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Why stability won over change

May 16 has reinforced my two inter-related beliefs about the behaviour of the Indian voter. First, there is nothing fortuitous about the outcome of an election in a democracy where elections are held in a free and fair manner. And Indian democracy, with all its obvious drawbacks, has a proud tr ....Read more

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You become Atal or Advani if you are in BJP, Congress makes you Arjun singh onlyBy: Naveen Bhartiya | Thursday , 4 Jun '09 15:53:59 PM Reply | Forward Hi Friends, Many people tried there luck and endeavor in IT industry and all know Narayanmurty, Premji, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc. Everyone in IT industry is not so common and their contribution is worth for the growth and many flopped after their start in technology business. Every one is wondering, why am I talking about IT industry in the election analysis. Anyone reading this, must be aware of IT industry and above name also. Come to politics, why don't we find self made polician now a days? India is a young country and its young blood is shy to bring the change and change does not mean pulling down one government and installing one. As only Ambani brothers don't have right to become top guns in business, anyone can.. Politics seems different..Your title matters a lots and your surname gives you opportunity to perform. Why is it so? This is basis difference between BJP and Congress and BJP should preserve this quality.RegardsNaveen Bhartiya

Change the mind setBy: Dhawan | Wednesday , 27 May '09 17:13:32 PM Reply | Forward A party which does not have any base in five states should not aspire for ruling the nation.In the run of elections the analysis show that BJP lost its vote share in all states. It has not been able to bring minorities to its folds. Though congress had been responsible for Babri Masjid and also during congress rule the communal riots were of the worst nature so much so that the affected people of 1969 Bihar riot got some compensation in 2009 and those affected during 1984 anti Sikh riots are still groping in the dark for justice inspite of that the congress could manage support from Muslims as well as Sikhs and won the all the seven seats in Delhi and also sizable votes of Muslims.It is high time that BJP should try to induct some well known faces among Muslim community and from other minorities. How about giving the post of leader of opposition to a Muslim in Rajay Sabha to start with?

Stability won over changeBy: Agnelo Paes | Tuesday , 26 May '09 11:02:19 AM Reply | Forward Sir,Sudheendra Kulkarni, being a mature and experienced politician forgets the basic.One; the BJP to truly become a national party has to develop the cadre in all states which will take decades, Mr Kulkarni is punting a lot of faith in allies, we know what happened in Orrisa, so they have to go for long term gains and treat the allies as a short term convince.Second; the BJP lost it when Advani was seen by the people of India as an opportunist of the worst kind, the Neuclar deal was everything the BJP had worked for, their opposition to the deal was perceived to be against national interest verses selfish party interest, just to spite the Congress.Thirdly; the BJP always prides itself for having a Leadership minus the Dynasty, but Indian politics will take at least another 2 to 3 decades to evolve to be lead without a strong and autocratic central leadership. One can well imagine the cohos that would have been in the Congress party without the Gandhi Dynasty's central fulcrum.

Inane Metaphysics of a Pretentious FoolBy: Rajendra K. Gupta | Monday , 25 May '09 7:52:19 AM Reply | Forward This article is utter drivel; a sick attempt to avoid the simple truth. This pretentious fool is indulging in inane metaphysics that is nothing but deceitful verbosity. Change vs. stability was not even remotely an issue in this election. The BJP lost because Advani no longer enjoys the trust of the Hindutva cadre. In fact, he is so intensely disliked by many that he could not win his own parliamentary seat without Modi's help. Advani is an emotionally needy man who craves the approval of the pseudo secularists. He is a weakling without the courage of his convictions. The best that could be said about Advani was that he was lesser of the two evils, just not enough to bring out the Hindutva vote. Now the best thing Advani can do for the BJP is to just go away, and take this tumorous growth, Sudheendra Kulkarni, with him.

FutureBy: Ashish | Monday , 25 May '09 5:58:36 AM Reply | Forward I would beg to differ from the author. There are two main reasons why BJP lost. First, BJP focused soley on undermining UPA governments performance without coming up with any credible proposals themseleves (Apart from some populist schemes discussed by the author in a prev. article) There was hardly any difference in the economic model proposed to that of UPA. The campaign focused too much on negatives (weak PM stance incl.) rather than BJP's positives. Second, and by far the most important factor was that BJP failed to show any promise of a future. By putting LKA as PM candidate and no definite second row of leaders (Does Modi have unversal appeal?), BJP projected itself as a party devoid of ideas. I dont think people voted for MMS or congress-some voted against LKA/Modi, and the rest voted for Rahiul Gandhi. Its the fresh face of the latest Gandhi and promise of future which won Congress the election. Although even hard core BJP supporters,like me, welcome stability as a by-product

Why Stability Won Over Change?By: P.N. Sarin | Sunday , 24 May '09 19:25:17 PM Reply | Forward Since all the news channels agreed that there will be a hung parliament, people got frightened and voted for a stable government at a time when uncertainity happens to rule all over the world. I think Media was one of the important factors for Congress Party's revival.

IntrospectBy: dhawan | Sunday , 24 May '09 19:16:28 PM Reply | Forward You are right to great extent. But there are certain other factors for the loss of BJP.BJP should instead of sulking take stock of the factors which lead to its debacle and start rebuilding. As a first step it should try to concentrate on the states which are to go to polls in two years' time and consider of going solo. Try to bring back the estranged members. In southern states it should search for partners who can be trusted and have base. In tamilnadu people like Subramanium Swamy be roped in and given the task of building the party from scratch. Start weeding out those who worked against the party. In Orisa find out the person who can work for building up the party. INDUCT Young faces. Delhi needs young people to take charge. Trust ABVP and induct people from there.

Writing on the wallBy: nita | Sunday , 24 May '09 18:34:58 PM Reply | Forward Not all the feelings, beliefs, aspirations of the people of the nation get reflected in political structure, least in an election!Thousands still love their leaders like L K Advani to Narendra Modi to Varun Gandhi - whatever their pros and cons - ins and outs. The logic and facts put forth by Arun Shourie are irrefutable, the maturity of Arun Jaitley is lauable. Gurumurthy is an icon for many. Ashokjee Singhal is like a Rishi for many.These and all such people have been fighting for a cause dear to many many.In the hours of defeat, niether shrills nor doubts on core issues would help.BJP must pledge to work again and work hard. Know the traitors, know the errors in strategy - be better informed and better planned and keep up the fight. BJP Ideology and values are righteous and based on ethics and cultural values. Only the persons who betrayed and the strategists who failed need to be looked at. Purge the party off deceivers. BJP is democratic, not dynastic. A national asset.

BJP's lossBy: Anurag Dave | Sunday , 24 May '09 15:47:25 PM Reply | Forward This means that if the BJP wants to come back as as strong national party, either it will have to show that is a nationalist, Centre right party which really believes in justice for all and appeasement for none, or it will have to win over the non-minority votes absolutely. I think of the two, the former is the better option. Moreover,the pro-congress media is largely successful in portraying the BJP as a party of communal goondas who know only how to create riots. One may or may not agree with this, but the fact remains that the electorate seems to perceive it to be so. Secondly, I agree with Mr.Ramesh Kapoor's comment that Rajnath Singh and his likes are responsible for BJP's dismal performance this year, because they have completey failed to see as to what the electorate of the country wants. They need to establish accountability in public life,and understand that if they want to show that are truly democratic as a party, heads must roll at such times of failure.

BJP's lossBy: Anurag Dave | Sunday , 24 May '09 15:41:00 PM Reply | Forward I think the highlighted a very important point regarding the BJP's failure. The BJP, as of now, has hardly a presence in a bulk of states which account for a lion's share in the parliamentary tally, namely Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. As for UP, BJP had as many as 53 seats in UP in 1998, which went down to 29 in 1999 and 10 in 2004 and 2009. Even in Delhi BJP had 7 out of 7 in 1998 and now it is down to zero. It has continued to lose ground in those states where it was strong, and failed to either win stable allies or establish itself in other big states. Secondly, we should not forget that in UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, kerala and Tamil Nadu minority (Muslims Christians) votes account for a much larger proportion than in other states.

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