A strong blow to the BJP and Left
The verdict is coming out and it’s definitely embarrassing the BJP and co. The people of India have decided to vote against the BJP and their communal propaganda. This instills my faith in the secular ethos of our country. The BJP thought that their regular Ram Mandir mantra would save them, but the citizens of India have decided to call a spade a spade. And they voted for Congress and UPA. The weakest leader (L K Advani) who got into a mass campaign (online and offline) and projected himself as the strong prime minister has tasted the defeat. In the hearts of the people, Manmohan Singh has become the King. This election is a victory of Manmohan Singh as a leader.
In Kerala, the victory is not something that the Congress can be proud of. The victory of Congress actually credits to the failure of the Communist party and it’s government. The votes for Congress does NOT show the support for Congress, but the people wanted to show that they are against Pinarayi Vijayan’s corporate Communist party and their communal politics. The Muslim votes did not show up in support of Abdul Nassar Madani and it gives him and Pinarayi a clean blow on their politics. Malayalis have proved it again that it is not the communal politics that’s going to win. Take Ernakulam for example. Sindhu Joy, the Communist candidate, had projected herself to be a loyal Christian candidate – she sang Christian devotional songs during her campaign and what not – but it could not save her. Similarly, the Madani factor did not help the Communists to gain Muslim votes. So I see this election as the success of the secular ethos of the country (not forgetting the Church’s mandate against CPM, but the politically aware Christians were already fed up with the Communist politics anyway).
I see this election in Kerala as the victory of the CM V S Achuthanandan. And the victory of people in Moolampilly and Chengara who fought against the corporate Communists. The Communist party has to understand that it has to stay with the ordinary people or else they loses their base. The CPM candidates who have had an impression on people won, like M B Rajesh in Palakkad and Biju in Alathur. This shows that people do not want Pinarayi Vijayan’s communist party in power. And the CM Achuthanandan also has to undersyand that his soft plays are not going to win his fraction any votes.
Nationally, this is just the beginning of the end of BJP as a national party. Clearly, their communal cards are not working as the thinking new generation is not favoring them. The BJP had thought that the urban youth would stay with them, but they also have been thinking and voting against them. In an NDTV discussion today, an RSS leader said that the BJP does not have to be apologetic for their ideology, but he doesn’t understand that it is the same ideology that the people of India have chosen to ignore. No more communal cards, even after 26/11. People entrusts Manmohan Singh as the prime minister even after the massive campaigns against him by BJP. People have realized that Singh is better than the old man Advani.
I wish Congress all the best and I hope that they would take action on the ordinary people’s problems. I hope they would do something in the cases like Dr. Binayak Sen’s. I hope they would talk in favor of the people misplaced in the name of development. But in a political scene of India where Congress is just a lesser evil, one can only hope that they would stand for the human rights in the country. Congress already has the reputation of the rich man’s party. And I am slightly hoping that they would change themselves to suit the common man’s interest.
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May 17th, 2009 at 2:57 am
death of pseudo communists
death of communalist BJP
death of regional parties..
Kudos to the voters..
and lets hope the lesser evil will do better this time! lets hope!
May 17th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I can’t say, I am a great reader of politics.
But I think, even nationally, it is more the failure of BJP and Left, than the wish for Congress or an acceptance. Then again, you have rightly said the lesser evil. You have spoken regarding the communal influence candidates took. But congress did the same, except they projected themselves as what each region wanted to see, which in itself is a lie. I do think that people fall for hype and media gloss. Youth would any day, erasing out certain factors of bias already established, vote for Shashi Tharoor or a Rahul Gandhi, against veterans.
Even at each fault, some leaders have stood by in hard times. It was the members of BJP, like Advani, who stood against Emergency India. Even Indira Gandhi, was admirable at certain times before family politics set in. It is of course, very hard for politically inclined and well read, to take that neutral view.
Looking at some of the media coverage, the money and influence, I certainly think the richer party won:-) I do hope Manmohan Singh does good work. Unfortunately, I also know that he was/is/will not be the real prime minister:-)
Communism did much good to Kerala. I think, even beyond the social hypocrisy, the average person is well read. The problem is simply that people will talk about problems in Tokyo or Thailand,but won’t pick up a finger to clean the problems in Trissur.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Praveen: Let’s hope, yes.
Jana: I do not deny the role that the BJP leaders like Advani played in opposing emergency. Similarly, the communists and naxals have fought it – with some of them even giving their own life as the price. But like I have mentioned in an earlier post, this poll is about choosing the lesser evil and like another blogger mentioned, there is hope that Congress would restrain itself from committing an Emergency kind of mistake again because the electoral diaspora has changed. Whereas BJP is driven by the orders of the Sangh and RSS (remember the only time that BJP had it’s lowest votes in Trivandrum was when RSS did not support the BJP candidate).
I am also not denying what Communists have done to Kerala. Socially and economically. But the present corporate communists are a shame to the good old leaders of CPM like AKG etc. The party was with the ordinary people then. Now they turn their backs against the downtrodden, the very same people who have given their lives for the party. It is from this disappointment that even many Communist sympathizers have voted against them.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Well Said Jo, and very well accumulated. I was always a sympathizer of communism, since I believed their ideology was the best. But what happened in Kerala before the elections were terrible. What happened with people of Chengara and Mulampilly is really pathetic. The whole thamasha before the elections – denying Janatha Dal the Kozhikode Seat, Bringing up Hussain Randathani at Ponnani, the PDP alliance, it all mattered.
For the first time in my life I have realized the power of the people of India and I am more happy when I realize the ideology of secularism in India has not died. The common man wants a stable and secular government. BJP not anymore can play the Hindutva Card , and they and the Left has realized it just cannot fool around the people.
And just like what you said about the Congress’s victory in Kerala I also believe its not Congress’s victory. Its people’s hatred against Pinarayi Vijayan and his crusaders that forced the people to vote for UDF. Man, you can’t compare these guys with the people like AKG and P Krishnapillai.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
So true Dhanush!