By Abhishek Pandey

Rahul Gandhi is the man of the series of Indian Political League (IPL) 2009. Congress performed well and stunned all in the political sphere, even its own people by its magnificent performance in this Lok Sabha elections. And, many political pundits believe that credit goes to Yuvraaj. It is said in media that it was Congress wave across the nation but no one can deny Rahul’s charismatic and innovative campaigning, which brought sweet fruits for the party. A Harvard and St. Stephens’ alma mater Rahul entered in the political arena in March 2004 by declaring to contest from Amethi. His performance is really appreciable with in the five years of his political career.

Rahul started his pan India journey to swung votes in favour of the congress and held maximum number of rallies during canvassing amounting to 106 rallies across the nation. Rahul did not leave any stone unturned and reached every nook and corner to impress every section of the people. He went to university campuses, attended Muslim, Hindu and Sikh worship places; and worked with the labourers under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in Rajasthan. 

In the start of campaigning, political intellects believed that Rahul is a naïve and would be of no use for congress in the elections. Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were adorable for the Aam Aadmi. This love and affection for the dynasty turned in to votes and resulted in congress’ bravura victory in the elections over National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and other political fronts. But, love for the dynasty was not the only reason. Congress performed well in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) on its development plank.

Youth factor of Rahul worked nicely in the country with more than 200 electorates aged between 18-35. He proposed his idea in congress meetings to give more tickets to young leaders. The effect of this can be seen in the results. India have more young MPs like Rahul, Sachin Pilot, Naveen Jindal, Jiten Prasad, Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Hooda, Sandeep Dikshit, Ahmad Hamdullah Sayeed, Mausam Noor, Nilesh Rane and Dr. Jyoti Mirdha.

It is expected that Rahul would propose few names to be included in the cabinet or at least for MoS (Minister for State) seats to encourage youths in the politics. But his youth magic was limited to the son and daughters of the politicians. Most of the youth candidates came from political families. It would be more motivating for the youths if he would have thought beyond political families. Whatever, youth factor paid well to Congress party.

Rahul Gandhi went from one village to another village in the far flung areas of UP and MP and dined Dal, Roti and Chatni with Dalits. Despite Mayawati’s claim that Rahul Gandhi washed his hands with a ‘special soap’ and took bath after visiting any Dalit family, Dalits turned in to support the party. Frankly speaking, I don’t know that how accurate she was about Rahul’s bathroom affairs. Her accusations did not seem to work in the state. State registered a swift of Dalit and Muslims votes towards Congress.

Rahul decided to go alone in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand after its allies offer them a few seats to contest in these states. Rahul’s political intuition was right and congress performed very well in Uttar Pradesh by doubling its figures. The fair weather friends of Congress had to repent for their mistake to not go with Congress. Lalu Prasad Yadav of Rastriya Janta Dal (RJD) accepted his blunder after the declaration of the results. It was the victory of Rahul over the big political mascots.

Rahul gave some controversial statements including about Babri Mosque demolition and division of Pakistan. He said "if anyone from the Gandhi-Nehru family had been active in politics then, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen". His statement was offensive to many congress men and also demeaned then Prime Minister Narshima Rao. He came in to controversy when he ignorantly uttered politically incorrect statement on Pakistan division, “Gandhi family decides on something, it makes sure that is accomplished - whether it is throwing out the British, breaking up Pakistan or taking India into the 21st century.”

His statement about Pakistan’s braking up was unacceptable for many diplomats and also angered Bangladeshis. It raised eyebrows of political stalwarts with in and outside the congress.  His name was dragged in to a controversy of Sukanya Devi gang rape case on the unconfirmed articles on Internet. This was not confirmed by any main stream media or any government institutions.

His love affair with Spanish girlfriend Veronique, an architect whom he met in England, make us remember the clamour on her mothers’ foreign origin. Some website reported and also published the pictures of Rahul with, as called in media, Juanita, a Venezuelan or Colombian waitress. His educational profile was also doubted by some main stream media houses. He has proved his calibre and political competence by swinging votes in favour of United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Kuch bhi ho, Jo jeeta wohi Sikandar. 

Amidst the demands from his supporters to see him on higher profile in the party, Rahul was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007. He was also given charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. Despite Manmohan Singh’s offer to any cabinet post for him, he chose to strengthen the party. This might be the indication that he is not interested in cabinet post or he has the aspiration to become the PM.

Rahul Gandhi is the ‘successor’ of political lineage of Gandhis. Since, Priyanka Gandhi has humbly refused to come in to active politics, at least not now. It is anticipated that Manmohan Singh would set aside after two or more years as PM, may be by citing health reasons, and Rahul Gandhi would become the Prime Minister of India. 

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By Abhishek Pandey

Speculations are over with the counting of votes. People of India have given the clear mandate for the stable government at the center by saying no to hung parliament. Indian National Congress (INC) has emerged as the largest single party. Congress has come back to power at center with the startling victory on 206 seats in the 15^th Lok Sabha elections.

After people’s verdict, many political and poll analyst dropped their jaws and their eyes widened to see the caricature of the next government drawn by the electorates.  Even, Congress party men and spoke person were not anticipating the victory on 206 seats by their party on its own. Congress has helped UPA to touch the tally of 262 seats and is very near to the magic number of 272 needed to form the government. This is the congress’s notable performance in last two decades since 1989.

BJP lost the elections in many states, even in its strongholds. BJP is limited to 116 seats in this General Election, which is less than its 2004 performance, 138 seats. BJP performed badly in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. Right wing Party has gained little in Bihar, Karnataka and Gujarat, where they wee expecting a clean sweep. Though, its ally in Bihar, Janta Dal (United), has done a very good job by winning 20 seats out of 40 seats.

Not only BJP but its allies also performed poorly in many states except JD (U). Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) decreased from 8 to 4 seats. In Punjab, ‘weak prime minister’ tag to Manmohan Singh cost dearly to BJP and its ally SAD in Sikh dominated Punjab. Contradicting BJP’s view about a Sikh prime ministerial candidate Manmohan Singh, Indian National Congress secretary general Rahul Gandhi coined a term ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ for him which possibly swung the votes in the favour of the party in the state.

In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and BJP alliance came down from 25 seats in 2004 to 20 seats in 2009.  Metropolitan cities Mumbai and Delhi was swept by Congress party, despite BJP’s strong Internet campaigning. BJP’s campaigning on the Internet to do ‘Obama’ in India was a failure because Internet penetration in India is just 5%. BJP did not think that most netizens would not go to vote in the scorching heat of April-May.

This is the victory of Rahul Gandhi. Aam Aadmi has accepted Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and possibly, Manmohan Singh as their leaders. BJP’s poll plank and the tag ‘weak PM’ gifted to Manmohan Singh proved to be a disaster for the party. Negative campaigning backfired BJP badly in the elections. They talked more about terrorism, failures of UPA government; black money in Swiss banks, Bofforse scam and Ram Temple instead of any development plans in the future. But nothing worked for them and party seemed to be confused on its agenda. Electorate also could not understand that what BJP would do for them after coming to power.

Youth factor of Rahul Gandhi worked for Congress in this lection. Rahul Gandhi’s canvassing in slums, villages and in tribal areas brought fruits for the grand old party. His canvassing and ability to mix up with the youths in the universities campuses and in his rallies worked well. Uttar Pradesh, which has given six prime ministers to the country, is known for caste based politics. But voters voted for congress and it shattered Mayawati’s dream to become the prime minister of the country. Dalits, who constituted approx 23% of the state population, get attracted in large numbers to the Congress. It seems that they have also fed up by seeing Mayawati’s statue and memorials on almost every cross-road and park.

Mayawati was expecting a big swell in her seat share in the state but congress maimed her party by attracting Muslims and Dalits to its court. Not going with Samajwadi party in the election helped Congress to increase its seat share from 9 in 2004 to 21 seats in 2009. Samajwadi party (SP), Rastriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) repented for not going with Congress in the last general elections. Congress wave across the nation crushed the ambitions of many parties.

It was the wrong notion among the political intellects that Narendra Modi can swing votes any where in the country with his unbeatable vibrant Gujarat dream for every state. Actually, Narendra Modi’s charisma did not work in any pocket of the country. In Bihar, where he did not campaign because JD (U) did not want to annoy its Muslim voters, BJP and JD (U) performed well by winning 32 seats in comparison to 11 seats in 2004 elections. Modi proved to be ineffective in cowbelt also. Varun Gandhi, a new Hindutava face of the right wing party did not do any benefit to the saffron party, not even in Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh was also hopeless for the BJP and party’s number dwindled from 25 seats in 2004 to 16 seats in 2009. They did not get the expected gain in Karnataka and Gujarat and gained marginally by one seat and touched the tally of 19 seats and 16 seats respectively. BJP got worst news from Rajasthan and came down to 4 seats from its 21 seats’ tally in 2004. Congress swept Uttarakhand by winning all the five states, where BJP is ruling in the state.

Congress and UPA have significantly improved their performance in many states. Congress have challenged the regional parties like Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Telgu Desham Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and Left parties in their strongholds. Congress with its allies has done a good job in West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Punjab, J&K and Maharashtra. Kerala and West Bengal results have threatened the red brigade. Trinmool congress (TC) won 19 seats in west Bengal. Congress restrained Left parties to a low score of 4 seats in Kerala.

Left parties and BJP conceded its victory and stated that they failed to convey their message to the electorates effectively. This election has brought many changes for many parties. LK Advani has been rejected as the prime minister of the country. BJP has to think about the acceptable candidate for the higher post in the party. Since, Advani is not in the mood to lead the party anymore. It is the right time for senior BJP leaders to replace him and choose someone else as the opposition leader of the party in the lower house. Left should also think about their stand on economical and development issues, which cause their defeat in their strongholds.

The election has also given a message to the next government that the people of India have shown their faith in stability by not giving fractured mandate. But, It is still uncertain that did they vote for the dynasty or for development? 

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By Abhishek Pandey

Train to Delhi has started its journey and May 16 would reveal who would reach the parliament through which route. Uttar Pradesh has been always a major junction for all the trains which have reached Delhi. This trend is going to sever this time as there are more than four parties are sharing the big chunk of seats of UP in this general elections. And all of them are having different leanings. Elections for the world’s largest democracy have started and results would be out on May 16. Each and every big party is trying to get the maximum fuel to their engine to reach Delhi.  

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has started a pan India train journey through a special election express train to cover general elections. More than 50 reporters are filing the stories in 12 languages to BBC news service. So it’s a good start to cover a train journey through train. Train journey in India and India political ride are like roller coaster ride for the common people. This time, Train to Delhi would go through potholed tracks or reach their smoothly, no one knows. Because, there is not one but several deciding factors in the form of regional players have emerged. Whatever, government is likely to be a coalition government. And, it is quite difficult to handle for the driver and to appease all the travelers. 

Colotics (Coalition-politics) is really not cup of tea of even experts, this time. Many allies are breaking their bonds with their traditional alliance. Left has clearly stated that they will support the non-BJP and non-Congress government. Third front led by Left parties is also flexing its muscles and expecting that it would be able to woo other parties to their bandwagon. Lalu-Paswan-Mulayam has made another front within the UPA. BJD has broken 11 years long relations with the BJP led NDA.

Colotics is awfully fiddly this time. In recent times, power-shift to regional players has made the situation difficult. No one can take lamb and lion in the same coach of the same train. Bihar coach is a typical example of this trend. Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad can not board on the same coach. In UP, Mulayam and Mayawati can not get on the same train. In Tamilnadu, Jayalalita and Karunanidhi can not come together. Mamta Banerjee’s Trinmool Congress and CPI (M) are allergic to each other in West Bengal.

There are many parties which can not go with NDA o UPA because of the fear of losing vote bank. Samajwadi Party (SP) can not go with NDA and Akalis can not go with congress led UPA for the same reason of losing their traditional vote bank of a particular community. The trend is also true in the case of personal hostility with the individuals. UP chief minister Mayawati, who came to power by raising the issues of Dalits, marginalized sections and criminalization of politics, have given the tickets to crorepatis, turncoats and criminals. 

One of them Arun Kumar Shukla alias Anna Shukla, BSP candidate from Unnao, is the main accused of attack on her in state guest house in Lucknow in June 1995. The list does not stop here. It includes Mukhtar Ansari, Dhananjay Singh, DP Yadav, Kadir Rana, Rakesh Pandey, and Rizwan Zahir. All of them have serious criminal cases against them. Dhananjay Singh is allegedly behind the murder of Indian Justice Party Dalit candidate Bahadur Lal Sonekar, who was found hanging from a tree. She is not the only victim of this ill trend. All the parties have set the influential candidates to win the maximum number of seats and have say in post poll scenario.

NDA and UPA both alliances have declared their prime ministerial candidates but both are not sure of post-poll picture. It is possible that big parties may have to compromise with their ideological stance to form a government. The scenario would change its face when results are out. Political tantrums of the parties have started. Mulayam Singh is saying that he would support the government which would dismiss Mayawati’s government. Mamta Banerjee has said in the response of Rahul Gandhi’s comment on Left Support that she would not join hands with Congress if they welcome Left Parties in the UPA. The hunt for the allies is on for the NDA and UPA. Both the alliances are remaining their doors open for the allies. Everything seems uncertain. 

All the parties and big fish are waiting for the May 16. It is also sure after the alliance is decided to rule the country the war would start for choosing the right candidate for the driver of the train (Prime Minister). The power sharing would be decided on the basis of the seats won by the parties with in the coalition though both the major alliance NDA and UPA have declared their prime ministerial candidate.

At the time when all our neighbours including Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are facing menace of braking down, India needs a stable and decisive government. We must hope that train to Delhi would reach on time and there would be no separate compartments for the different class of people. All of us expect that Indians would enjoy the bump less journey for five years without halting on unknown junction. 

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