Lalu's lantern put off?

Watching Bihar in the next few days is going to be lot of fun for the political observers. With such a fractured verdict, everybody wants to be in the good books of Ram Vilas Paswan, who has emerged as a Kingmaker all of a sudden. For the moment, though Paswan has refused to support neither RJD nor NDA, given his track record of switching sides (he is a Dr Ramadoss of Bihar), he would soon find his partner.

What about the Congress? Having supported Paswan instead of Lalu and also managing just 7 seats in the assembly, Congress has the unenviable task of bringing together Lalu & Paswan. If not, Paswan may support NDA and Congress might not only have to suffer the ignonimity of handing a state to the opposition but also face the wrath of Lalu as his 28 MPs are crucial for the Central Government. With a hard core Congress man - Buta Singh in the Raj Bhavan, what 10 Janpath thinks is what the Governor of Bihar would think.

BJP? It is a perfect case of so near, yet so far. Had they won 10-15 more seats, the other horses would have been easier to trade. Apart from coming close to the power, they have two things to cheer about. One, Lalu is no more invincible. Even if he manages to form the next government as a result of Congress brokering, his grip & clout would loosen considerably. Two, cracks have started appearing in the Congress led UPA. With DMK making some noises in the South, it is a matter of cheer for the saffron party.

Politics has often thrown up strange bedfellows. A totally different arrangement might happen in the next few days. Who knows? After all, who had expected H.D.Devegowda to become the Prime Minister in 1996? If you happen to be an Independent MLA in Bihar, there is no better time to go for the kill. Goddess Mahalakshmi is waiting at your doors with money bags.

Heights of Stupidity

It often leaves one gasped if you think how stupid our men get to make the headlines.

Recently, an exhibition was organised in Chennai by Pasumai Thayagam - an off shoot of PMK (Paataali Makkal Katchi) to create awareness about obesity. Well and good. This needs to be applauded. But good things stopped here. Through the placards at the event venue and through the speeches, Pasumai Thayagam charged that actresses Aishwarya Rai & Trisha were promoting obesity in the country and one guy even went to the extent of demanding their ban/arrest.

If you are wondering what is the connection between these damsels and obesity, the party reasons that they endorse products (Aish Rai features in Coca Cola ads & Trisha in Perk adverts) that cause obesity. How does it sound? In the first place, there is no proven fact that all those overweight persons around are treating themselves with Coke & Perk. Even if we were to accept that there is a link between those products and obesity, what logic does it hold to target the models endorsing those products?

In fact, an organisation or political party picking on individuals for doing something for a living well within the parameters of law is tantamount to trampling on individual freedom. If the politicians are so concerned about more people consuming those undesirable products, they can seek a ban on the advertisement of such goods, whatever they are. Haven't we banned liquor ads? The irony of all ironies is that the leader of this group - Pasumai Thayagam - is the Union Health Minister (Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss) and if they really want to do something about the unhealthy food products in the market, it is well within their powers to do so. Instead, targetting these two actresses to create an impression that country's obeisty problem is caused by them, it only smacks of an attempt at gaining cheap publicity and make its presence felt.

If you think it is one of the usual bluff statements by a political party, be reminded that PMK is very much capable of taking this stupidity to dangerous proportions. One could see the way it arm twists the mandarins of Kollywood into giving Tamil titles to Tamil movies. That film makers consult the PMK top brass on their film titles suggest how serious these guys can get. If this party tells actors and actresses what to do - like not to model for Coke & Perk, this stupid-but-violent party could very well cross all the limits and have a say in the story, cast etc. Sooner this party is curbed, the better it is, for everyone.

First Take

Politics in India has always been colourful. No other country in the world, be it India's immediate neighbours or the world's oldest democracy doesn't present such a colourful spectrum. If the world looks India in awe, one of the main reason is its thriving democracy. Even when the pillars of democracy crumbled in the countries around it, the Indian ballot didn't lose its value. That said, politics in India is dirty. Dirty to an unimaginable extent that any right thinking citizen would never wish his/her child to chose politics as a career. For many in India, politics is the world of hate, crime, power, blood and what not.

This blog would attempt to capture politics from an Indian voter's prism. The author of this blog would try to be as neutral as possible in her views and would try her best in showcasing both the good & bad of Indian politics. Welcome to the big bad but wonderful world of Indian politics.