March 2009 - Posts - Have you Heard...

March 2009 - Posts

The ‘power’ of Power

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
Rahul Gandhi can no longer use Kalavati's example to argue in favour of the United Progressive Alliance government's decision to sign the civilian nuclear deal with the United States. In less than ten months, Kalavati has seen power. But ironically, it is not nuclear power as Gandhi had promised. Kalavati's village - Jalka in Maharashtra...

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A special mention of the specially abled

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
Breaking the norm of votebank appeasement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) has raised a pertinent issue by talking about the need to reach out to the differently abled by making it a mainstream political agenda instead of a mere welfare scheme. While most political parties, in the run up to the Lok Sabha election, are busy invoking...

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As you sow so shall you reap!

Posted by S. Srinivasan at 
National parties are at the receiving end of coalition politics. They cannot get enough numbers in the Parliament to form a government on its own, and allies don’t come without a price. But they are not alone. The regional biggies who are challenging the authority of the national parties are discovering to their dismay that they too are at the receiving...

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Doublespeak thy name is politician!

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
Before, I start writing, let me clarify that I am not the supporter of any political party. To cast my vote, I judge them on the basis of their policies and principles. That is exactly what prompted me to write this. Both the CPM and the Congress keep sermonizing about the need to defeat the communal forces. I agree that communal forces should not have...

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Why Capt Gopi chose to contest from Bangalore South ?

Posted by Venkatesha Babu at 
Captain G R Gopinath has finally announced that he would contest from Bangalore South. Capt Gopi as he is called by those who have known and tracked him for years is -- for those who came in late -- the pioneer who introduced the low cost flying model in the country. He is man of many facets. Not many are aware that the Captain prefixed to his name...

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Spoilt for choice?

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
Even though the Lok Sabha can accommodate only 543 elected members, the number of aspirants trying to get in to the lower house is almost ten times more. According to the Election Commission of India (EC), there were 5435 contestants in the fray, averaging just over 10 contestants per seat. Historically, this figure has varied sharply, from an average...

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Wheels within wheels

Posted by S. Srinivasan at 
Three astute politicians of the Mandal era--- Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ramvilas Paswan on Thursday joined hands to promote each other's cause in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They are now in talks with Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar. Is the UPA experiment over? Do we now see a return of anti-Congressism? Congress has never been...

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From legal talk to Chandni Chowk

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
Those who believe the younger generation in the country today is indifferent to politics could be in for a mild surprise. Sitting Congress MP from Chandni Chowk Kapil Sibal, who is fighting the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from the same constituency, has managed to rope in at least some non-political youngsters for his election campaign. Sibal's...

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Schemes for poll consumption?

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
Food schemes have proved to be the latest hit in electoral politics recently. Taking a leaf out of Raman Singh government's electoral success story in 'rice politics', the Congress party has announced that it would provide 25kg of rice or wheat at Rs 3 a month for every family below the poverty line. Apparently, the BJP is following the...

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United we stand, divided we feel

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
The united front being put up by the Left parties - the CPM, CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc seems more like an illusion with parties like the CPI and RSP openly expressing dissent with big brother CPM's views. While the CPM claims that it has sorted out differences with its allies especially in Kerala (where the party had decided to field an independent...

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Politics of killing

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
Given that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM has always loved flaunting its "martyrs", it is only natural that the party makes them a talking point during the election season. The CPM politburo has issued a statement "condemning" the killing of party cadres in West Bengal, allegedly by arch rivals Trinamool Congress ...

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Sleepless in capital!

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
Beauty sleep - or the lack of it - is a poll issue, too. Sleep is the latest casualty among politicians. For the wannabe MPs it is the anxiety over the ticket that steals their sleep initially, then come the worries over winning the seat and the relentless campaign for those who managed the tickets! But there have been several sleepless nights for the...

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Varun Gandhi was wrong, but was EC right?

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
The BJP would not have been the natural choice for Feroz Gandhi's grandson. He might have been in the Congress party, but circumstances made him join the opposition party that was embraced by his mother Maneka Gandhi, who had to leave the first family of the Congress. He may be a victim of the policies of polarization practiced by the BJP. We do...

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Meet 'home minister' Amar Singh

Posted by K.P. Narayana Kumar at 
It took actor-director Dev Anand to confirm that in India, a home minister is expected to be a talker. The film-maker is directing a thriller titled “Chargesheet,” in which the legendary actor also plays a role. Dev Anand was initially on the lookout for an actor to play the role of a home minister in the film. But then it struck him that Samajwadi...

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Should PM contest Lok Sabha poll?

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
If Manmohan Singh wants to be prime minister again, should he not contest the Lok Sabha elections? Why is he comfortable with a Rajya Sabha membership, something which former prime ministers rarely preferred? Privately Congress leaders also ask these questions. But a Left MP has recently written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi reminding her of "the...

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