Indian Upper House (Rajya Sabha) has 245 seats out of which 233 are elected members and 12 are nominated in accordance with the Indian constitution. Their tenure is six years each. For one Rajya Sabha seat member from Gujarat the tussle is on whilst we are going to press at about 9pm IST. Gujarat legislative assembly members elect three RS members. Up until three weeks ago, according to the membership of the BJP and the Congress, two were certain from the BJP and one from Congress. Ahmed Patel has been a RS member for the last four terms and he is one of the top most advisors to the Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi as her political person. His candidature for the fifth term has focussed the minds of the all India on the election on Tuesday 8th August.
The votes have been cast but the results are, like a game of ping pong, at the election commissioners offices in Delhi. Whatever is the outcome the Congress party is in a quandary. BJP is gobbling up MPs, Assembly Members and others from almost all the opposition parties as if the ruling party is on a roll.
Winner takes all
After the stunning victory in the UP assembly, the BJP has now become the member of the ruling coalition in Bihar. Nitish Kumar, a good administrator and a person known for his integrity is also renowned for changing his political alliances to suit his purpose. Four years ago his JDU broke off some 20 years old alliance with the BJP because he was not happy with the alleviation of Narendra Modi as the leader of the election campaign for the parliamentary elections of 2014. He jumped out of the BJP/JDU alliance and struck up a convenient setup with his arch enemy Lalu Yadav of RJD, Congress and other leftist groups called Mahagathbandhan. Even chameleons would be surprised with this sudden and unexpected turn of events.
New situation arose with the BJP governments formed in all the states which went to the polls in the last few years except in Punjab. Nitish Kumar could not remain in league with RJD as the sons and other family members of Lalu Yadav were served with FIR due to financial improprieties and the charges are likely to be framed. It was not in the interest of Nitish Kumar to have an alliance with such a party, RJD, whose members are having senior posts in the Mahagathbandhan government of Bihar.
On 22nd July Nitish Kumar decided to ditch the RJD and resign as the Chief Minister but was sworn in the next day with the same post with the BJP as partner. Since then all over India the rush to the BJP fold became more like a flooding river than a trickle.
Political Earthquake in Gujarat
Shankersinh Vaghela who for almost thirty years was a colleague and mentor for Narendra Modi and is recognised for his organisational skills which established the BJP as a state wide political machine in Gujarat has been at logger heads with the BJP since 1990. He masterminded the revolt in the BJP government of Keshubhai Patel in 1996, ferried several dozen Gujarat BJP members to Khajuraho in Madhaya Pradesh by charter plane overnight and subsequently brought the BJP government down in Gujarat. In the subsequent period when two of Shankersinh Vaghela’s nominees failed to give a durable government, he himself took the affairs into his own hands, struck up alliance with the Congress party (his life long enemy) and became Chief Minister. In less than one year he was ousted and the BJP became the single largest party with absolute majority in the Gujarat assembly and soon after Keshubhai Patel, Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister.
By now Shankersinh Vaghela was the ipso facto leader of Gujarat congress but Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel and other big wigs in Delhi were always suspicious of his loyalty to the BJP and RSS and did not declare him as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the state elections due in a few months.
Shankersinh’s bomb shell
Three weeks ago in a dramatic event to celebrate his 70th birthday party with some 10,000 guests at his farm house in the north of Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, he announced his resignation from the Congress party with so many caveats which confused his erstwhile colleagues to no end. By that time the election timetable for the three RS members from Gujarat were announced. 182 members of the state assembly were the voters. By simple calculation 2 seats would have gone to the BJP and one was securely in the lap of the Congress. But that was then and since then six congress MLAS resigned from congress, two more publicly announced that they would not vote for Ahmed Patel and in the last few day NCP with two members and JDU with one member also declared their support for the BJP. The sum total of all of this is the defeat or victory of Ahmed Patel is on tenterhooks. On Tuesday morning the voting began and was almost completed but the congress party has now approached the Election Commission because of some technical flaws. One seat out of 233 elected RS members is causing such a crisis for the Congress Party.
Off to Bangalore
To ensure that all the remaining 44 members of the legislature of Gujarat remain loyal to Ahmed Patel the Congress airlifted them suddenly, ten days ago, to Eagleton Golf Village, a posh resort near Bangalore, Karnataka, one of the two major states (out of 29) still within the Congress fold. Congress explain that their MLAS were flown out to ensure that the BJP did not succeed to cause them into changing sides by means of ‘muscle power’ or ‘money power’. The strange situation that the MLAs at Eagleton are free to use the sauna, tennis courts, clubs and other luxuries but not their mobile phones lest they are approached by the BJP machine.
Surely with modern technology Congress could have monitored and recorded the telephonic conversations and trap the BJP during any such activity. One more strange yet sad fact is that several of these 44 members represent constituencies in Banaskanth and Sabarkantha areas of Gujarat, the worst hit during the severe flooding where at least 250 have lost their lives, most of them in these two areas.
From one resort to another
Forty-four ‘inmates’ were flown from Eagleton Golf Village to Nijanand resort in Anand district. Nijanand is a lush and comfortable resort owned by Britain based NRIs but unlike Bangalore the guests are not provided with alcohol as the state has prohibition. On Tuesday morning they were taken to Gandhinagar and casted their votes and the drama has lengthened rather that coming to a happy end for Congress by saving the seat of Ahmed Patel.
Join him if you cant beat him
Prime Minister Modi’s government has completed three years and three months. Normally in a democracy at this juncture the ruling party is suffering from antiincubancy factor. Narendra Modi’s popularity has been gauged at 72-74 percent by the recent poll of reputable organisations. Why? In a recent book entitled ‘Marching with a Billion: Analysing Narendra Modi’s government at midterm’ by Uday Mahurkar, a deputy editor of India Today, there is a very interesting forward by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum. He describes four defining qualities that make a good leader; BRAINS, SOUL, HEART and GOOD NERVES. According to Klaus Schwab only a handful of world leaders possess all four qualities and Prime Minister Modi is one of them.
Modi’s sterling achievements
Indian people have been impressed with many initiatives that have been undertaken by the Modi government which has brought transparency and stopped corruption at the top without lacking inertia which was sadly the benchmark of the Congress led UPA government. The international observers are impressed with the fiscal management of the Modi government which has been able to reduce the deficit, control inflation, improve the FDI and increase the GDP substantially. The budget expenditure has gone up by 30 percent in 3 years, the rapid improve in transport infrastructure, IT and other reforms in financial services, the widespread use of Aadhaar Cards, the internet and open tendering for major projects, the pace of reforms, the reduction of subsidies like LPG and many others have made Prime Minister Modi as the best performing Prime Minister in the 70 years of Indian independence.
Performance Power
Both internally and with the international relationship PM Modi has performed par excellence and both at the centre and in most of the states the opposition is retracting or becoming ineffective. It is not the money power or the muscle power which makes Narendra Modi and the BJP invincible in present day India. It is the performance power, the world wide recognition and the sterling quality of the man and his government which gives it a convincing durability.
Viable opposition?
A democracy without a viable opposition is weak. True. It is not the job of the government to establish a strong opposition. In India it is the job of the Congress Party. They need a Vision, a structured plan of action and unless they energise their party and convince the populace they can not stop this rot. Their tainted image of family control, nepotism, corruption and lack of effective programs have taken the support away from them.
NM is knowledgeable
In his 66 years Modi has learnt enough history which is helping him to create his own history. He knows about the rise and fall of Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, just to mention the British politicians. He is also fully aware of the inappropriate sacking of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif whose attempts to have good relations with India was so abruptly and ruthless thwarted by Generals.
From Lal Maidan to Lal Killa
In 2013 Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi celebrated Independence Day at Lalmaidan in Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat where almost a Red Fort like structure was created. In 2014 Prime Minister Modi gave his first Independence Day speech from the Red fort in Delhi which contained several announcements which were not the normal topics in the previous 67 years. Prime Minister Modi’s tireless efforts, diligence, dedication, determination, has made him a unique leader of India today and for several years to come.
Next week India celebrates its 70th independence with enormous hope, confidence, enthusiasm and especially the rising aspirations of its youth. India has 3 D’s: Democracy, Demography and Demand.
Long live India. Long live democracy. Jai hind.
