The I in the ballot

Singh is king! Its official now! Perhaps, it would do good for some people to note that personal attacks on a high ranking office does more damage to themselves than the intended. Many accusations of being a weak Prime Minister and the likes, despite, the incumbent of 7 Race Course Road and the Spin doctors of 10 Janpath have good reasons to celebrate.

Indians are a very hopeful people! Ambitions are one thing, but realities are quite another and ambitions misplaced are certainly unpardonable, especially if a certain someone from an upper northern state considers that her right! The elephant-ride to Delhi fizzled badly, with the people rejecting the elephantine misadventure outright! Thankfully, the Republic of India has had a saving grace in the international community with this misplaced chaos not riding the wave to power! Losers, here, it seems, need to learn grace, for blaming communities for their failure only reflects their own poor show in the arena of performance and good governance, if they knew what either meant, that is.

I'd rather not spew more disgust by talking about a western heavyweight's dreams-in-waiting and his quick volte-face but opportune overture to align with the 'alliance' when the mandate became clear. Trapeze artists would be put to shame by the continuing flip-flop of our political honchos.

Is it therefore any surprise that the BBC seems to have echoed a better coverage of the Indian general elections than any other Indian news agency, while Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai kept yelling breaking news at every breaking moment? After all, the very thought of the world's largest democracy marching into a governmental transition is a matter of acute interest to many people and nations far and wide, considering the circus type enactments that keep happening every day!

The air of dramatization was all too evident with many a contender vying hard to get a place into the coveted 'people's house' from where the remotest confines of the republic can be accessed, tapped into, and 'effectively' ruled. With an eligible 714 million voters having embarked on a momentous task of deciding the next Prime Minister and associates, this exercise is said to have cost the exchequer a whopping €176 million or Rs.1,120 crores.

The earliest tirade words began among the custodians of the exercise, the Election commission, which remained split on opinion about the dates itself. What followed was an ugly spat between the Election Commissioners themselves over their capacities and relevance in office! The all powerful bureaucracy too succumbed to petty politics. No blames here, it is the season after-all! It was as expected as was the statement made by Manish Tiwari of the Congress stating that "Film stars and cricketers are also achievers." Of course yes.......no disagreements here! It was no surprise to see a certain tainted former cricketer clinching a position for himself.

And then, all of a sudden, the suave and articulate Varun Gandhi made headlines for his alleged hate-speech while campaigning in Pilibhit. It certainly does not matter to the present government in Uttar Pradesh even if the Supreme Court called for invalidation of a needless NSA invocation against Gandhi, for after all, the BSP leading lady is all out playing what she does best - Vendetta! Double whammy, now that the BJP too attributes this alleged hurt speech to have affected its otherwise bright prospects.

The Election commission did not want to be left out of the arena and so the outgoing Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami brewed his share of controversy by recommending the President to remove his colleague (former) Navin Chawla, only to find the reverse happen! Elsewhere, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh addressed a rally in a government school while a Class X board examination was in progress, while his counterpart in Tamil Nadu sang praises for the dreaded terrorist, Prabhakaran of the LTTE. I'm wondering how much more of his whining will be needed to convince President Rajapakse of Sri Lanka not to extradite this dreaded criminal to India. It seems that political endorsements for an outlaw also pay off handsome gains.

Birds of the same feather do not always flock together! This revelation came from the ranks of a certain political party from the Hindi heartland, with one member-in-prominence accusing another of distributing her obscene pictures to undermine women power in politics! I'd rather not comment on that!

What I would love to comment on is the plight of the comrades, and their brothers-in-arms, who were for the first time ever routed out of their home grounds. The red bastion simply collapsed like a house of cards! I'd expect the politburo and the other organs of the left brass to hang themselves in shame, let alone sulk in defeat and plan a come-back strategy. The people of India have had enough of their arrogance and destructive stance which is the reason states such as Kerala and West Bengal continue to exist in the stone-age, despite appreciable human capital. No, don't get me wrong. I'm not against the Spartans of the AKG and EMS kind. What I'm opposed to, is the diluted ideology that these sicko new-commies profess!

As always, some realizations come too late, as in the words of Lalu Yadav! I'd recommend one not to read that as a post-incident introspective response, for this bihari is only eyeing a cabinet berth, while attempting to please the high-command with his opportune statement! The move paid off too, in an instant, with the high command inviting him to be part of the cabinet meeting scheduled to happen today.

What is particularly remarkable is the undying spirit of the quintessential Indian, which despite being battered for years due to the misrule of the products as a result of the election action, still dutifully creates an urging stir in the minds of the voter to exercise the privilege accorded by the constitution! Take a look at this picture of a 91 year old lady in Varanasi who chose to caste her vote when the time came! I'm suddenly and shamefully reminded of myself and those others who chose otherwise! This pleasant Sunday afternoon, as I ready this post, I'm wondering how much my vote would have mattered! As always, after the incident even the fool is wise.

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Image Courtesy - The Hindu