We can still wake up!

(The recent Election commission's decision about continuous registration of voters, is a commendable one. The ball is in 'our' court!)

The Election Commission has made two dramatic decisions: Making voter registration citizen-friendly; and a continuous registration of voters. The vote registration, has perhaps never been so easy!

All one need to register and obtain one's voter ID card, is to own a driving licence or a passport. The driving licence works both as an age proof as well as the address proof. The ration card could be used instead of the driving licence. Two passport sized photographs are also required. One of the two forms, form VI, is available in the website Jaagore.com or an un-filled application form can be downloaded by clicking here. The form I-D can be obtained either in the registration counter, or can be downloaded by clicking here. The duly filled forms can be submitted in duplicate in the office of ERO, muncipal corporation office of your constituency, or the special counters opened by the Election Commission.

I urge all my friends to register themselves for the voting, and cast their invaluable vote for the election-2009. Please inform your collegues and friends to register their votes also. Let us march towards a new beginning, where are the youth would vote to steer the course of the Nation.

Remembering 26/11: Is India callous?

(Just 2 months back, Mumbai was attacked by the terrorists and about 200 citizens were killed. And now, it looks like the 'fire' which it caused gradually subsided, leaving absolutely no traces of pain and shock it caused, except in the families of victims and security personnel who suffered it.)

We hear reports of possible terrorist attacks in India on the eve of 58th Republic day. It has been 60 days since we have seen a major terrorist attack in India. Seeing the consequences from mumbai attacks, a question arises: Can terrorists attack on Republic day and get away with that 'also'?

Just two months back, the city of dreams, Mumbai, was attacked. The news TV channels roared day and night for 2 days, covering the attacks on CST, Taj and Sheraton. We have lost lifes of about 200 citizens and 500 were injured. The estimated cost of loss was 50,000 Crores, perhaps it was even more. India stood as a victim of terrorism, yet again.

Two months since then, we have witnessed several events based on this incident. There was an International hue and cry on the attack, and the only terrorist who was caught alive has confessed the most and has made the investigation much easier. Tensions of outbreak of a war rose between India and its 'neighbouring country'. The Nation felt threatened, and was waiting for justice and actions, rather than words.

Yet, perhaps, it became a routine for Netas. The usual condemnations of 'ghastly or cowardice act' and 'Sir nahi jhuka denge' talks by our representatives which generally fill the news papers and articles for a day or two (for a 'normal' incident), were then spread over a week. The ex-deputy chief-minister of Maharastra RR Patil (who had to resign for his comments) has said, such 'small' incidents will take place in a city like Mumbai. The ex-chief minister (ditto as his ex-deputy) has visited the attacked places with a film director and bollywood people. Ofcourse, Mr.Shivraj Patil, who is perhaps the most ill-performing Home minister India ever had, has given the UPA yet another opportunity to get him sacked. This time UPA utilised that opportunity atlast. The Chief minister of Kerala, Mr.Achutyuthanandan, has insulted the family of Major Unnikrishnan that not even dogs will go to their premises.

Even after Qasab has confessed it all and all the leads traced it back to the terrorist groups in Pakisthan, we have our ministers like Antuley, who doubted it openly in the Parliament to the 'Hindu-Zionists'. Even before Pakisthan was searching for the answers, and International communities holding pressure on them, our defense minister, AK Anthony, was 'kind' enough to announce our 'no war' stance what-so-ever. It seemed as if we looked up to our 'America' to take an action on Pakistan, as if we are incapable of any. And our UPA claims that it was successful in its pursuit, but little do we see what has really happened on mitigating the cross-border terrorism.

What are actions taken? We had an announcement of a federal agency on security and more schools and funds to the Police and NSG. We have heard about setting up of anti-terror schools to combat terrorist forces as speciality. But, following that we never heard of any further statements from the Government/Department of Home ministry or news in the media on developments about it. It was only Mr.Pranab Mukherjee who spoke strong, voicing the need to counter-act terrorism. Ashok-Chakra will be declared for Mr.Hemant Karkare and Sandeep Unnikrishnan. The judgment is still being delayed on Qasab, perhaps 'we' would delay till our 'humanists' who will raise a nation-wide protest against hanging of Qasab.

True, we seem to have recovered out of an attack, which would have led any other country in the world to wage an open war on the instigators. But, does that mean we are callous for any attacks on the nation by the terrorists and get carried away by the tirade of the polity?

Telangana: Everyone's 'Gaana'

(Telangana, the land which is also famous for its folk songs, has become the song of every political party in the state. With just playing the 'Telangana card', every party wants to make it to the power, forgetting even how the issue is relevant to them.)

With the name of Telangana, there are several parties which formed in the past one year. Closely following the Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS), the Nava Telangana Praja Party (NTPP), Thalli Telangana (which now merged into TRS) are two major parties based on this idea. Ofcourse, there are a few other groups, forums and parties which have formed including the name of Telangana in their names. Telangana, today, has become everybody's song, everybody's issue and agenda.

There are 3 basic reasons for inclusion of Telangana into every party's agenda:

1. Easy to understand: The issue is simple to understand and relatively straight-forward in the implementation. It is also simple to promise, and even simpler to escape the promise.

2. Present day appeal: Telangana has acquaired a considerable appeal nation wide, and has a ever growing popularity among the people and media.

3. Good for alliances: With the growing 'Telangana' based parties, it is important for the state-wide parties like TDP, Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) etc., to voice pro-Telangana to win their support and strike alliances with them. BJP, which has a better influence in Telangana compared to Andhra region, also supports for the party's own good.

Congress' stand on Telangana is unclear as always, with one group supporting it strongly, while the major group of the chief minister opposing it. Except for CPM, which still stands by the United-Andhra concept, all the parties are pro-Telangana formation, atleast on the paper. The ambigious PRP looks to team up with NTPP, while all the other major parties in AP have formed the 'Maha' alliance, to overthrow Congress in the coming election.

Andhra: TDP in troubled waters

In the 9 years of the TDP (Telugu Desam Party)'s reign, the party looked formidable. But, exactly after 4 years from the State assembly elections, TDP is in a dilapadated shape, to say the least. The party failed hold itself together for just 4 years in the opposition.

The second cadre leaders in the party: Devender Gowd, Tammineni Sita Ram, Bhooma Nagi Reddy and Kala Venkat Rao have left the party. There are many MLAs and MPS who have held important posts both in the TDP Goverment or the party, also have left recently. While, Mr.Gowd has formed his new party NTPP (Nava Telangana Praja Party), the others mostly have left for the new PRP (Praja Rajyam Party). Though, there are claims that the increase in the clashes of 'interests' among the party leaders in TDP as the main cause, there are a few more which has triggered this exodus, the chief being the growing 'insecurity' in TDP.

It is clear that Chandrababu Naidu is going through a tough time, after a wonderful period of world wide popularity during his term. We will have to see how he can handle this, especially after striking a 'Maha alliance' with CPI, CPM and TRS, for the forth-coming election to counteract Congress and PRP.

Yes, we can!

(After Obama sworn in as the President of America, it is the 'change' slogan which has attracted the whole world. Though, 'a change' is not what our representatives have in their mind, but the 'we can' attitude for the 'Prime minister' seat has pumped in new hopes in a whole set of leaders of the regional parties.)

After 1997, with the National Front changing PMs and PM candidates in a jiffy, we perhaps witness a similar situation after 10 years since then. Every 'local leader' aims no less than Prime minister post, and list is simply too big before this election. 'Hope', after Obama's win has become a common 'symptom' among the leaders in the country which is on the other side of the Globe to US.

In Congress, the leading party of UPA, we have two major candidates: Manmohan Singh and 'Yuvraj' Rahul Gandhi. Though, the spokesman of UPA, Mr.Manish Tiwari has made it clear that Manmohan Singh was the Prime ministeral candidate and will be the candidate for the coming election too, the occasional remarks about Rahul Gandhi's 'capabilities' from some of the senior Congress leaders like Arjun Singh, Digvijay Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Veerappa Moili etc., raise doubts about how Congress will go about the 'PM post' post-elections. Though, the Congress says so, it can always shift gears to bring Mr.Rahul to the front.

The Lotus Party, has two straight probables and a 'future' probable! Mr. LK Advani however who is the prime candidate, is contested by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Mr.Shekhawat perhaps estimates that he can get the 'edge' over Advani, if Rajasthan's seats become the deciding factor, in the case of NDA wins the majority. Another probable, as even admitted by Advani, is the present chief minister, Narendra Modi. Mr.Modi has won the accolades of the some of the leading businessmen like Tata, Mittal and Ambanis as a PM material. Though, Modi has declared that he is not in race, he is still seen as a probable atleast for the 'near' future. We will have to wait and see if Advani's term goes 'smoothly', if NDA makes it at the centre.

Adding fuel to the uncertainity prevalent in the major parties, some of the regional parties claim to be in the PM race too, much by the grace of UNPA. Mayawati, the chief of BSP is probably the first in the race. She is already successful in playing the 'Dalit' card well, and has attracted the attention from her counterparts in Andhra and Karnataka. The left, did not deny her candidature. Lalu Prasad Yadav of RJD, has his eyes fixed on PM post too and has expressed his desire in the last Parliament's session. After having a great track record at the ministry of Railways, PM post looks as a natural development, according to his party. If the seats of RJD in Bihar and Jharkhand becomes the determining factor, he wants to play the role of 'King' instead of 'King maker'. The NCP leader, Sharad Pawar is being portrayed as the future PM by his party in Maharastra. The Nationalist Congress Party, which has split from Congress party chiefly based on Sonia's foriegn origin, is ironically with the same party in UPA, and has become a 'close-ally'. Ofcourse, there are several 'under-dogs' in the race in the form of Chandrababu Naidu: the chairman of UNPA, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Karunanidhi.

Top Three Chief Ministers

An attempt to portray the top chief ministers, performance wise, in the present India. Though, it cannot be claimed that they are the ideal CMs, but they are the best among the reigning lot. The readers must note that this article is written with some 'optimism'. ;-)

Narendra Damodardas Modi, has become the poster boy of BJP all over India, even beating the charisma of LK Advani, in his state of Gujarat. Mr.Modi has become a synonym of BJP, and the some of the present CMs of the party claim to draw inspiration from him. Sonia Gandhi's comments of 'Merchants of death', the anti-incumbency, the in-party revolts by Keshubhai and others, couldnot stop Modi to become the CM for the third time. The win of BJP for the third term, has drawn great attention to him and pumped in new enthusiasm within the lotus party. His clean, progressive and effective governance has been venerated by his political opponents.

In contrast with his predecessor Keshubhai Patel, Modi has been both aggressive and performing. He had to resign following the Godhra riots, but has come back to power with a land-sliding victory of 127 out of 183 seats. His performace and steps taken towards a 'vibrant' Gujarat has shown results in just 2-3 years of his term, where the growth rate of 11.5% has been registered from a ill performing and drab Gujarat economy, which is projected to touch 14%. Gujarat has emerged to be the fastest growing state in India. Though there is a wide-spread criticism on the implementaion, perhaps Gujarat is the only liquor-free state in India. Branded as communal by the media after the riots, Modi has come out of it quite quickly, and proved that Gujarat would vote for his performance than the prevalent image then.

With his aggresive nature, Modi could deal successfully with the dissatisfied party cadre within the state, but again has attracted critisicm on his 'dictatorial' tendencies. His attitude towards the country's major problems: corruption and terrorism has won a significant admiration and interest towards him, both in Indians and NRIs. His government has been constantly innovating for improving the efficiency and productivity in various sectors. Though the Nanavati Commission has given a 'clearance' for Modi, the Tehelka and NDTV continue to haunt him with their 'sting' operations and venom spitting reporting. Ofcourse, even the veracity of the Commission's report is been questioned by the leading journalists. His open love for RSS has also brought some troubles to him, and the rejection of US VISA to him, has caused much hue-and-cry across the country. Even PM Manmohan Singh has expressed his dissatisfaction over this.

Personally, Modi is known to be a good orator and a skilled organiser. The reports says that BJP has won the last election in Gujarat, solely based on the 'Modi' factor and his slogan of 'Jeetega Gujarat'. Though Modi said that he would remain CM (Common Man, as what he said the abbreviation means), we would have to wait to witness whether Modi would come National to lead BJP in the near future.

Sheila Dikshit continues her unprecedented third term in the Capital of India. She was awarded the Best Chief Minister of India, by Journalist Association of India in 2008. She has been the mascot of 'clean chief minister' and her impeccable record has led Congress for a comfortable third win in the State elections. The results of the recent elections reflect that the people of Delhi have chosen 'performance' over the issues raised by BJP like 'terrorism'.

The reforms in the power sector, the delhi metro and good governance has won accolades for her from even the detractors from the Congress party. However, critics claim that her intimacy with '10, Janpath' is to be the chief factor for the unwavering support she has in the Delhi Congress. Ofcourse, she has been successful in winning the confidence of Ms.Sonia Gandhi, and was given freedom in being instrumental in deciding the party tickets for the Delhi elections. The 'unlikely politician': without any airs or show-off as like many of her collegues, Sheila is well known for being pleasant and gentle. The calm and quiet composure of Sheila perhaps reflects the 'wishes' of the Hastina's people and she was quite successful in meeting the expectations of the Delhi electorate for more than a decade.

Her occassional remarks have led to considerable controversies, albiet she has been successful in getting over them. She once remarked, "People from Bihar, UP and other places come here. What can we do? We can't stop them. There is no law to stop them". The same Mrs.Sheila also said, "Migration of Bangladeshis into India is not a new phenomenon as our borders are porous. Moreover, it has been in our tradition to welcome all those who arrive in our country." May be she couldn't manage a National image.

This might, however, be the last term of 71 year old Chief minister. Her services would be invaluable for Congress and hence she might be asked to play a crucial role in the CWC (Congress Working Committee), after the completion of this term.

Dr. Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy has sworn as the Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh after 9 year term of Telugu Desam party's Mr.N.Chandra Babu Naidu. Mr.Naidu who has won International recognition by then, and widely popular among India and abroad as 'Hi-tech CM', was a tough nut to crack for the opposition. It is by sheer hardwork of Mr.Reddy, that he could replace Naidu and has held complete term which is generally unlikely with any Congress Chief Minister of AP. Though YSR has been devout with his 'Indira' and 'Rajiv' mantra japa in all his programs and speeches, he has grown to be ubiquitious in AP Congress, and has been able to win the confidence of the party's Hi-command, to hold the complete term, and would probably be declared as the Chief ministerial candidate for the coming elections.

Mr.Reddy with his whole set of 'resplendent' welfare programs has been successful in reaching the door-steps of every common man in AP. The large scale irrigation projects started by him, have won both accolades as well as criticism for his Government. He stood in fore-front in the launch of these programs and also announced wide set of welfare schemes, whenever the party popularity seemed to be moving downwards. But, corruption has been the speed-breaker for his Government. 990 Cases 'successfull' cases registered with ACB (Anti Corruption Bureau) over the past few months, only reflects this. By appointing 'his' ministers, albeit some of them being inefficient and corrupt, he could also put a check on the dissent among his own party. He has also handled the oppostions like TDP and TRS, quite ably, much to everyone's surprise. All these prove that Mr.Reddy has done his home work well, and was prepared well for the challenge of being the CM, inspite of all the road-blocks that are present for a 'Congress' CM in AP in general.

With all this, Mr.Reddy has a long way ahead. We will have to wait and see whether he would be successful for the second time. Even if he doesnt, he would be a significant party member of Congress, who might hold crucial posts at the centre and the state.