Saturday, May 23, 2009

Singh is King!

Yes people Singh is King.
Lots has happened in the political landscape these past few days. I know I'm a little late in acknowledging Mr Manmohan Singh's victory in the general elections. I needed time to collect my thoughts. I wanted to get a feel of what I and others around me were thinking about this landmark victory for Mr Singh and the "Grand Old Party" of India.
Generally everyone is very pleased that Mr Singh is coming back to the PM's post. He has the goodwill of the people. He might lack oratorical skill and personal charm, but he more than makes up for it with his honesty, efficiency and vision. I might disagree with him on certain policies but I have no doubt that he will continue to do a good job running this great nation of ours.
Most political pundits are surprised by the performance of the Congress party in these elections. The Congress has delivered it's best performance in the Parliament in over two decades and that too under an incumbent Prime Minister. The election results have been nothing short of brilliant for the Congress.
Most notable was the Congress' performance in UP and West Bengal. In West Bengal the Trinamool-Congress combine managed to break the hegemony of the CPI-M and Left parties. In UP the Congress managed to break away from the politics of hate, caste and religion and offered a viable, more stable alternative.
Many people are seeing these results, especially the performance in UP, as proof of Rahul Gandhi's 'coming of age' as a politician. The youth are very enthu about someone like Rahul becoming PM in the near future. The media has almost made it their mission to deliver him the PM"s post.
I don't share in these views. To me he is no match to someone like Mr Singh (who not only has the qualifications but has also delivered in the past). I admit here that I have a grudge against the dynastic tendencies of our politics. I admire the way the Family, especially Mrs Sonia Gandhi, have handled themselves in the public eye. One of the most brilliant political moves in India's political history will be that of Mrs Gandhi's decision to make Mr Singh PM. But that still is no reason to make Rahul next in line. To me he is yet to prove his credentials as a mass leader. He has made many strategic errors in the past. He has also belittled an ex-PM from the Congress party(Mr Narasimha Rao who was arguably one of the best PM's we've ever had). So though this might be an important victory for the Family there is still a long way to go for Rahul to prove(to me at least!) that he is PM material.
Mr Singh now has the strength and the mandate to do all he can for the good of this country. I hope to see more in the way of Economic reforms and also some packages for the economy which at the moment is struggling with the recessionary after-effects from around the world. He must do more on the Home security front. I hope he retains Mr Chidambaram for the Home Minister's post. Infrastructure will receive a massive boost. So will education. Mr Singh must not ignore Health, the Environment and reforming of the Judiciary to make sure that there is speedy dispensation of Justice.
I wish him well for his second term.

2 comments:

BrownPhantom said...

Rightly said..Rahul still has a long way to go ..And what's ur take on today's final ?
I am supporting BLR :).

Ajai said...

@Brown Phantom
ya i was supporting RCB too. But even god(read mr mallya) loses some days. ;)