Indian Election 2009: NDTV Opinion Poll Results
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Posted on: 18-05-09 00:09:29
Quote:
Originally posted by alexm
Quote:
Originally posted by Nightmare
Contrast this with Modi, who is sort of dictator and has alienated strong PATEL community leaders in Gujarat and could not deliver results. On the other hand , Nitish, equally good CM has kept Muslims (sometimes at cost of appeasing them) but could deliver. I do not believe that Madmohan is a good guy or Congress has capacity to provide good governance. One can write tons of material but then fatigue takes over. Better I sign off. I rue India's fate but then I do not lose sleep as I am better off in Canada.
Spare us your Hindutva sell. All parties in India are corrupt, and pretty much at the same level in that regard.
Regarding Manmohan not being a good guy - are you saying he's incompetent? That is what you have implied in previous posts. Maybe you can should have a brief read on his qualifications as an economist. And who was the finance minister in the 90s when India was on the verge of bankruptcy? Unlike most politicians, he has already delivered.
Contrast his leadership with Advani's - and his hypocrisy. He didn't have a problem getting his education in a Catholic school but later went on to say all Indian Christians should migrate to the UK. Let's not start with the nutjob, Murli Manohar Joshi, who's next in line to lead the party.
Vajapayee is a good decent man. It's a shame there aren't more politicians like him in the BJP.
Policies like attacking teenagers holding hands, and not allowing them to celebrate Valentine's day - are these your ideas of 'decent'?
India will be fine. Sleep well.
You seem to have very allergic reaction to my posts. Somehow You have come to conclusion that I am Hindutva guy. Well, to be honest, Hindutva as has been projects by BJP is all encompassing and broadminded , not narrow version of your Christian fanatic view. Let me clarify that I do not subscribe to BJP's political philosophy, just their views on economy and social reforms. I am not a fanatic like you. I always had and have Muslim and Christian friends (Canadian as well as Indian) and get along well with them. So do not try to adopt holier than though approach. As is said, I do not wear religion on my sleeve.
As regards Madmohan's decency, this is the guy who promoted NREG which is a biggest scandal up to date in India, he is the guy who happily wrote off Rs.60,000 crores of farm loans at cost of tax payers and under whose watch Balu and Raja looted billions. It is wholly inappropriate to give credit to Madmohan for 90's reform. It was Narsimha Rao who was responsible and real architect. Madmohan has always been puppet and will be puppet. If he had a grain of decency in him, he would have brought real criminals in Congress responsible for Sikh Pogrom in Delhi to justice. In India only two PMs have real decency , Lal bahadur Shatri and Vajpayee. In my opinion, Puppet's biggest crime is selling put India to Bush (Ge/Westinghouse). look at the tiny N.Korea and Iran which are extracting big price with their pranks and Pakistan which is forging ahead with Gusto putting up two more nuclear reactors, while Madmohan sold India for a song and still claims credit for the same. Either you are Anti Indian or just whitewashed English educated guy , otherwise you would not be singing in praise of your idol Madmohan.
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Originally posted by ramar2005
A dangerous situation
That the BJP at the national level and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu could win this many seats (118 and 9 respectively) is itself a surprise, considering the money power unleashed. That approximately 20 to 25 % of the population still do not succumb to money power, that they think corruption, price rise, anti-nationalism, religious conversion, terrorism etc. are issues plaguing the country is itself a surprise.
We got a taste of things during the assembly elections right after the 26/11. A good chunk of the population think, that it will be only the Congress party which will have a soft corner towards them and pamper them even if their members or their cousins from across the border indulge in terrorist acts killing innocent unarmed people in public places. For another group, more than problems like poverty, illiteracy, corruption, price rise it is their agenda of converting people from other religions to their own religion, which is important. For this group too, Congress will be the patron and BJP will not look kindly to their acts. For some other urban group it is pub going and disco dancing that is important. They are the very antithesis of the principles for which Lord Ram stood for. BJP does not have representation for the any of the above people.
Above all these, the brazen money power unleashed by Congress and their allies like DMK was amazing. All the oratory done by Jayalalitha modeling hers on Martin Luther King or Obama has simply gone down the drain. Her opponents considered the event an auction and not an election. On the appointed day and hour they quoted a price, may be the average one day earning, on what they are going to make in the next 5 years, and walked away with the trophy. More than bribing the voter, it is shocking to know that poll officials, opposition party representatives sitting in poll booths, counting centre staff and even the opposition candidate himself who have fallen victims. It is rumored that the scion of the ruling family in Tamil Nadu had bought over the main opposition candidate himself to ensure his own victory. So what will happen to the people’s problems? It is simply not going to vanish. It will continue to exist and like a smoldering volcano, it will explode and destroy everything around.
Why are you so surprised? I elaborated in my post above the reasons. BJP does not have what it takes to be a real POLITICAL outfit. They might have some good workers or dedicated cadre but that is never enough.They projected Advani as PM. He may be a nice , honest and intelligent person but BJP should have learnt from OBAMA and projected someone younger , articulate , intelligent and honest young person. Next election will be led by Rahul and his youth brigade of extremely smart guys like Milind Deora, Sachin pilot and Jiten Prasad and now YSR's son Jagan Mohan and if BJP can not match their youth power , they will again lose. BJP is destined for wilderness.
Deleted. Please do not resort to name calling.
Deleted. Please do not resort to name calling.
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“A billion people, in a functioning democracy. Ain’t that something.” George W. Bush’s awestruck musings on the wonders of Indian democracy will be echoed all around the world this week.
Despite a sharp economic slowdown and a series of destabilising terrorist attacks, India’s 420m voters have just calmly voted the Congress party back into government, with a much increased majority.
In western capitals, admiration for the maturity of Indian democracy will be mixed with relief. There were fears that a government led by the rightwing BJP would take a more confrontational line with Pakistan – widening the conflict in south Asia in new and dangerous ways. Investors also seem to be impressed. The stock market shot up 17 per cent in the wake of Congress’s victory.
Political scientists have spent years demonstrating that democracy rarely survives in poor countries. India is a triumphant exception to this rule. Despite the fact that a quarter of its population live below the poverty line, the country has been a functioning democracy for almost the entire period since independence in 1947.
Indian democracy is indeed a wonder to behold. But this fact can lead to some unwarranted starry-eyed conclusions about the country. At this moment of euphoria, four common notions about Indian democracy deserve to be doused with a little scepticism.
First, it should be remembered that the country’s democracy is not always a beautiful sight. Manmohan Singh, the 76-year-old prime minister who has just won re-election, is a charmingly intellectual and courtly figure. But while Mr Singh is an impeccable frontman, the country’s politics has a much sleazier and more disreputable side.
In most countries when politicians are slammed as “criminals” this is simply vulgar abuse. In India, it is often the literal truth. The British public, currently hyperventilating about expenses fiddles in the UK parliament, might be interested to know that 128 of the 543 members of the last Indian parliament had faced criminal charges or investigations, including 83 cases of murder. In a poor society, gangsters can and do use muscle and money to force their way into parliament.
Second, just because India is a democracy, it does not follow that it will automatically side with fellow-democracies around the world. Mr Bush’s interest in Indian democracy was more than purely intellectual. The former president made a conscious decision to form a strategic alliance with India – and to cut the country a special deal over nuclear weapons – because he felt that democracies should be natural allies.
The Americans are carefully building a new special relationship with democratic India, partly to counterbalance authoritarian China. It is certainly true that relations between the US and India have been getting steadily warmer, driven by commerce, Indian immigration to America, the English language and – to a degree – common values.
But India is a major power with its own interests and its own distinct take on the world. It will not automatically fall into line with western policy, whether on sanctions against Iran or a world trade deal. And if realpolitik dictates, India is perfectly capable of cosying up to a dictatorship, such as the Burmese military junta.
The sleazy side of Indian democracy has led to a third common notion – popular in the authoritarian parts of Asia: the idea that democracy imposes a sort of tax on India. For many years, it was held that India suffered from a “Hindu rate of growth” because of its inefficient government. Growth in recent years, which has increased to an average of 9 per cent, should have put paid to that idea. But it is still true that, for all the virtues of its political system, Indian governance has failed hundreds of millions of people. Rates of poverty and illiteracy are much higher in democratic India than in authoritarian China.
Euphoria about modern India has led to a fourth mistaken idea: the notion that democracy has given the country a deep and unshakable stability. It is certainly true that the political future of China looks more uncertain and alarming than that of India, Asia’s other great subcontinental nation. But India still faces serious threats to its internal stability. The Indian Premier League is a new cricket tournament that has demonstrated the country’s growing wealth and cultural power by drawing in the best players from all over the world. However, the threat of terrorism is now so severe that this month’s tournament had to be relocated to South Africa. The country’s parliament and most prestigious hotels have come under attack in recent years.
While terrorism can be blamed on outsiders, India is also facing a serious internal insurrection. The notion of Maoist guerrillas roaming the countryside sounds like it belongs to another age – and is certainly at odds with the image of a modern India of commuter airlines and high technology. But over the past five years the Naxal insurgency has grown in strength – attacks on trains, mines and industrial sites are on the rise.
It is indeed marvellous that a country that is so large and so relatively poor can manage a peaceful, democratic transition. The new Indian government should also be able to use its stronger majority to renew the process of economic reform. But there are still some unappealing realities just behind the beautiful facade of Indian democracy.
