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Have we lost all sense of empathy?

 

In the last week of August, the city of Vadodara went under water.

Almost 40% of the city remained under water for four days. There was no supply of water or electricity. Mobile phones ran out of power, Mobile network towers died as they ran out of power.

Obtaining food became a problem.

The river, Vishwamitri, that flows through the city broke its banks and inundated the city.

Houses on the ground floor were completely destroyed. Shops and Establishments in the lower floors of shopping center were flooded with water.

The water that was flooding the city was contaminated with sewer water, thus there was no chance of recovering anything that had been touched by this flooding.

It is estimated that 50 Crore would be required just to restore the vehicles that had met a watery grave.

Business losses run into thousands of crores.

The administration went missing for these four days.

Politicians that later came to visit the colonies were shooed away. The politicians then sent police to arrest those who were shooing them away, filed cases against them, only to see their cases being thrown out of the court by judges who took the police to task.

That was in August. Come October, the city is back on its feet and dancing through the night in the nine night festival of 'Garba'.

Millions of rupees are being spent on this festival. Some of the organizers (yes, it is no longer a community festival but a business opportunity to make money) sold tickets to their 'events' for as high as 4000 rupees a pop.

But it has been raining in the city.

Question is, how can anyone be so self centered and celebrate knowing that hundreds of thousands have lost their all in the recent floods?

Do the citizens of Vadodara or indeed any other city in India have any empathy left in them?

How can you dance the night away in gay abandon knowing that lives have been lost, homes and businesses destroyed just a month ago?

Why people don't channelize their energies in doing something constructive than just going out and spending money on themselves with nary a care about others?

How can we build a more empathetic nation, if our approach to tragedy remains just a lip-service.

Who's to Blame for Congress debacle in Haryana?

Congress leadership in Haryana is to blame?

 

This is how Congress lost an election that was a cake walk for it in Haryana.

Sometimes, winning an election is not just securing the highest vote, it is also dividing the other party such that you win by default.

That is what seems to have happened in Haryana.

Congress rebel candidates ensured that the official candidate’s votes were taken away by them.

Thus, one can blame those who distributed the tickets as they seem to have misjudged the capability of the candidate that they fielded and perhaps ignored other aspirants to the seat.

Also, one can not for sure know, who financed these rebels?

Elections are a very costly affair. Any candidate that contests ends up spending a few crores on the election. Of course, there are just rewards after getting elected. You can become a minister or get a cosy job as a Chairman of a corporation. In each case, you can recover the money that you spent on your election and more.

BJP has won the day with 48 seats. A detailed analysis will reveal that total votes of the BJP candidate is less than the sum of those votes garnered by Congress and its rebel candidate. Congress was done in by its rebels.

If the aim of becoming a legislator is to gain power and through power gain pelf, then the rebels have lost both of the opportunities. They perhaps thought that they will be able to defeat the official candidate and thus become valuable for the party or to the BJP as they would be independents who had won on their own (with help from BJP of course).

Their dreams lie shattered as they have become the proverbial Dhobi Ka Kutta, Na Ghar Ka, Na Ghat Ka.

Congress will have to do some deep introspection and course correction.

BJP will finance rebel candidates, it may even offer them money for the elections and also pay them more not just to cover their expenses for the next five years in the political arena but also for leading a cozy life for the next five years. They would also have entered the BJP’s inner circle.

After all, not every MLA who wins gets a shot at a ministry or a department where they can make money. So, it is better to contest as a rebel, all expenses paid by BJP and laugh all the way to the bank too.

BJP’s performance of 48 seats is even better than its performance in 2014, at the peak of Modi wave. It looks like they won by default. They won because Congress did not quell the rebel candidates.

Why did the Congress not quell the rebel candidates?

The reason why Congress perhaps did not quell the rebel candidates is that, one it was sure that it will win, no matter which candidate they put up, two, they were cocksure about Rahul Gandhi’s charisma taking them across the finish line, three, they thought that people were so upset that they would throw out BJP and by default Congress would win, four, they underestimated the power of rebels and perhaps ignored the fact that the rebels could be financed by BJP to split the votes.

Earlier, BJP would finance other smaller party’s to play the spoilsport, this time they did it from within Congress itself.

This time for Congress the danger came from within.

There are lessons to be learned here. If Congress does not learn the lessons from this election, Jharkhand and Maharashtra will also follow suit and fall into BJP’s lap, by default. In fact, Maharashtra will once again see Congress rebel candidates as they sense victory and a chance to form the government. Also, in Maharashtra, Shinde/Fadnavis/Ajit Pawar are better placed than BJP was in Haryana. In Haryana the three main issues were Kissan, Jawan and Pehalwan, all affecting the common people. In Maharashtra, the current government has been on a dole giving spree. It has given 4000 to every female that was registered under the Ladki Behna Scheme. BJP deployed its cadre in every village and street and ensured that maximum number of women apply for the scheme. The money has hit their bank accounts.

It does not matter that tomatoes are selling for 100 Rupees per kg, it does not matter that import duty on sunflower oil was increased by 20% (most sunflower oil is imported), it does not matter that vegetables and lentil prices are zooming out of control, what matters is that 4000 Rupees has hit the bank accounts!

If there is some sane counsel in Congress, it will learn lessons from its Haryana debacle and find out ways and means to quell the rebels such that it can take a fair shot at winning Maharashtra.

While writing this post, there was news that EVM’s were found which had a 99% charged battery, a physical impossibility. Does that mean that the EVM’s were tampered and votes inserted at a later stage? Only a detailed investigation will tell. But then, who will bell the cat?

Congress has missed many an opportunity to corner the Election Commission. Will the EC get away this time too? Only time will tell.

Will Congress win Jharkhand and Maharashtra? Given the way BJP fights the election, using everything at its disposal, using means fair and foul, one would say that it is an open season.

Bigger question is will Rahul Gandhi, the de-facto leader of Congress realize the folly of Haryana?

Why the Vote For Democracy report was important.

 

 

After the 2024 General Elections, where BJP barely managed to get 240 seats on its own steam, falling by 63 seats from its previous score of 303, an organization Vote For Democracy, came out with a detailed report.

This report which can be downloaded from the link given below

Tables-1-and-2Download

The Full report can be downloaded from this site of Vote for Democracy

This report clearly indicated that a huge number of votes were added to the actual voting numbers after the people had cast their votes.

In the above table the report categorically stated that at least 79 seats went in favor of BJP after the votes were manipulated.

Former IAS officer MG Devasahayam released this report in the public domain in July 2024.

Sadly, no political party from the opposition took up this report and pushed for clarification or investigation in the data that had been made available.

The Election Commission too scoffed at the report and called it an attempt to tarnish the image of the institution, but it too did not push for any punitive action against those who had created the report.

You see, if the Election Commission had gone to court, then it would have had to reveal its own data to refute the allegations. So, it decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

Now, had these 79 seats slipped away from BJP, its tally would have fallen to just 161 seats and there was no chance for it to form a government even with all the allies of NDA.

Why do we raise this issue now?

You must have heard the adage, once a thief, always a thief. BJP got away with murder of democracy via a allegedly compromised Election Commission. The opposition did not raise a hue and cry and did not even go to court with this report. It accepted the verdict and allowed Narendra Modi to form a government and that emboldened him and the EC to do what it has done in Haryana.

No commentator or journalist that was on the field is Haryana gave more than 15 seats to BJP. The Exit Polls also gave not more than 30 seats to BJP. Thus the result of BJP getting 45-50 seats (as the counting is still going on while writing this) is a better performance than its performance in 2014, when Modi wave was at its peak. In 2014, BJP had won 47 seats, a record that it might break this time around.

And there is a lesson for the opposition, especially Congress, in this. They should not any opportunity go by to expose the EC and the BJP. If they let go of such opportunities, then they will face the same fate as they are now doing in Haryana.

Maharashtra and Jharkhand are next. In both these states too, journalists and commentators are painting a sorry figure for BJP.

With the help of EC and with the sops that are being handed out, BJP may well pull a rabbit out of the hat and surprise the opposition.

Haryana Election Results, a blessing in disguise?

 

Congress lost Haryana and how! BJP returned a performance better than its 2014 performance when Modi wave was at its peak.

The vote share percentage ties both Congress and BJP at 39% or so. So, how come Congress lost and BJP won?

The devil my dear reader, is in detail.

It was the Congress rebel candidates that walked away with almost 11% of votes. They did the Congress in.

Congress snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

If the leadership wakes up to the mistakes they did in Haryana, this defeat can come as a blessing in disguise.

Nana Patole, the MPCC President is throwing his weight around in Maharashtra

The lessons are;

1. Manage your rebel candidates. There should be no rebel candidate in the fray against your main candidate. Actively quell rebel candidates, they can be assuaged with other things such that they don’t cut into the votes of the main candidate.
   
2. Don’t depend on a local leader to choose the candidates. In Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda chose 70 of the 90 candidates. This might have been done to ensure that he does not have a tough time after the elections. He was confident that Congress would win but failed to take into account the dissident factor.
   
3. In almost 17 assembly segments, Congress dissident candidate + Official candidate votes outnumber the winning BJP candidate vote. Had there been no dissidents, Congress would have got at least 17 more seats taking it to 54 seats, close to exit poll predictions.
   
4. Don’t be a bully. Don’t assume you have won before the final vote has been counted. Behave like a sane organization that does not take anything for granted.
   
5. Understand ground realities and concentrate on being united. The very public spat between Kumari Shelja and Bhupinder Singh Hooda did Congress in in Haryana.
   
6. Respect your alliance partners.
   
7. Don’t let the narrative that Rahul Gandhi has arrived and his charisma will take you over the finish line lull you into complacency. Rahul Gandhi does not have the backing of a strong grass root organization like the RSS. Most Congressmen are opportunistic leaders.

After the defeat in Haryana, there must have been relief in the Uddhav and Sharad Pawar Camp. The Congress had turned into a bully in Maharashtra.

Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) has public sympathy

The Congress would be well advised to project Uddhav Thackeray as the next CM. That will help the alliance. The reasons for this are;

• Everyone knows that Uddhav has been wronged by his own party men and also by BJP.
• Everyone acknowledges that Uddhav did a good job in the two and half years that he was in the seat.
• Everyone knows that he is the victim of betrayal.

Therefore, there is a huge sympathy factor backing Uddhav. If Congress fails to cash this sympathy factor, then it will be repeat of Haryana in Maharashtra.

One can only hope that good sense prevails and adequate lessons are learnt from the Haryana debacle.

And yes, it is a big lesson for Rahul Gandhi. He should not be cocksure of victories and he still needs to work on his pitch to the voters. The pitch to the voters can not be same across the country. Issues that are relevant in Kerala and Karnataka may not be relevant in Haryana and vice-versa.

All about Amber (Amer) Fort – Rajasthan. – LocalKontact

All about Amber (Amer) Fort – Rajasthan. – LocalKontact