Adieu To Fiats of High Commands

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Adieu-to-fiats-of-high-commands/articleshow/12200063.cms

"The fiats of the 'high command', ideological posturing, coterie deliberations and too-clever-by-half electoral calculations - all of them manifestation of the 'commanding heights' approach to politics - are well and truly a thing of the past."

-The Times of India, March 10, 2012

How The Lotus Can Bloom

BJP 2.0 must be a vehicle for the politics of aspiration and economic change

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/How-the-lotus-can-bloom/articleshow/12178289.cms

A debate has ensued in the BJP between two ideational models, says the writer. What are these models and how do those models fair in view of the recent outcomes in assembly elections?

A discussion on possible changes, and the results of past and current strategies of the BJP are expressed.

-The Times  of India, March 8, 2012

Wilting saffron, flailing government

"In its only southern stronghold, the BJP is adrift and discredited."

With one year left for the next assembly elections, the BJP in Karnataka is adrift and discredited, its track record tainted with corruption scams, its support base dissipating, and its ideological agenda unravelling. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Wilting saffron, flailing government: How did this happen to a "party with a difference," one that promised to make Karnataka the springboard of the BJPs expansion in the south by providing model, corruption-free governance?

Beholden to powerful factions within the party, notably the mining lobby and the land mafia, the party has never been able to seriously address its pre-poll promises to the people. To make matters worse for the scandal-ridden government, it was losing its moorings in Hindutva, further alienating it from its core support base.

Stranded between an unfulfilled mission of governance, a floundering ideological project, and the demands of its faction-ridden support base, the BJP’s Karnataka paradigm is steadily coming apart.

BJP badly hit

"Karnataka was supposed to be a stepping stone for the Bharatiya Janata Party's successful political foray in the south. But it is turning out to be a millstone around the party's neck."

Porngate, sex scandals, corruption charges, moral policing, political instability and a lot more factors have permanently damaged the image of BJP and have far-reaching repercussions, explains Amulya Ganguly

Sex, lies and videotape hit BJP

Ugly Antics

Karnataka's Porngate exposes political hypocrisy

Ugly Antics

The BJP and its hardcore Hindutva ally, Sri Ram Sene, have repeatedly exercised moral-policing over men and women who, in the cosmopolitan environs of Bangalore, have embraced the modern culture. But the recent event must surely highlight the hypocrisy of politicians who assume "the right to paint medieval morality onto normal social behaviour while failing to control their own proclivities."

-The Times of India, February 9, 2012 

Dirty picture

Legislative proceedings are usually far from stimulating, so three Karnataka BJP ministers who were forced to resign chose a most unusual way to escape what they regarded as an arid discussion on the drought situation in the State by watching, ahem, a film clip, on one of their cell phones.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Dirty picture: "But rather than reacting to what they did with blustering moral outrage, the incident should be used as an opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of the BJP and its aggressive fellow travellers in the Sangh Parivar, who, through their moral policing and self-styled vigilantism, regard themselves as the custodians of Indian morality."

UP's voter

Seema Mustafa analyses the entire political scenario on ground-based politics and explains the strengths and weaknesses of each and every party whch is trying to gain any stake in the state elections 2012...

UP's voter is savouring her moment in the sum

Playing the communal card

"A stint in power and more than a decade of coalitional leadership have not changed the BJP, whose single preoccupation is Hindu sectarian politics. "

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Playing the communal card: Matters have been made worse by the Congress' emulation of the BJP's communal politics — in reverse. "

As long as the BJP and the Congress feed off each other, India cannot hope to shed its debilitating communal baggage.

Yashwant Sinha says BJP is "70% pure", but still a party with a difference

Times View - Talk professionalism, not purity


Counterview - Power-seekers must be pragmatic


-The Times of India, January 17, 2012

UP's New Star Caste

The state's political paradigm shifts with Congress and BJP wooing the smaller castes


UP's New Star Caste

-The Times of India, January 16, 2012

The BJP's own goal

"... the setback of an own goal at this stage of the game is not so easily overcome. Indeed, the Kushwaha fiasco came at a time when the BJP had just about recovered from l'affaire Yeddyurappa and had gained a measure of credibility with its Lokpal campaign. "

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The BJP's own goal

"The Kushwaha episode raises fundamental questions about the BJP and its leadership. What is the party's strategy for the next general election? The BJP was banking on a reasonable showing in U.P. to gain momentum ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The party will have only itself to blame if that dream goes up in smoke."

For level electoral field, Election Commission orders draping of Mayawati's statues

Times View - Consistent - and correct


Counterview - A meaningless decision


-The Times of India, January 10, 2012

Power, Not Principles

Anti-Congressism is the common plank of those motivated by short-term political gain

Power, not principles

-The Times of India, January 10, 2012

Personal Review: An article that traces the history of "anti-congressism" - in the form of political parties, and some other "groups" that have continually rose only to oppose Congress, and not to "get on with their work."

Out Of Sync

BJP's Hindutva overdrive in Madhya Pradesh


Out Of Sync

-The Times of India, January 9, 2012

With Frenemies Like These...

Political bonhomie is a many-squandered thing


With Frenemies Like These...

-The Times of India, January 7, 2012