Govt we deserve

An innocuous post in Hindi that recently appeared on a humor page of a social site, originator unfortunately not known, defines democracy “as a system of governance wherein the lamb chooses its own butcher”.

With our elected representatives increasingly demanding their share of the proverbial “pound of flesh” for almost anything from raising issues in parliament to doing or getting any work done, this definition aptly describes our democracy at present.

The general elections are over at long last and with just a couple of days to go for us to know who our new “chosen ones” are, it is time for exit polls, predictions and discussions; even as all major parties are confident of emerging victorious. Anyhow, we will get the government we deserve.

My estimate for BJP is at least 230 seats, including all the five in Uttarakhand. A definite strong pro BJP wave was evident in Doon on 7^th May and it would not be a surprise should Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, its candidate from Tehri, poll the highest percentage of votes in the state. The party’s performance will, in fact, be impressive in the Hindi belt.

UP will be the state to watch as it opts for a national party over regional ones after a long time. BJP will bag more than 50 seats, followed by BSP in second position; while SP and Congress will compete for the third place there. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too will surprise the party positively; even as it would make further inroads in states where it has token presence.

Post the results and depending upon the extent of rout faced by the Congress, the focus in Uttarakhand will shift to the fate of its state government led by Harish Rawat.

Aam Aadmi Party, which arrived with a bang barely six months ago, will not go beyond the single digit mark, with a strong possibility of drawing a blank. It is also set to make an unceremonious exit and go the way of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal thereafter.

These elections will be remembered for the way our netas tried to fool us by preferring to ignore major problems the country needs to address urgently. They also attempted to cover their own role in corruption and maladministration, focussing on imaginary issues instead. Amid bankruptcy of ideas and the desire to grab power at any cost, the slugfest was reduced to ugly personal attacks and mudslinging, the behaviour of our leaders hitting an all-time low in the process.

Another important takeaway is the fact that despite promising more participation of women in politics - Rahul Gandhi going to the extent of advocating giving half the seats to them, major parties failed to field sufficient number of women candidates. Not only did their number not go up from previous elections, some states had no women contestants. On the other hand, persons with dubious background were liberally fielded by all parties.

Our new parliamentarians will do us a big favour by NOT taking out any victory processions that they normally do on being declared elected, thereby disrupting traffic and causing inconvenience to public. A modest thank you through the press will do. They should instead work sincerely within and outside the parliament for the betterment of their states and constituencies, and not merely raise their hands in support of their parties.

Rather than doing the vanishing trick and appearing five years hence, they must ensure that they spend adequate time in their areas and be easily accessible to people at all times on telephone. They ought to also keep their constituents well informed of their activities in New Delhi through the local media on a regular basis.

Hopefully, our new government will work overtime and serve us honestly rather than playing the butcher.

(Published in Garhwal Post on 14th May 2014)

New World Record !!!

Aam Aadmi Party will find a place in the book of records for
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max no of candidates losing their deposits in one lok sabha election !!!

Making the Difficult Choice

Campaigning in the on-going general elections has been hi-tech even as the kind of language our politicians use makes new lows with each passing day. Big rallies, road shows, interviews, chat shows, advertisements, social media, para gliders and many more are being used to entice the voter. High flying, larger than life netas are playing to the gallery, spewing venom against their adversaries like actors do against the enemy in a patriotic Bollywood war movie, leaving the common man wondering whether our real enemy is across our country’s borders or amongst our own netas.

Amid the blitzkrieg, actual state and constituency specific issues that ought to have been discussed are forgotten. Congress, which had won all the five parliamentary seats in Uttarakhand in 2009 and is also the party in power in the state, would like us to believe that by laying 3000 foundation stones in 32 days (i.e. 93 per day) Chief Minister Harish Rawat has not only ensured that the development of our state is just round the corner, but has also presented a model of development for the rest of the country to emulate!

There is no mention of the work done by its MPs in parliament, for the state and for their constituencies during their tenures in the 15^th Lok Sabha. Though huge amounts of money were spent when Vijay Bahuguna was Chief Minister in advertising Rs. 7000 crore package obtained by the state following the Kedarnath devastation last year, much is not known about the progress of rehabilitation works underway, except for the construction of the yatra road.

There are no policies for creation of adequate opportunities for local folks in the hills to stop their migration in search of livelihood, or putting in place adequate medical, educational, infrastructural and other facilities there. Canvassing is centred on “get CM free with MP”, “your one vote elects two” and subsidised LPG cylinders, instead.

Candidates fielded by Congress have among their ranks two sitting MPs and one minister in the state cabinet who have track records for voters to analyse and take a call on.

Renuka Rawat (Haridwar) and Saket Bahuguna (Tehri) are its other candidates. Congress’s official website describes Rawat as “an active social and political worker who wishes to remove disparity among different sections of society” and Bahuguna as “a young congress leader who has been instrumental in helping students in their woes against the administration and believes in bringing education to the youth of Uttarakhand to ensure a better future for them”.

That they have the right dynastic credentials, being wife of CM Harish Rawat and son of former CM Vijay Bahuguna respectively, is conveniently not cited. It is also not clear whether the selected candidates have actually done some work in the state in their areas of interest or have mere “wishes and beliefs” intended to be acted upon only if they are elected.

Off the record, seniors in Congress admit that the selection of Rawat and Bahuguna ahead of old loyalists has not gone down well with long time party members and is likely to adversely affect the prospects of the party.

Among the candidates fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party, Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya (Haridwar) and Anoop Nautiyal (Tehri) have impressive profiles and have excelled in their professions. But given the immaturity that Kejriwal and other top guns of their party have been displaying, and the fact that the anti-corruption plank has been abandoned for the sake of votes, their performance will be the outcome of their personal strength alone. Will they pull off a surprise win? Extremely unlikely, though they can potentially upset the result if they manage to get a significant number of votes.

For BJP, it is payback time for the 2009 setback. With three former Chief Ministers amongst its contenders, an upbeat and united cadre, and the fact that the state government has practically no achievements to showcase, BJP is in the driver’s seat and is set to have an impressive outing.

Former Chief Minister, four-time MP and BJP candidate from Pauri Garhwal Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri undisputedly stands tallest among all contestants in fray. An epitome of integrity, authenticity, capability, simplicity and hard work, few can match his accomplishments on the battleground or in the public arena. 

As Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Road Transport and Highways, Khanduri planned and executed India's most ambitious ever road infrastructure project - the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) Highway Network connecting the four metros – for the NDA government. A record 23,814 km of national highways were added to the existing NH network during his tenure, which remains till date the largest construction of national highways during any five-year period since independence.

His two tenures as Chief Minister may not have been spectacular, but were scandal free. Under him, Uttarakhand became the first state in the country to enact and pass the Lokayukta Bill. He has discharged numerous other duties for his party in and outside the parliament without any controversy.

Khanduri is a rare politician in present-day India, a perfect role model for all to emulate. We ought to be proud of him.

(Published in Garhwal Post on 2nd May 2014)