.

Other Posts from India Elections 2014 | Learning Politics

2002 Riots Clean Chit To Modi | How Big Are Political Gains

Will Rahul Gandhi Sacrifice Ashok Chavan To Save The Future Of Congress

Politics Of Sharad Pawar’s Open Criticism Of The Congress Leadership

Congress Belief In The Gandhi Family Defies Gravity

Arvind Kejriwal to Clean Sweep Delhi Despite No Clear Majority

Modi Takes PM Head On | Lambasts Anti Communal Violence Bill

Narendra Modi | An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Narendra Modi Waves Make Congress Desperate

Tribals Use Social Media to Prevent Corrupt Practices in Elections in MP, India

India’s God Sachin Tendulkar Retired, Another God Namo patiently waits his turn

Congress clearly losing ground as Modi’s stature grows

[indiaelections2014]

2002 Riots Clean Chit To Modi | How Big Are Political Gains

Narendra Modi has been exonerated in the 2002 riots by the SIT appointed by the Supreme Court. This brings to an end the more than a decade long Congress sponsored campaign to fix Modi. In all probability Congress has exhausted all its ammunition against Modi and this will inevitably cost them the 2014 elections. But the gains to Modi are far reaching than currently meets the eye. In this blog post we try to elaborate the political mileage that ensues to the BJP vis a vis Congress.

By exonerating Modi, the anti-Muslim tirade against him stands completely demolished. This will be very bullish for NaMo's amorous moves to embrace the minority community and the latter will obviously be inclined to moderate their stand towards him. This will clearly dent the minority vote bank of the Congress which was carefully nurtured on the premise of communal hatred and is suggestive of big wins in the politically important state of Uttar Pradesh. Congress, SP and BSP have their popularity at an epic low and BJP by virtue of being a dark horse in the state have everything to gain. 

The international community and notably the US, which had outcast Modi will only be eager to embrace him as the tainted image of being non-secular is done away with.  

No longer will Congress be able to shy away from the issue of development. And Modi wins hands down with the impressive growth statistics and policies that he has implemented in Gujarat during his tenure as CM.

The BJP can now be expected to launch its biggest offensive against the Congress on the issues of corruption. The first salvo to be fired would be the moving of the Mumbai High Court in the Adarsh scam. This will severely erode the vote bank of the Congress, as in my opinion, it is an open and shut case with advantage to BJP.

For the first time the country has the advantage of having a non-Congress national party as a viable political option, which under the able leadership of NaMo will lead the country to dizzying heights.

The Congress Party, under the stewardship of Sonia Gandhi and aided by the Union Cabinet, have run a marathon campaign for more than 11 years to fix Modi (in one case or another). Modi has emerged stronger with each acquittal and launched a Congress Mukt Bharat counter campaign as the panacea to India's woes. If the lacs of people flocking to Modi's rallies is any indication, then the BJP will be replicating their land slide victories (in the recently concluded State Assembly By-elections) during the coming Lok Sabha elections. Congressmen stand warned, for the shoe will be on the other foot when Modi takes on the mantle of the Prime Minister's Office. And it may so be that they would have no place to run or to hide cause the BJP vendetta would be ferocio<p>><s

"Truth by nature is self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear"- Mahatma Gandhi

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 26, 2013 

Other Posts from India Elections 2014 | Learning Politics

Will Rahul Gandhi Sacrifice Ashok Chavan To Save The Future Of Congress

Politics Of Sharad Pawar’s Open Criticism Of The Congress Leadership

Congress Belief In The Gandhi Family Defies Gravity

Arvind Kejriwal to Clean Sweep Delhi Despite No Clear Majority

Modi Takes PM Head On | Lambasts Anti Communal Violence Bill

Narendra Modi | An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Narendra Modi Waves Make Congress Desperate

Tribals Use Social Media to Prevent Corrupt Practices in Elections in MP, India

India’s God Sachin Tendulkar Retired, Another God Namo patiently waits his turn

Congress clearly losing ground as Modi’s stature grows

[indiaelections2014]

Narendra Modi | An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Considering the fact that Narendra Modi has been short listed by Time magazine's for its 'Person of the Year' title no other title could have been more apt for this blogpost. The way Narendra Modi is being exalted everywhere, it seems that the victory celebrations post 2014 Lok Sabha Elections have begun almost 6 months before the elections are to be held. Nomura is now the second investment bank, after Goldman Sacs, to proclaim victory for Modi and the BJP. 

Modi's fame is now playing out far and wide across the globe. Writeups of his struggle from poverty to becoming one of the most loved Indian are being published in Japan.

Ironical is the fact that the Italian envoy Daniele Mancini  (who hails from Sonia Gandhi's motherland) held detailed discussion to explore areas of mutual co-operation with the Gujarat CM. Impressed by Vibrant Gujarat, the Italian business delegation has evinced keen interest to partner in Gujarat’s growth story.

And befitting this appreciation was a news report which clearly shows that poverty reduction and Gujarat's growth story go hand in hand.

And while Congress has spared no opportunity to call Modi as the "maut kaa saudagar", the champion crusader WikiLeaks calls Modi Mr. Incorruptible

While the whole World lauds Modi's performance and his popularity surges by the day, Indian politicians continue to spit venom against him. Akhilesh Yadav accused Modi (indirectly) of using strong marketing tactics to promote his campaign and said that he could even sell the Taj Mahal. In another mud slinging episode, Congress is trying its level best to corner Modi in the Snoopgate controversy which is subjudice in the Supreme Court. (Read this hypothetical story on how the Snoopgate controversy might have played out).

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram also tried a fast one by saying that in 1998-99, the INR in the NDA's regime depreciated much more than in the UPA regime.

The above image is self explanatory and clealry refutes PC's false claims. Now even the Left is accusing Modi and the BJP of orchestarting communal riots across India.

While Time Magazine has shortlisted Modi for the "Person of the Year" award, an India Today article says not to read too much into the story and belittles this possible accolade by saying that in 1938  Adolf Hitler was declared the "Man of the Year" by Time (a year before WW2 began).

In another news article, this veritable newspaper goes on to ridicule him even further by equating him in the same bracket as Rahul Gandhi, rape accused Tarun Tejpal and murder accused Talwars. 

It seems like the pro-Congress tabloid would go to any length to discredit what the entire nation of 1.3 bn people clearly see. Even a rag picker will admit that the Modi story has some grain of truth. Howeve this tabloid chooses to look the other way.

Ironically the same tabloid in its opinion poll has predicted that BJP, NaMo's party, is expected to sweep the polls in Delhi with Congress being badly routed. Losing elections in Delhi would be a very bad psychological setback to the Congress.

The UPA and anti-Modi politicians privately know that their days are numbered and have already started enacting Plan B of their strategy - of damaging the state machinery and economy beyond repair. This article by First Post, a new tabloid, explores how the Congress is screwing the economy further through 

planning to hike NREGA wages even more than what was previously planned

increases in pensions paid under social welfare schemes, especially under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).

delaying big income-tax refunds beyond fiscal 2014, and

Rs 60,000 crore of oil subsidies payment deferred over to the next  fiscal year

All this will have to be borne by the party that comes to power. The bills are so heavily laden that the payment obligations could lead to a multitude of crisis with an economy slowing even further and the risk of a ratings downgrade being more probable. The article goes on to conclude that the situation could get so precarious that Sonia Gandhi's UPA government's economic policies could even be considered anti national. Modi may come to power, but the UPA in its twilight days will ensure that his work is cut out, right from now.

However Modi is no ordinary leader as and is equal to the challenge. And just like he has fought back poverty, Godhra riots and the UPA crusade to keep him out of power, I have firm belief that he will rise to the occasion and steer India to its glorius future. Modi is an idea whose time has come. Under Modi's stewardship, Brand India will emerge and keep date with its destiny of becoming a Superpower.