The Presidential Election

For the past one month (and probably more) Indian politics has been on fire. Prior to this,some amount of similar fired up activity was witnessed last year when Anna Hazare charged in with the dream of bringing about a watchdog to corruption,more famously known as 'Lokpal'. Delhi was on fire,and so was the entire country,people's frustration over corrupt governance was quite naturally visible by the numbers of people that came to open support! And this wasn't all,Baba Ramdev too,took the advantage of the situation and brought the attention of the nation to the massive amounts of Black money which were deposited and safely kept at Swiss Bank.

Unfortunately,our government,which promised to act seriously in both matters,failed to show sincerity in any one of the matters. Lokpal bill and black money remain stagnated in the places where they were,one year ago. A series of political meetings took place,and the entire country remained glued to the Hindi and English news channels which used to bring some or the other experts to talk on the same!

One year later,somewhat same amount of political activity is again witnessed and the media is active in a similar fashion. However this time the common man isn't the participator,he remains the observer,with media being the eyes to him. The race begun and a lot of names were thrown in,a lot of speculations happened and a lot of articles were written. As time passed,newer names were thrown and more of media blah blah took place. Some ministers,some leaders,and the Ex-president himself is into the race. Each day,and infact each hour something new is taking place. The election has turned into a game of chess,where it's quite impossible to determine the winning name until the results are declared.

Some semi-national parties (I call them so because they play a significant role in the national politics but are much more active in one or maximum two,three states) are playing the major moves dragging their coalition partners to the back-foot. These parties have a special importance and they have seized this opportunity in the best manner, to make their importance felt in the right manner! These parties have nothing to lose,but have a lot of say in the number game that is taking place. Their activities are also pointing at the amount of decentralization that has taken place in the recent years.

Amid all these number games and speculations,the management capacity of the national parties is also to be observed. Their coalition plays a major part in their power and if they are not able to manage and keep their partners satisfied,they can be in serious trouble,which in an extreme case can lead to a mid-term poll. They have to manage 50% of the total votes,by hook or by crook! Also,the candidate selected would play an important role in determining the execution of the policies. An apolitical candidate selected can be expected to be fair in the execution part. This is also the major concern for the opposition parties. A president comes with a lot of powers and wrong use of these powers can lead to disastrous results and unbalanced democracy!

The election activities have been quite rapid and major twists and turns have been witnessed,even in the time span of hours! It is quite difficult for any political enthusiast and observer to predict the outcome. Hence,all we can expect is that the body of our elected representatives choose the best of the best and our democracy remains  safeguarded under fair and worthy hands.

Jai Hind!