The poll bugle 5!

It’s difficult to judge whether the poll heat or the summer heat is singeing. The sacred duty of all the politicians in maintaining state secrets seems to be blown to winds. No, it’s neither about severe matters like our newer satellite destroying missiles nor the PM addressing poll meetings at Varanasi, but targeting Mamata in West Bengal.

You guessed it right, it’s about a not-so-sweet secret between a deft-tight-rope-walking Didi sending seasonal sweets and kurtas to PM Modi while maintaining an aggressive posture against him and BJP in public. That to me is fine, as the sweet business is the traditional Bengali courtesy and the sour relationship with the Centre, no matter who’s ruling at the state, or who at the Centre, is an attitudinal defect of Bengal. A fuming Didi has promised to send clayey Rosogollas or pebbles henceforth. Is it an admission of Modi’s return, or am I reading too much of the fine prints, missing out the main headlines?

There are also unsavoury trolls on the social media that it’s Didi alone who knows the size of Modi’s Kurta. I guess they forgot the entire nation knows that it’s 56 inches! Could it be true that 56 inches were intentionally sent to tease the PM? If it is true, I now see why the WWE wrestler the Great Khali has come to the rescue, campaigning for BJP and ensuring that the kurtas are put to good use.

Be that as it may, the former and eternally disgruntled Shatrughan Sinha made a gaffe, claiming Jinnah and Congress party are like same families and the media sweating from the sweltering son made a beeline to his office. There has never been so much crowd even in the film stars poll meetings, as the gleeful Press jostled for an explanation and re-confirmation of his Jinnah remark. The unperturbed, switcher may have wished to announce with his characteristic twitch that it was not Jinnah but Munna. His bewildered poll-managers hurried to think of some Muslim name and rescued him with the name of Abdul Kalam, which again was a faux pas, as the President was not a Congressman and Congress did not propose him for the Presidency during the second term. The name of Abul Kalam Azad was instead finally settled as what the actor intended to say, which he stated without batting an eyelid, notwithstanding his mostly shut eyes, anytime he speaks.

As the days advance, and looking at the crowd swell at Modi’s meetings, it seems that the PM is consolidating and moving ahead with his march to a comfortable win. It may not be a matter of comfort for Bengal, where Didi now has branded Modi as a ‘rioter.’ It seems that the distance and personal chemistry between the two leaders have drifted too far away from each other, for a rapprochement any time too soon, regardless of the poll results.

Poor Mani Shankar Iyer seems to have been kept under lock, and the hungry media has been missing his usual acerbic tongue for quite some time. Soon the social media was unabashedly active with fake stories that the politician has been killed in Balakot, while he was hobnobbing with the terrorists and that an embarrassed Congress is unable to admit his killing. How lowly could we have become in spreading such stories? A TV picture of his recently being present in one place or other silenced rumour-mongers. He being an Iyer has no influence on this part of the post of mine, in this caste-driven country.

The juggernaut called democracy moves on for the balance phases of polling even as the EC seems to be in a slumber, or on sabbatical!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

The poll bugle 4!

As the third phase of the poll has completed, the nervousness is palpable for both the ruling and the opposition alliance partners. The President of the Congress party and the alternative PM face, should the party garner a sizeable chunk of seats at all, which again I doubt much, has been performing below par.

The Congress party scriptwriters have gravely faulted in centring the scion’s vitriolic acerbity with one line, ‘Chowkidar chor hai.’ It’s bound to end up like ‘India Shining,’ of NDA’s election theme. The Supreme Court pulled him up and have issued a notice of contempt despite a meek ‘tail-between-the-legs’ mumbling of I’m sorry and have uttered such in the heat of campaigning. No sir! Are you not trying to present a responsible, educated in Cambridge’s face to the nation? Try talking about yourself and what your party can practically do, rather than NRI manifestos like Rs.72K per year to 25 crore people! I’m sure Sam Pitroda and the likes would have calculated the dole out on the US dollar equivalent and relating it with US GDP!

BJP too is no less messy, wanting to once again bank on a consolidation of Hindu votes by bringing in Malegaon accused Pragya Thakur. Why can’t we practice the Bhutanese system by keeping off Gods and Godmen from politics? India could’ve moved forward more speedily! Boisterous or contradictory statements on Hemant Karkare, killed by Kasab’s men, her valiant scaling Babri Masjid for demolishing it, her claim of getting cure of her breast cancer with cow’s urine can only push the country back, if she gets elected, and I guess she could, given the bogey of rising fundamentalism all over. The middle class is disenchanted with Modi, as evidenced from the low turnout in the polling booths in comparison to 2014, prompting their poll managers to woo the poor and Pragya’s statements are adrenaline for them. Bundle of sorry post performance is the order of the day.

The third-front seems directionless. Naidu, Didi, Stalin, Mayawati, Akhilesh and of course Kejriwal all claiming that the EVMs are automatically registering votes for BJP, regardless for who the citizens vote for. It is hilarious, like a TV channel announcing soon after the demonetization that the 2000 rupees notes were embedded with a secret chip to prevent hoarding! There is one, sitting in the US, who claims that there seems something is wrong with the EVMs but do not know what it is, and it would require him a year to investigate and unravel the truth!

Polling during the last three phases have gone by and large peaceful, save, or so it seems, only in West Bengal as repeatedly being telecast nationwide. Is Mamata paying the price for aspiring for the PM’s post? Nowhere else are central police fore manning the booths, which could change the fortunes of TMC to an extent. The rural folk, identified as political opponents of chameleons were earlier barred from voting by every ruling party, the leftists and the TMC. Now they can vote. The margin of such restrained voters will be out in just a month from the results declared.

The social networks are burning the midnight oil and tirelessly snooping into the slightest acts of omission and commission to be the first to break. Interestingly it is Facebook or Twitter, which breaks the stories first, rather than the endless and 24×7 ‘Breaking news,’ by TV channels. Watch out for more thrill, the weirdest U-turns and more fun-filled political circus for free!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

The Black Easter!

It was Easter Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the third day after his burial following the crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans. The world was solemnly commemorating the oldest Christian festival, as did the believers in Sri Lanka the island nation south of India, when series of explosions ripped three churches, The Catholic Church St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kotchchikade, The Catholic Church St, Sebastian’s Church Negombo, The Zion Church in Batticaloa. Explosions ripped as well at the Shangri-La Hotel, Cinnamon Grand Hotel, The Kingsbury Hotel and the adjoining Tropical Inn Hotel in Dehiwala. Soon after that explosions took place at a reception hall at Dehiwala and a Housing complex at Dematagoda. At the time of this writing, the dead exceeded 200 and more than 300 are seriously injured.

The peaceful island has been seemingly cursed with a bitter civil war between the Tamils in the North and the Sinhalese in the south for 26 long years, resulting in the Government’s victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. However, it left nearly 100,000 Tamils killed and a bitter aftertaste of intolerance and aftermath of subjugation of the Tamils by the Lankan government led by Rajapaksa. Abuses in the concluding stages of conflict were appalling and egregious.

Buddhists, the predominant people in the island extolled the army in their war against the Tamils and turned their attention against the Muslims of the island once the war ended. The Bodu Bala Sena, BBS, with its nationalist ideology claimed that the Sri Lankans had become immoral by shunning Buddhism and blamed the Muslims for that. BBS has links to Myanmar’s radical 969 movement led by monk Asin Wirathu, who claims himself as “Burmese Bin Laden.” What I intend to state is the peace and relation between the Buddhists, Christians, Tamils and Muslims is suspect and has worsened in the last decade.

The other aspect is the political power struggle between Ranil Wickremesinghe on one side and President Mathirpala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa on the other has led to deep divisions within the citizens, much like pro-Modi and pro-Rahul in India. The Chinese had made significant inroads into Sri Lanka with the support of Rajapaksa, that seems to have eroded for the time being, with the return of Wickremesinghe. The former President and Prime Minister, Rajapaksa’s refusal of permission to UN bodies to investigate the genocide of the Tamils and the gruesome human violations by the Army have left a deep scar in the hearts of the Tamils.

The Chinese have been licking the wounds, ever since Modi’s diplomacy has stemmed the proliferation of Chinese hegemony over Sri Lanka and Maldives and return of India supportive governments.

Any unrest, at this juncture, could once again open the wounds and expose the deep divisions within communities of the island nation. Whoever are the perpetrators of the heinous crime today killing innocent and peaceful citizens by the hundreds, ought to be brought to book and face the consequences.

In the meantime, the Sri Lankans must remain united and calm, much like the Mumbaikars and Indians, in the aftermath of 26/11 attacks, which though killed and wounded many, helped in a resurgent fervour of nationalism. India and every Indian join our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of grief and mourning.

May hope and peace rise and resurrect, as Christ did on this day!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
pic courtesy New York Times

Fear is the key!

The second phase of the polling ended yesterday with nearly 15 crore Indians exercising their franchise. Shameful bribery allegations led to countermanding the elections in Vellore, which otherwise would have ensured a one-day election in the whole state. West Bengal stands unique with elections spread out in all the seven phases and also for the violence in the polling booths.

The 34 years reign of the leftists was not because of their splendid administrative performance or able-governance, but their poll management tactics, which were honed to perfection as they grew. Voter IDs were collected well in advance from political opponents, their sympathisers and suspects, casting of votes assigned in the most organised manner to cadres, who did a splendid job. The novice managers of democracy were counting booth-wise ballots, exposing the pattern of voting, particularly by the politically opposed groups, who were sternly punished with exile for long periods.

Bengal was euphoric with the resounding defeat of the crafty leftists, who made no bones about their distaste for democratic norms. Didi and her party Trinamool Congress had taken over, and freedom was reborn, or so the people thought. What was forgotten was that the very same masters of ‘poll-management’ had merely switched sides wearing a new jersey discarding the hammer and sickle for the grass and flowers.

The victory of TMC that was registered in the polls that were held after the landslide victory that brought Mamata in could not have been, unless the threat, intimidation, attacks and killings continued in the same style perfected by their political predecessors, if not honed better.

An average citizen has less to say in the poll outcome, as gangs control the rural Bengal. The educated and the sober have quietly left electoral politics, and today it is challenging to find intelligential citizens, which reflected the ethos of Bengal before and after independence. I must add that should there be any change in the resigned fate of the Bengal polls, giving BJP the unlikely strong political appearance, it would yet not change the ground reality in any manner. The cadres, who matter, and who were with the leftists and who are with TMC will merely change their jerseys yet again. For them, the cow has to be continually milking, and a holy cow is better than a cash-starved Cow.

Bengal will continue to be restive even if TMC wins handsomely, which I do not guess will be a clean sweep as Didi hollowly claims. The Didi brand of acerbic opposition, could singled her out as a political pariah with Modi’s return could be a distinct possibility. We can witness many current opponents making a quiet U-turn and compromising with the BJP at the Centre. I can add the names of Akhilesh, Mayawati, the sly Dravida parties, BJD, NC and even Mufti, just to name a few. Didi may not be able to do that, lest she forfeits her loyal vote-bank of the minorities.

The state’s own interest is yet again the victim, in Bengal’s quest of realisation of nationalism and against. A month from now the state can brace for more confusion for the next three years.

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

The poll bugle 3!

Every time I decide not to write on politics and elections, I am being pushed by an urge to write what is in mind. The second phase will be on the 18th of April, soon after the celebrations of Hindu New year are over in many states. The choice for India seems the better of the two, which may not be the best, as in most cases around the world.

Seldom is seen statespersons, like Jacinda Ardern, who after a gruesome mosque shooting which left 50 praying people killed swung into action, consoling the kin of the dead and banning assault rifles from their nation expeditiously. I could add the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel to the list for her kind disposition towards the oppressed and the minorities and showing great statesmanship.

Our case seems different, plunged into depths unseen before with every leader swearing at each other and calling names, creating new lowly benchmarks every moment. The three pillars of our great democracy from an earlier legislature, executive and judiciary now seem to have transformed to religion, fake news and trolls, spreading its tentacles viciously threatening the fabric of our democracy.

I wonder if the leaders, for example, CM Mamata Didi and a re-elected PM Modi will ever be able to sit across to resolve issues if Rahul will yet again be able to hug and wink at Modi? They seem to have sealed such possibilities unless memories are short and skin thick! It looks a do-or-die for Rahul, who appears to bank on the ‘Chor’- thief, to describe Modi at every meeting, which he has been unable to prove until now.

Be that as it may, the scorching April sun seems to be a funny leveller to all leaders, and in particular cosmetic laden and Botox treated matinee idols. One escaped merely by stating that, despite tirelessly toiling at her parliamentary constituency for the past five years, she doesn’t recall any good deeds done, perhaps to save her defiant jaws failing to co-operate, because of repeated cosmetic procedures! Every leader seems to have shed a few kilos, tanned and turned humble, hiding away from the torment of the Sun.

Roberto seems to have the last laugh, clad in khadi and stealing the thunder. The days of his ‘frisk-free,’ entry into flights may not be far off! Don’t ask me if I am serious, the phrase has been copyrighted by Robert Vadra.

We, the people, may have no role to play, but to merely stamp on one or other, who will get fatten by the end of another five years. The juggernaut will move on. Before ending let me share a secret, the weather office forecasts that there are no more storms on Met radar in West Bengal (today’s TOI). My radar has a different forecast!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix

The poll bugle 2

The first phase of elections is over, and another six are to go. People slowly seem to be getting fatigued by the repeat plethora of promises and the accusations. Surely, never in independent India, the PM has engaged himself in this kind of micro-management of poll meetings, reportedly slated to address 500 poll-meetings in all.

Elections were a day’s affair, and the need to hold ‘free and fair’ elections have necessitated movement of central security forces across India in phases, revealing the hollowness in the rhetoric that we are the largest democracy. There have even been scuffles between central and the state police force in West Bengal, exposing the increasing breakdown of law and order.

The election commission is busy filing charges of poll conduct violation by many leaders from all the parties, a few breaching all civility in ascribing the army as Modi’s, and many invoking religion or gods, the most popular being drawn into reference is Ram as usual. The opposition has not tired itself by calling the PM a thief, on charges yet to be filed or charged over the procurement of defence aircraft. A letter purportedly written by former army bigwigs is promptly denied by the first signatory and many others! All in the game generals, it’s poll time and a different war-game!

Money confiscated over raids and intercepted in vehicles moving into poll-bound areas reveal the continuance of the influence of black money to induce voters. The enforcement directorate seems to be working overtime, selectively raiding the opposition-ruled states in full media glare. I wonder, why no tip-off comes over similar violations in the BJP ruled states. Nonetheless, the money, held under the cots of the politicians seem to be out in circulation, which may augur well for our GDP growth.

As the D-day comes closer, many governments are bending backwards to bestow the highest awards on our Prime Minister. My heart too swells with pride, but my curiosity leaves me wondering, why all the hurry? Do these countries also worry about a tough fight and a non-return of PM Modi?

A green laser pointed on the temple of Rahul Gandhi quickly erupted into charges of attempts of the leader’s life, but it seemed that it was merely from a lens man’s cameral Congress president reacted with alacrity, fielding Vadra today, who could now be addressing meetings on behalf of the party. I see him waving to crowds from the open truck, together with the Rahul and Priyanka, and am happy that the party’s future is more secure than ever in the hands of Gandhi’s.

I also wonder why none came up to slap Kejriwal, as usually is always done during his election rallies and why the failure of the air-conditioner in Mamata Didi’s room is not quickly exploited as an attempt on life by the Centre? Probably the wolf story has been overused and stale now. There are poll clashes, and I love my car, which has a stock of all the party flags hidden below the seat, for you know what, while I drive snooping around! Before I end, I must complement Didi’s Anubrata Mondal for bringing Bengal on the world map with an unsigned letter purportedly from California, US, hailing the virtues of ‘Nakuldana,’ sweet sugar balls! The Finance Minister of West Bengal is already counting the chickens and the growth of GDP from the sweetener industry!

Jai Hind.

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
in pic: Nakuldana

Between a devil and the deep sea!

Each party or the two major alliances to be precise, the NDA and UPA, are already claiming victories through media houses, which seem to be biased and more significant than ever seen. The newspaper like The Telegraph and the TV channel ABP Ananda, which were totally Mamata bashing during the previous assembly elections, have taken an abrupt U-turn and are bashing Modi and his party now. Both the extremes seem terribly distasteful and unpalatable from the point of a right to the neutrality of news for the ordinary citizens that include me.

Search for a scoop, and investigative journalism of a terrible disorder seem to be the order of the day, dishing out filth in the senseless high-pitched TV talk shows. As for the voters are concerned, we seem to be taking corruption and thievery by the political leaders as our least concern, compared to divisive manoeuvres by the ruling party. More than Rs.300 crores of currency have been seized by the enforcement officials, rubbishing the big claim of an end to all black money with the demonetization exercise.

I have several times written about poor job creation, which seems to haunt the government, though the opposition seems to find a leucoplast remedy with an Rs. 3.6 lakh crores per year anti-poverty dole. Has anyone or any single party talked about their plan to provide jobs? No, because new employment is going to be rare and rarer in times to come. Has anyone talked about the need to tame the population growth? None, because they want a dumb electorate to run after freebies and keep voting for them.

Has anyone talked about the environment? None, because trees cannot walk to the polling booths and cast their vote! Has any party talked about protection of wildlife? None, because culling countless Nilgais, or blocking elephant corridors cannot be stopped for the sake of appeasement of a few. Has anyone talked about inequality in income and living standards? None, because most leaders live a life steeped in unconscionable luxury like Maharajas.

By admitting shady characters into their fold, BJP has blown away their ‘clean image’ and have proved that they are yet another party in the fray to win at all costs. It is a sad state of affairs for an average Indian, who is swayed by his love for the country, fear of God and worries about basic sustenance.

This election is not historical or epoch-making. It will not change India from the ills of divisionism and political hatred, from the untouchability and the increasing pressure on the poor, middle class, the farmers and the economically weak. Right now, we are given a choice of the dynasty with questionable credentials on the one hand and an intolerant clique on the other, like a devil or the deep sea.

Only when things get even worse, will rise a saviour to set things right. It’s illusory hope at the end of the tunnel, which eggs us to inch our way forward.

Jai Hind!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix