I am a member of LokSatta; admirer of AAP's idealism and drive; would like to see NaMo as the next PM; but, as a Bangalore South constituent, will be voting for Nandan Nilekani.
I would like to set the agenda for Nandan Nilekani as below:
1) Become the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament for now (2014 - 19), and set up an effective shadow cabinet.
2) During the period, help re-invent the Congress, distancing the party from the "family", perhaps with the help of RaGa.
3) Help re-invent the party in the state too, and give it proper direction.
4) At the end of the 5 year term, become strong enough to be in contention for PM-ship.
Though a member of LokSatta, I am today largely confining myself to Civil Society (Praja-RAAG) activism, from which perspective, I'll be observing Nandan's performance, quite as critically as I am and will be doing of others too.
Muralidhar Rao
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Good thought but not practical
Has "The Family" ever given a chance to any free thinking individual to lead? Look at what they did with Manmohan Singh. I (and I guess many others) used to admire Manmohan Singh and a move make him the PM made a core BJP supporter like me happy. But It was fooled. Infact the nation was fooled. Look at what treatment PV Narasimha Rao got. All because he tried to work with interest of nation and not just the interest of "The Family". People say Manmohan wasnt motivational. How can he be when he ends up doing what he doesnt want to?
I am also an alumini of the same school as Nandan Nilekani. But does that matter?
Also think of today not of 5 years later. We really dont know what can happen in the next 5 months forget the next 5 years. Infact when we are voting for the MP; we should think that we are voting for a PM. Otherwise we can end up with a unstable government which cannot take any decision. So I would probably give weightage to 3 factors before deciding on my vote. 60% weight for the leader (i.e CM/ PM) 20% for the ideology and 10% for local issues and 10% for the candidate. So for me atleast choice of CM/PM triumphs over local issues/candidate.
Yes I am for a more presidential kind of voting system, where we elect our leader directly, instead of choosing 542 other selfish buffoons.
In 2004, who chose Dr Manmohan Singh as PM, it was not the people, not the mps. but one lady.
Fortunately it was Dr Manmohan Singh and not Shinde, Ashok Chavan or even Ajit Jogi.
No offense meant to anyone.
No offense meant to anyone. But I seriously think the candidates who come out of companies and participate in elections are part of "advanced management" of the companies. Having seen how difficult its to get the "required" permissions,licences and land, companies have deviced this new methodology where they simply have their own "hands". Probably instead of bribing politicians they can get the work done by "compensating" these "own" politican. As per my thinking, this would save companies 1000s of crores. Its win-win situation. While company saves a lot of bribing and these "hands" will get many times money than regular compensation as executives. Additionally, no one would stop them from "advising" management from outside company for which they may get additional "tips" for their "expertise" in governement matters:)
Dear politicians, if you are going beneath chaape(floor-mat) our brilliant company managements can go beneath rangoli :) which is far exceeding of your golden talents :-D
PS: I am not naming any candidates here, so legally not bound to be suied for maana nastha( defamation suit)... :) But already many people have lost maana in my view. I will not vote them at least for this election. But if they contest next election, logics are different. In my view they have to take a break from company or any other current job(like chairmenship) for at least 3 years then do so visible work then go jump into akhaada !
elaborations along my line of thought
The Congress may lose this election but it is not going to be wiped out for ever. When it comes back, I would like to see it evolve around a core of deserving people and having Nandan Nilekani there would increase my confidence.
For the article by Aditya Jha (who was ealier a supporter of the AAP) in The Outlook, click here.
More elaborations along my line of thinking.
And, on my preference for Modi as PM
The irony is that parties with socialist pretence —the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati, et al, like the Congress party of the Gandhis they are modelled on, are family enterprises dressed up as political organisations, and even more compromised in terms of corruption and being in hock to corporate interests than the cadre-based BJP. Think Subrata Roy’s Sahara and Mulayam springs to mind, Jaypee cannot be dissociated from Mayawati, ponder the biggest scams in the history of the republic and the Gandhis emerge front and centre. Yet, Modi, a clean and strong leader and able administrator to boot, can more easily be painted as threat to the commonweal!
For the full text of the column by Bharat Karnad, professor at the Centre for Policy Research, in the New Indian Express, click here.
A highly readable article. And, like a good friend had stated "I have far too much regard for civil society of india, as of now, to keep these kind of things (meaning hardline Hindutva) in check".
aadhar and batf,,and jha's artcle
I have severe problems when aadhar and Batf are just dropped in to a paragragh of acheivements, especially on capabilty in public governance.
These are 2 very very controversial things , both being done in disregard to our democratic institutions. So the evaluation of this candidate also needs to discuss a style of wroking more attuned to the boardrooms( please show me a democratic company)than governance in the public space.
If anything Batf,put back third tier governance and the 74th anmendment by a decade at least.
and there's enuf on aadhar in current press.
The man is good sort , sure .But...
vmenon
AADHAR Scam and Oligarchies - No thanks
Maybe this is the time to forgive and forget and then suffer the consequences:
This article by Dasarathi will set you straight The oligarchic republic of Bangalore?
A few excerpts from the article
As many as 33,000 people travel through the airport every day, while 10 lakh people travel through the Majestic area, using buses or trains. The investment on the airport is 100 times the money spent on Majestic.
"...Bolly sees in his dream is this: 10-lane freeways that have cars travelling at 100 kmph, without any slow moving traffic like bicycles, autos or buses. No pedestrian crossings, no footpaths. The airport and the Bollys' offices and factories are the centres of activity, and these are linked by the freeways. The Bollys live in exclusive gated communities close to their workplaces. The rest of Bangalore is just incidental, existing just to support all this."
And achievements - a nation of clerks for serving their overlords in the Developed World.When the Aadhar scam is unearthed, Mr. Nilekani will be seen for what he is - a glib snake oil salesman.
No thanks Mr. Nilekani, stick to being a CEO, thats what you were trained for.
Reservation in private sector
Where does he stand on reservation in the private sector? His party wants it. Can he start from Infosys? Hope NRN does not mind his good friend's intentions.
disaster at BPAC debate
Hooliganism as we often see in the disruption of parliment, forced BPAC to cut short their debate session with Ananth K , Nandan N ,Nina nayak , Ruth M.
Have to report sadly that it was more of a congress hooliganism today ,and NN displayed that he can't control his minions.And thats not a clean chit on the BJP.
AAP held a silent protest outside the hall , when the big ones were fighting it out , symbolising the stfiling of the voice of the common man and sane debates.
was in second row , ring side seat ,
And Bpac fairly naive to think that debates will not have a electioneering flavour , which is what NN is accusing AK of in his Blog.
the precipiece is steep in politics
vmenon
Wanted to "enjoy" the debate
Wanted to "enjoy" the debate off late. Any youtube links @vmenon?
B-PAC needs to see the reality
I watched the debate live for some time. Got disgusted when the disruption started. Had to switch the channel. Are these "party workers"? Just curious. How much were they paid?
BPAC needs to see the reality. I have been watching presidential debates in US snce1988. Let's not ape everything what west does. Somethings dont apply to our country. Hope BPAC learnt a lesson here.
Bpac
Definitely party workers, no doubt.also overheard in the melee some phone calls being made
for others to bring eggs , tomatoes etc!!
there should be something of this in u tube , but did see tv 9 realying parts iof it.their web page should have some clips.
vmenon
2) During the period, help
@murali772 Don't you think point number 2 is a bit of an oxymoron? Congress does need to re-invent itself. But how will it manage to distance itself from the "family" with the help of RaGa?
@tulasidhar I think this is where parties take you for a ride. Have you asked yourself, what is stopping these parties from putting up clean candidates? In 2019 they will come back to you again with another face asking you to vote for a criminal to see the "good" face in power. Imagine our plight. We saw how BJP performed in our state -- corruption/horsetrading/porn-watching. Yet we are forced to vote for the same people to see some face as PM? When will this viscious circle end? How will it end?
We as citizens have to send a message to parties that unless the put across clean candidates they aren't going to stand a chance. Delhites sent this message. That is why BJP was forced to change its chief ministerial candidate at the last moment (Vijay Goel -> Harsh Vardhan). We need to see this trend happenning in Karnataka as well.
I'm not rooting for any party. I just don't want to see crooks in our Parliament, who would rather indulge in horse-trading than ethical policy making.
Yatha Praja Tatha Raja..
The events that happened at BPAC is clearly indicator of class of citizens we have. So dont expect any improvement at least in our lifetime ! When Prajas grow up, politicians too grow up automatically, afterall they are also same "class" of citizens too. I pity NN when I saw him beggin people. Hmmm.. BPAC also needs to grow up a lot !
Even National Anthem was sung at stage with such "high class" citizens had poor pronounciation ! Sad..sad...Its a Praja(I dont mean this website) tragedy !!!
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first
BJP Manifesto - No different except NO FDI in retail!
"...Emphasizing its stand on a key economic policy, the BJP says it will welcome Foreign Direct Investment in all sectors that will create jobs, except in multi-brand retail..."
http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/bjp-manifesto-says-no-to-fdi-in-multi-brand-retail-top-10-points-505271?pfrom=home-lateststories
Weighing the risks
There is a clear risk in voting for Modi — he is polariz ing, sectarian and authoritarian. There is a great er risk, however, in not voting for him. It is to not create jobs for 8-10 million youth that enter the market each year. One per cent rise in GDP rough ly adds 15 lakh direct jobs; each job creates three indirect jobs, and each job supports five people This means three crore people are impacted by one per cent growth. Restoring growth to 8% is prize worth thinking about when casting one’ vote. There will always be a trade-off in values at the ballot box and those who place secularism above demographic dividend are wrong and elitist.
For the full text of the column by Gurcharan Das, in the ToI, click here.
Yes, there's the risk. The question is which is riskier.
My Aadhar card form got
My Aadhar card form got rejected. So I started negative research. Here are some links:
1) Why Adhar is is dangerous?
2) Shaky Aadhar
3) Not so private?
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first
Vote shrewdly to displace Ananth Kumar
I dont like Nandan nilkani, but liking is different from prefering, I would prefer to vote for him just to kick out Ananth Kumar.
And can the elections be postponed for a while? After all havent the politicians delayed everything for us? Maybe, we should ask for bribes for the election to proceed :-) The bribe would be: Work for a year and implement some of your promises!
Brief Wikipedia snap-shots of Bangalore South candidates
First we have the Congress candidate Nandan Nilekani
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandan_Nilekani
Then we have the BJP candidate and sitting MP Ananth Kumar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananth_Kumar
We have the JD-S candidate Ruth Manorama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Manorama
And the AAP party candidate Nina Nayak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Nayak
It would be instructive to read carefully through the bio datas of each of these candidates.
On Ananth Kumar, there is besides this article in today's Deccan Herald, based on excerpts from the book by the now retired former coal Secretary, Mr Parakh, which doesn't do much good to his image.
Well, the d-day is almost there. Now, it's your choice. Whatever, do make it a point to vote.
NaMo in Aap ki Adalat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RRIQvViQw0&feature=youtu.be
- perhaps his first ever TV interview
And, here's a forceful write up in support of Modi by Amrit Hallan - makes for interesting reading, alright, even if lengthy.
Modi - creation of spin doctors
bas karo..ab vote karo!
No more campaigning and discussions.. :P
door to door campaigning is allowed?
I believe its allowed. Saw it on the tv last evening. Easy to distribute notes. Just curious. What's the ongoing rate? B-PAC should know since they are aware of everything while endorsing all the 12 candidates from Blore.
poor turnout in the city
Looks like its about 53% average. The so called tech hub with lakhs of techies who were supposed to vote. It was reported that the homestays in Coorg and other places are brimming with people. No guesses from where they came from. The long weekend and the reluctance to vote could be the factors? Those who did not vote, need to stop complaining about the city.
Let's see what BPAC will say.
Detailed anaylsis needs
MLA constituency wise, Ward wise analysis needs to be done to understand where are the people not coming to vote.
Best thing is ask Big companies security in all companies to check employees ink mark while reporting back to office. Then they should report how many of their employees voted.
But some of the information collection may be sensitive, but companies can do this by asking their security to check the employees finger for mark and do the counting for non ink finger employees. This way people will vote, as employee will feel unfomfortable while showing that they did't vote.
If employees are working onsite at customer location, they generally miss the voting. Same for the below people too :
KSRTC bus drivers, coundctors, BMTC drivers, Railway Loco pilots, TT's in Railways, Supporting staf in some of the long distance trains like Rajdhani, Samparka Kranthi, Durranto, Exprees trains, Railway Gangmans will not be able to vote as they are doing their duty of keeping nation on move.
As ballot paper voting exists only for people on election duty. Their needs different thought / solution to enable these people to participate in the voting.
No Absentee voting = voter suppression
Another amazing fact. In the pseudo democracy called India there is no provision for absentee voting. How convenient! This along with incorrect and absent voter data, bogus voters, ballot box stuffing, paid news/votes, ...
and we have a winner! corrupt politicians.
Lokasabha Elections 2009 % analysis for Bangalore
Best ( above 50% ) and worst bottom %
Bangalore North :
Mahalakshmi Layout 54%
Pulakeshinagar 41%
Yesvanthpur 40%
Bangalore Central :
Shivajiagar 51%
Shantinagar 52%
Gandhinagar 54%
Rajajinagar 51%
Chamrajpet 52%
Mahadevapura 55%
Sarvagnaagar 45%
Bangalore South :
Jayanagar 53%
Vjayanagar 40%
Bottom % Assembly segments are not having much IT populations. Its equally IT and Non IT people responisble for this low voter turnout.
Weird statistics for Bangalore South
Would appreciate if someone else could cross-check this. I was going through 2009 vs 2014 electoral roll statistics for Bangalore South, this is what I observed:
In 2009 the size of electorate (registered voters) for Bangalore South was 20,31,030
In 2014 this has reduced to 19,98,508!
Mind you, I'm not talking about turnout here, but the number of registered voters. I was expecting to see an increase given new voters in the period of 5 years.
Data source:
2009 : http://ceokarnataka.kar.n...
2014: http://ceokarnataka.kar.n...
Good observation on Bangalore South LS seat
Above is may analysis of last 3 elections for Bangalore South LS segment
You can check the Assy 2013 statistics here
http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/AE2013/StatReports2013.pdf
first time voters
No need for techies to become defensive. Truth is there to see.Thousands of them flocked to the vacation spots due to long weekend. No one can stop them.
There are thousands of new voters of 18+ age. That's the reason the percentage crossed 50. They voted for the first time, may be for the curiosity. Hope they know whom they voted for and why. It's just a fad that may fade away. You can see the ivote selfies. Come next elections, say BBMP, how many of the same will vote again? Let's wait and see.
Voting should be mandatory
Well, we now very well, We Get What We Deserve (eventually thats my ID too - wgwwd). So be it IT folks or whoever non-voter will get what they deserve.Having said that, there is another minute category who wanted to vote, but could not vote due to their national duties, essential duties, or registration rejected/delayed. We should exclude them from our blames.
Now, having seen the situation repeating election after election, simply all fundamental processes of govt services should be linked to voting. For example, to open up a bankaccount for an Indian adult, passport creation, employeement offer, renting out home(both owner/tenant), every body has to attach voting acknolwedgement (which EC is proposing), ...property registration or any other suchbasic transactions ..
Though this looks ugly/non-sense solutiion, may a be simple and concrete step.
PS: Who will the ring the bell of cat? Need to mention here : LOL (Laughing Out Loudly)
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first
Singapore model
If anyone has access to today's Deccan Chronicle, there is an article in page 5 reg techies giving a miss for the election.
Singapore has compulsary voting requirements from eligible voters. May be India can take a look at it. The population is much less there as compared to India. May be its easy to enforce in that country than here.
LK Advani has same thought...
Interesting today's news items(1, 2, 3) show LK Advani's statements reflecting the same idea! So, not bad, we are in line :) Wish more political will in this regard, pours in and something materialises soon.
But barring voters is *NOT* solution, rather bringing indirect measures as suggested in my last post is the approach towards solution..
Suggestion to Admins: Can we split few last comments to make a new thread as we are deviating much, but a new subject of importance as raised now. Thanks in advance !
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first