Reflections on the Delhi election 2015

‪#‎DelhiVotes‬

1. Interesting to see Anna Hazare warming up to Arvind Kejriwal!
Power changes status I guess. I would respect Kiran Bedi more than Anna Hazare.

2. While Aam Aadmi Party is rejoicing today, they should remember power and trust are double edged swords and comes with great responsibilities. If you don't keep promises, the Aam Admi is watching.

3. The center - state relations would be interesting to watch.

4. The winner is clearly the one with the better marketing strategy!

Congrats Arvind and team. Sleep well tonight for tomorrow you got to get out and deliver.

Consumer Psyche

5 tips for Rahul to stop his image degradation

While India celebrates the rise of Narendra Modi, it is time for the losing team to come up and make an appearance. Instead of shielding Rahul, Congress should put him up on pedestal and let him handle the loss. A good leader is one who stands up and own the defeat. Here are some 5 tips for image saving for Rahul Gandhi.

5 tips for Rahul Gandhi to stop his image degradation.

1. Stand up and own the defeat
2. Offer to resign from vice president's role in Congress
3. Accept people's verdict and say you will continue to work
4. Address the nation - Make a good speech.. don't be ambiguous...
5. Move beyond your existing advisors and see what people actually want

Do them today, do them now and do it well. Kanna don't keep calm!

Image is from Indian Express.

Dr. Manmohan Singh & Rahul Gandhi

Well its clear that Congress is sweeping the election. Its Dr. Manmohan Singh's wave this time. And partly a result for what he has done. On a longer turn Rahul Gandhi's path is clearly etched. I think he would replace Dr. Singh in a few years. The credit goes to Dr. Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders. A reaping time for a well planned and chartered path. Lets wait till the official results are out. But keep watching Rahul.

Few things that will happen:

• Stock market will rise(400-900 points) on Monday
  
• Better FDIs, jobs, etc.
• Stable government, confident policies
• Women's Reservation Bill will be passed (hope so)

Who's the CM of AP?

Sridhar's cartoon on Eenadu has the right depiction. All the three main contenders to the post of CM of Andhra Pradesh are waiting for the results in a few hours. Dr. Rajasekhar Reddy of Congress is hoping to be voted back to power based on the good work he has done n the last tenure. His record and policies have touched the people. The greatest success should be the Arogyasree program which ensured thousands of people availing free treatment. Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam Party, once called the CEO of AP, is playing the money exchange scheme and free color TV card and is hoping a chance at holding reins of the now economically sound state. Sentiments among most people is that he will do a good job in current recessional times as he has a proven record of creating jobs and giving the IT coating to Hyderabad and AP. Chiranjeevi or Megastar, as he is known, of Praja Rajyam is playing on samajikanyayam card by which he wants to establish a common good in the state with equal opportunities to all segments. His appeal is to give him one chance to replicate what he does best on the screen. Bash up bad people and help the poor.

I spoke to few people as to whom they voted for and got diverse reviews and opinions. The sentiment is not that anti incumbent but the figures are expected to point towards a hung verdict. So whoever succeeds in making an alliance would be the CM. This shows the divide of mandate and opinion. Consumer choice of the public servant (s)he would like to choose is divided. Lets see how the new comer Chiru would fare.

Change for good

Meera Sanyal (banker), Capt Gopinath and Sarath are to be watched keenly in this election. If young, vibrant and democratic India realises the genuine need for self-less leaders to be chosen, they all should win. But, for the past two decades or more, we have been suffering with dirty coalition politics resulting in uncertainty and inconsistency; which is hampering parliamentary governance being commercialised.

In the big fight between three or four major political fronts, some times ideologies are also changing fast. Leftists support a govt for four and half years and leave only to be substituted by Samajwadi duo of Mulayam and Amar Singh; which again is short lived. Lalu, Paswan, Ambumani, Sharad Pawar, et al are all sitting on the fence. Reforms, Recession, Development, Globalisation, GDP, Income, Employment, Exports, Exchange rates, Stock Market fluctuations, etc are neglected in vote bank politics focusing corruption, caste, regionalism, nepotism, factionalism, power, money and what not?

The typical middle class (educated/employed) would helplessly watch elections after elections; let us hope Sarath, Meera and Gopinath would change the direction in this election and show to the world what Indian Democracy is all about!

Courtesy: Progressive Banker

Please Pappu... Vote na?

Well are you voting this time? I was watching the news the other day and found out you no longer need to have a voter ID to vote. There are more than 200 different id proofs that can be used to vote. With India going young the vote of the youth gains more importance than ever. Its for us to choose what kind of government we want. Do it now rather than repenting later. The power to Vote defines democracy and is what makes you and me the rulers of this Nation. So will you be a Pappu and stay home or will you vote?

Voting n tribals

PV Krishna Rao in Indian Express: Tribal’s are perceived to be ‘uncivilized.’ Many ‘educated’ look down upon them with utter disdain, citing their ‘unhygienic’ life in ‘inhospitable’ jungles. If you are one of the so-called ‘educated’ class, think again. For one thing, you are too lazy to enroll yourselves in the electoral rolls. Even if you do have the voter card, you are too lazy to take the trouble to vote, preferring to stay at home (election day is a holiday) and shaking your head at the state-of-affairs.

Listen to Kattula Ramireddy, a resident of Chilakamamidi village in Rampachodavaram Agency area, who is here for the weekly shandy to buy provisions: “We have to walk three km to reach the polling station at Butchiguda. But we don’t mind at all. Why should we miss the opportunity of voting?” He fails to understand why you do not vote! “All the voters in our village set out early in the day and reach the polling station.

We go as a group and cast our votes,” he says. Now, don’t be a cynic and say, they are “following their local neta.” Read on. Reading is a good habit. Have you ever thought, leave alone feel, that you are honored to vote? “We feel a sense of loss if our names are missing in the rolls. We take pride in voting. Many of us believe we are dead if we do not find our names in the electoral rolls,” explains Ramireddy. It’s that important to them.

Another tribal Kattula Suggureddy of Nuripudi village chips in: “The nearest polling station to our village is in Sunnampadu, six km away.” He doesn’t mind walking that extra mile. “That is what we do everyday anyway,” he laughs. Most of the tribal’s have the same problem as the authorities find it difficult to take polling stations closer to their habitations because of logistical problems. How about the aged? The youth take the responsibility of carrying the aged on their shoulders.

It takes time for them to cover the distance. “We carry gruel in cans and stop for a while for lunch somewhere in the jungles,” says Bhumireddy of Gurumamidi village in Y Ramavaram mandal. Aren’t they afraid of the Maoists? You and I stay put at the slightest hint of a protest somewhere on the route. Bhumireddy says, “they give their own explanation for poll boycott. But we believe that since we are living in this country, it is our responsibility to vote.” Do you?

Swing vote

Have you ever seen an election being stalled and decided by one vote? Well wouldn't it be good if your vote counted and you have a choice to make? Well Swing Vote is all about that. Apart from the cinematographic thrills and comedy it talks about many things more. Here they are:

• Responsibility, democracy and the importance of voting
• How in the run and mill of life and winning, we lose focus and miss out on life, choose illogical things, forget what we wanted to be and stand for
• How important is a voice, a guiding voice, to bring us back to reality, to stand for something

There are simple ways to stay happy, even when you don't achieve what you set out for.