Coming soon is the great Indian Elections in year of 2014. So many of us have openly shared jokes and puns on the Congress and how their rule affected all of us for last 10 years. Many of us are seeing Modi as an icon who will help change all of that like magic.
I am of the opine that things will not change drastically, at least not in next 3 years. As such, the country has lost their faith in political rule and only hoping that someone would change this. Modi being the hope actually.
He has his troubled past, the 2002 riots behind him. The Party behind him has its ups and downs recently, and does not possess its own strength to rein the votes to Prime Minister-ship. It remains to be seen how strong it gets before the elections.
Many people have openly proclaimed their support for Modi after seeing what he has done for Gujarat. He has set up a great ambiance for investment, creation of Jobs etc. but the key investment he made was in Infrastructure. Specifically, the Road Network.
Those who have lived in Maharashtra and traveled to Gujarat will know by now that roads are much much more better than what you see here. Even remote areas like Kutch and its villages are well-connected. This helps a great deal to give a positive reflection of the state.
China is doing the same thing. It is building great highways with emphasis on quality, connecting its rural areas. I call it, Unlocking Value by building Roads.
Now, if you vote thinking of Modi, you will not get Modi as your MLA, MP or for any other position that directly affects your area or life. BJP is not even sure if Modi will be Prime Ministerial candidate. L. K. Advani’s resignation last month made a lot of things clear. Advani still hoists his wish to become the Prime Minister of India, and does not see eye-to-eye with Modi since his populace for the candidature. How BJP averted his resignation is yet to be answered…
With BJP in the powers, I foresee much turbulence in the already deteriorating Indo-Pak relationship. Today, Pakistan played another game by passing the resolution condemning “attacks” by Indian Military, while India has claimed it was the Pakistan Army who violated the LOC. Ceasefire agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in 2003. Or we see another set of communal issues, with Babari Masjid row and riots that followed are still fresh on mind of a lot of people.
You need to vote for the candidate apt for your region, area. A lot of times, one can feel the need not to vote when s/he do not see a right candidate. This is perfectly fine. The constitution of India gives you the rights to decide for yourself to vote or not to vote.
Selling Rainbows ?
On the last day of the recently concluded BJP session in Delhi , Narendra Modi announced ,
” If voted to power in April 2014 elections , BJP will build 100 new SMART cities , in 5 years ”
That is 20 new cities to be built EVERY YEAR !
By sheer coincidence ( no doubt ) , China’s current target is also 20 cities / year
But then China has an enviable track record of having actually built , 500 brand NEW cities since 1978
That is approx 14 new cities per year
Non – stop , year after year , for the last 34 years !
Capable of accommodating 700 million citizens
Is Narendra Modi being audacious ?
Not at all
Earlier , in Dec 2012 ( before Assembly elections in Gujarat ) , BJP manifesto said ,
” If voted to power , we will build 50 Lakh houses ( of course , for the poor ) in next 5 years ”
That is 2,739 houses per day
Or , 10,68,210 new houses in the last 390 days , since BJP came to power !
Cannot find these ?
Silly !
How can you build houses , unless you first build a brand NEW city , once every 18 days ?
Can’t you see , how we are building city of Dholera , for the last 3 years ?
Why don’t you go ask AAP ,
” Where are those brand new 6 schools that you promised to build in the last 24 days , since coming to power ( @ one school every 4 days ) ? ”
A cynic once said ,
” Like Laddoos , promises are meant to be broken ! ”
And rainbows exist in the sky – for a very brief period , before elections !
* hemen parekh ( 23 Jan 2014 / Mumbai )
Thank you for your comments Hemen… the thing that I wonder is where is a clear majority of power that is expected.. BJP’s pro-hindutva stand is a put-off for many, Congress’ recent performance has not been good and AAP is not ready yet.
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UPA 3 or NDA 2 ? What is your Choice ?
Our country is facing a long list of Economic and Social problems
Many of these require enacting new legislation
Equal number require strict implementation of existing laws
Solutions of quite a few problems , need bold / innovative and often , unpopular steps demanding deep sacrifices from different sections of our society
All of these need,
A heightened sense of co-operation ( National interest comes first )
Willingness to reach compromises ( win some / lose some )
An acute sense of urgency ( get going now / improve along the way )
Unfortunately , during the past few years , hardly any progress could be made towards Political / Social / Economic reforms , since no single political party got an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha
And , unless the Indian voters understand the shortcomings of the Coalition Government and decide to give one party ( it does not matter which ) , an absolute majority in the forthcoming 2014 national elections , we can expect repetition of the history !
No Government which has to hopelessly depend upon its coalition partners , can carry out the desired reforms
I believe , any major national party ( only Congress and BJP ? ) , which gets less than 275 seats in Lok Sabha , will continue to be blackmailed by its coalition partners
And it would make absolutely no difference whether Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi heads UPA 3 or NDA 2 , as the Prime Minister !
Either would be an impotent puppet of “ Coalition Dharma “ where corrupt partners dictate the shape of reforms !
It is simple
Either we give 300 seats to a single party or we continue to suffer for another 5 years !
Remember , an imperfect decision is any day better than No Decision !
• hemen parekh
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