Narendra Modi: One Man Revolution
Sandhya Jain16 May 20 
Sandhya Jain is a political analyst and independent researcher. She is the author of 'Adi Deo Arya Devata- A Panoramic View of Tribal-Hindu Cultural Interface' (Rupa & Co., 2004) and 'Evangelical Intrusions. Tripura: A Case Study' (Rupa & Co., 2009).
The expected unbelievable has happened – Narendra Modi has led the nation to its greatest grassroots revolution since the sun set on one-party dominance in 1977. Taking on the Congress dynastic rule with Sonia Gandhi ruling from behind the scenes, and particularly the misgovernance, corruption, and economic stagnation of the past decade, the challenger from Gujarat has singlehandedly made the BJP India's new dominant party with a clear majority of 283 seats (NDA 338) at the time of writing, reducing the Congress to its worst ever tally of 45 (UPA 58) (the figures may change slightly at final count).
This is a one man revolution and it is impossible to do full justice to the Prime Minister designate for his Herculean efforts of the past eight months, and particularly the back-breaking, gruelling schedule he maintained unflaggingly in the 46-day final lap of the campaign, tellingly titled Bharat Vijay Rally.
This is a magnificent victory. As predicted by the BJP leader, the Congress will not open its account in several States and will have difficulty touching double digit figures in several; its national tally is way below 100. It is a measure of Narendra Modi's confidence in himself and the people, as also the gargantuan efforts put in by the BJP and allies at the grassroots, that he dared say this in rally after rally. That Congress never had the courage to rebut these taunts was a measure of its internal disarray.
The BJP veteran clearly had his finger on the pulse of the people. Any honest observer should have been able to gauge from the crowds that gathered to hear him from September 15, 2013 at Rewari, Haryana, and subsequently in every nook and crany of the nation, that he was the harbinger of hope to people crushed under price rise and corruption; families staring at unemployment and utter lack of opportunity; the indifference and callousness of rulers; and above all, the sense of national drift towards the abyss.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the results as they pour in vindicate the claims and expectations of Narendra Modi, his trusted lieutenant Amit Shah in Uttar Pradesh, and the BJP in general. Thus, the party has won all seats in Gujarat (26/26), Rajasthan (25/25), Delhi (7/7), and expects to do exceedingly well in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar, Karnataka, Seemandhra and Arunachal Pradesh. The Congress, in contrast, failed to open its account in 12 States and 5 Union Territories – a deafening commentary on the leadership of its so called first family.
The big tragedy, of course, will be if Rahul Gandhi manages to wrest the Amethi seat from Smriti Irani who has given him a run for him money, making him sweat by leading in several rounds and keeping the margin close at the time of writing. Whatever the final outcome, the Gandhi scion's trailing for several rounds reflected the mood of the voter in Uttar Pradesh.
The trend became clear when Mumbai's ex Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh (Baghpat) trounced Ajit Singh in this family cum Jat bastion. In the circumstances, Murli Manohar Joshi (Kanpur), Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), and Hema Malini (Mathura) were just some of those who breezed through on the strength of the Modi wave. The overall UP tally seems to be a handsome 72, far greater than anything predicted by any pollster. Former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was trailing in Azamgarh, though he recovered later. Famous losers include cine star Raj Babbar.
In Karnataka, the return of former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa was vindicated by his sweeping victory in Shimoga; Anantha Kumar defeating Nandan Nilekani by over one lakh votes in Bangalore; and the overall trends showing a lead in 17 seats.
In Punjab, Kirron Kher won over the beautiful Gul Panag (Chandigarh) of the AAP and former minister Pawan Bansal (Congress). But an underlying wave shows the AAP leading in 4 seats and Arun Jaitley (Amritsar) lost to Capt Amarinder Singh (Congress) due to an underlying anti-incumbency against the Badal family that could not be overcome despite a rally by Narendra Modi.
In Maharashtra, the sole Congress victory is Ashok Chavan of Adarsh society scam fame. NCP leader Sharad Pawar's daughter and heir, Supriya Sule, has lost the family seat, as predicted by Narendra Modi during his tours of the State. The BJP-Shiv Sena swept, with Poonam Mahajan winning against Priya Dutt, who has hitherto been considered unbeatable! Union Ministers Praful Patel and Milind Deora lost, as did Nilesh Rane, son of Narayan Rane. A satisfying aspect of this election is the fact that Raj Thackeray's spoiler MNS could not open its account in the State. Another notable BJP victory is Kirit Somaiya (Mumbai North East).
In Assam, at the time of writing, the BJP was set to win 7 seats, with Congress trailing at a mere 2 and others managing another 4. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has conceded defeat, and his own son, Gaurav Gogoi, who was trailing, has recently recovered ground.
In West Bengal, where Trinamool Congress goons ran amok in the latter phases, Chandan Mitra (BJP) is leading in Hooghly, as is Babul Supriyo in Asansol.
In the closely fought Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor (Congress) may retain the seat. Should that happen, BJP will have to realise that sometimes changing the candidate (O Rajagopal) makes the difference between victory and defeat. However, Congress' PC Chacko is trailing in Thrissur.
In Rajasthan, the notable losers from Congress include Sachin Pilot (Ajmer) and Jyoti Mirdha. Former BJP leader Jaswant Singh, is also out of the reckoning.
In Haryana, the AAP's eminence grise, Yogendra Yadav, slated to take the party over from the failed leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, has lost from Gurgaon.
In Jammu & Kashmir, the BJP is leading in Jammu and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is trailing from Srinagar. It seems the bells now toll for the Abdullah dynasty in Jammu & Kashmir.
In Bihar, the BJP is leading in over 20 seats and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi is trailing behind Rajiv Pratap Rudi (BJP). Another notable loser is Speaker Meira Kumar (Sasaram) and Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, Misa Bharati. The BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's son, Jayant Sinha has won from Hazaribagh.
In Delhi, the BJP swept the polls, with AAP's Rajmohan Gandhi and Ashutosh, who were widely seen as winners, biting the dust.
In Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's wife Pratibha Singh is trailing behind BJP's Ram Swaroop Sharma. In Arunachal Pradesh, Kiran Rijjiju (BJP) is winning, but the party is trailing in the other.
Tamil Nadu is a big disappointment; local people attribute it to disarray and lack of sincerity in the BJP unit, beginning with the failed nomination drama in Nilgiri, where the party had a strong chance of victory. In the event, former union minister Andimuthu Raja also lost. It is, of course, a consolation that former minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is losing by a huge margin in Mayiladuthurai.
All in all, almost all Congress-UPA ministers are trailing/losing at the time of writing, which is a resounding verdict on the Congress rule at the Centre. Among the losers are Veerappa Moily, Jaipal Reddy, Pawan Bansal, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Sachin Pilot, Salman Khurshid, Kapil Sibal, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Ghulam Nabi Azad. Union Finance Minister P Chidamabaram's son, Karti, has also been routed.
A satisfying aspect of the election was the people's decision to downsize the CPM to just 3 seats in West Bengal, and 13 overall. Equally gratifying is the fact that the sand castle called Aam Aadmi Party has been swept away by the Modi wave, though its surprise performance in Punjab will bear watching. An interesting tit bit is that the voters plumbed for female cine stars Hema Malini, Jayapradha, and Naghma; gave the thumbs up to Shatrughan Sinha and thumbs down to Raj Babbar.
The BJP leads in all parts of the country, including Andaman & Nicobar, which makes it the first truly pan-India party after Congress. The party dared spread its wings so far thanks to the vision and daring of one man and a dedicated team that worked to realise the dream.http://www.niticentral.com/2014/05/16/narendra-modi-one-man-revolution-224026.html
--
परोपकाराय फलन्ति वृक्षा: परोपकाराय वहन्ति नद्यः।
परोपकाराय दुहन्ति गावः परोपकाराय इदं शरीरम्।।
( hari krishnamurthy K. HARIHARAN)"'' When people hurt you Over and Over
think of them as Sand paper.
They Scratch & hurt you,
but in the end you are polished and they are finished. ''
think of them as Sand paper.
They Scratch & hurt you,
but in the end you are polished and they are finished. ''
யாம் பெற்ற இன்பம் பெருக வையகம்
visit my blog http://harikrishnamurthy.wordpress.com
follow me @twitter lokakshema_hari
VISIT MY PAGE https://www.facebook.com/K.Hariharan60 AND LIKE
No comments:
Post a Comment