General Elections 2009: A Win Win Situation

Saturday's results as I would put it is a WIN-WIN situation for Indian democracy. The so-called 'weak' PM of India Manmohan Singh, was smiling and greeting people at 7, Race Course Road, while the self acclaimed strong PM candidate L.K. Advani was hiding and considering retirement. Indian voters displayed remarkable maturity and smartness in keeping both the Left and Right at bay and handing UPA (Congress) a resounding electoral win. As expected, all the election pundits and psephologists failed to read and understand the mind of voters and were way off the mark. Shobha De rightly states in her column -- "Gyaan givers should now go into hiding and hang up their brains."

The resurgence of UPA/Congress back into the power without the support of the left will expedite various economic reforms & policies such as opening up insurance sector for foreign investment and establishing Pension Regulatory and Development Authority to name a few. Authority. The importance and euphoria of having a stable UPA government w/o the support of opportunists Left can be fathomed from the fact that the stock trading was halted at upper circuit one minute after it began on Monday (a first timer in the history of Indian stock markets). Congress's victory proved that their two-pronged strategy of bringing in modern economic reforms and programmes such as nuclear deal, National Rural Employment Act worked well in their favor with both the urbal and rural class voting for them.

Congress turned to be the biggest winner, while BJP the biggest loser in these elections. BJP needs to understand that the pragmatic Indian Junta can't be won anymore by making hate speeches and hollow hindutva ideology. I can't agree more with MJ Akbar that "India is not a secular country just because Indian Muslims want it be secular, but because Indian Hindus want it to be secular." India needs leaders who can prevent Talibanisation of our culture and not create a Taliban.

Kudos to Indian voters for clipping the wings of leaders like Karat, Laloo, Mayawati, Mulayam, Jayalalitha, and Advani and showing that they care for good governance and not religion and caste based politics. By backing the good governance in states of Bihar, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu, Indian voters have shown that they have a come a long way and will only vote for people/party committed to India's development.

India has reinstated its faith in Manmohan Singh and with a few opportunist coalition partners around, economic reforms agenda should be pushed with a big thrust and India should be firmly placed on the path of economic prosperity and growth in the years to come. That said, it's now in the hands of the government to consolidate voter's faith that a stable government (with few partners) is indeed a strong government.

-Kartavya Jain

15th Lok Sabha Elections : Final Countdown Begins

With the month-long Indian General Elections ending on Wednesday and the results of the 543 seats anticipated to be declared on16th May, every Indian is talking and curious about who (and with whom) will form the government. Indian newschannels as usual in order to cash-on this opportunity have come up with the exit-polls. Here's a breif analysis of which party stands where based on these exit polls --

Almost every news channel has predicted the formation of coaltion government at the centre with the Congress led UPA having a slender lead over the BJP led NDA. UPA is speculated to bag 190-200 seats, while NDA will have 180-185 seats in its kitty. The most important point to note is that the projections of fourth front (SP, RJD and LJP) are not included in the total tally of the UPA seats, which upon inclusion can reach upto 225-230 mark. The exit polls in India, however, have a mixed history. The exit polls in 2004 elections predicted a comprehensive NDA victory over Congress, but they were far from being accurate. Infact, I don't even remember when was the last time when the exit polls came close to the actual results and with 714 million registered voters, its logistically impossible for anyone. It feels as if exit polls are one of the many frivolous tamashas, which all these 24x7 news channels do in order to entice the Indian public towards their TV sets.

As per my perception, the key deciders in these elections are going to be Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh and the party or alliance garnering most number of seats in these states will have a major role to play in the government formation. Watch out for the big honchos of Congress & BJP trying to woo Madam Jayalalitha, Mayawati, and Nitish Kumar. Mamta Banerjee of TMC a.k.a Singur spearhead, is predicted to gravely dent the red bastion in West Bengal, leaving Karat & Co. to either sit in opposition or join hands with Congress reluctantly. Putting all the numbers in place, the formation of yet another hung parliament seems imminent and what is depressing is that the government will not be decided by elections but by back room deals & lucrative ministerial post offers. Given the nature of the nationalistic but regional parties, India may have another short-lived and unstable government and we can see another round of elections within a year or so.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that exit polls (as always) turn wrong and we can have a single party with a minimum outside support, in power. A government formed without any horse trading will be a win of the Indian voters in true sense.

-Kartavya Jain

Should India Make Voting Compulsory ?

At the end of the III phase of 2009 Lok Sabha elections, India stands with a 60% voter turnout. Sounds satisfactory if not overwhelming, but what worries me the most is that our polling percentage has just increased by a lowly 3.3% (the total polling percentage in 1999 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections was 59.99 percent and 58.07 percent respectively) as compared to what it was in the 2004 elections. The picture becomes even gloomier when we break the numbers and figure out that it's mostly the urban and educated mass who don't excerise their right to franchise.

Several pleas have been made and lawsuits filed to make voting compulsory in India, however to no avail. Recently, L.K. Advani and Narendra Modi sparked off the debate by asking EC to make voting mandatory for every Indian. Advani et al. pointed that the reason for low voter turnout in 2009, is partly due to the 2009 elections being held in the summer (when most of the India is sweltering from scorching heat wave) and because voters are fed up of seeing one or other election every second year. He went on suggest that inorder to increase the voter participation, the Indian constitution should be amended to fix the terms of Lok Sabha and assembly elections so that even if a government loses majority, it is allowed to complete its term. Why Mr. Advani pointed it out after the III phase of elections is another very interesting topic of discussion (BJP depends a lot on voting by the urban middle class population to come back in power) ?

Focusing back on the main topic - While I am inclined to agree with L.K. Advani that the elections should be held in the month of February. But, his second idea to increase the voter participation is erroneous and unthoughtful, because having a fixed term means 'zero accountability.' Stability is important, but not at the cost of accountability, and the latter is of supreme importance to the well-functioning of this country. Rather, one obvious reason for lack of voter enthusiasm or interest, which all the political advocates of compulsory voting fail to mention is, the absence of taintless and trustworthy candidates. Majority of the candidates contesting the elections are involved or convicted in some sort of crimes or scandals. More than 200 candidates who ran for the parliament in the 1st phase of 2009 elections have a criminal record. How do we expect the voters to vote for the candidates who they know are not going to work for their welfare and development? How does political parties expect us to vote for goons, criminals, and fanatics?

On the other hand, since India is a democracy it is the duty of Indians to participate in the elections and elect our government. May be most of the candidates are corrupt, but there are honest, progressive, and truly secular candidates like Meera Sanyal and Captain Gopinath, who have the will and determination to take India on the path of development and eradicate corruption & inequities. Presence of such candidates will not only result in good governance, but will also drive other young & talented Indians to enter our political system. India must stand UNITED and vote for the candidates who have the drive to bring the CHANGE we are looking for.

Yes, voting should be made compulsory, but before that Election Commission must make it compulsory that all the contesting candidates have a clean image, no criminal record, and certain educational qualifications. The political parties should justify that their candidates truly deserve the VOTE of Indian Junta.

-Kartavya Jain

Voting Can Be Voter's Pride

A great bait for voting in 2009 elections can be the opportunity to show the "finger" to the politicians. The election commission has mandated that, indelible ink is to be applied to the middle finger of every voter.

In picture, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan along with his wife showing that they have voted (Picture Courtesy: Times of India).

Moral Policing : A Key Issue in 2009 Elections

"Moral Policing," this term has beckoned a lot of hog light for the past 4-5 years in India, albeit for all sorts of abominable reasons. A lot of young Indians as they get ready to vote are discussing moral policing and considering it as one of the crucial factors in deciding their representative in the 15th Lok Sabha.

The reason for writing this article just before the 3rd phase of 2009 elections kicks off is because Mangalore, one of the constituncies in the state of Karnataka goes on polls on 30th April. Mangalore, that rings a lot of bells...right? Yes, it is the city where one of the latest and heinous acts of moral policing happened on January 24th, 2009. A group of 40 members of an extremist outfit 'Shri Ram Sena' barged a local pub Amnesia and roughed up many young women on the grounds of violating traditional Indian values.

This was not the first instance of moral policing in India. Late Pramod Navalkar a former minister in the 1994-95 Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra is known to have started the moral policing and is also called as Mumbai's first moral policemen. Valentine's Day in particular rankles these right-wing extremists, which they consider to be an immoral western import. These so-called torch bearers of Indian culture not only do vandalize gift shops, but also harass & beat-up people in the name of saving the culture. Recently, the Hindu daughter of an MLA was abducted and beaten-up for talking to a Muslim boy.

A surprising point to observe is most of these attacks are carried out by the Hindutva brigade be it RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena, or the lowly Shri Ram Sena which in some or other way are associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The case in point here is not to talk or write against Hindu organizations, but it's against all those organizations who beleaguer women in lieu of safeguarding the Indian culture and garner cheap publicity. Who has given all these hooligans the right to morally police Indians and particularly Indian women? If they think that the pub culture is maligning our society, then they should first practice what they preach?

Such incidents of moral policing creates a negative picture of India as a nation and hurts our overall prospects of growth and development. Is it so hard for us to understand that all these incidents are political gimmicks used by these extremist organizations to gain mileage and our votes? If they are guardians of Indian culture, then, why don't they fight against atrocities targeted on women such as rape and female feticide, why didn't they fight against the terrorists who caused mayhem in Mumbai? It is time that the Indian voters give a befitting reply to such communal forces/parties by voting against them and make India a safe place for everyone. We need a government who work for the upliftment of India as one nation and not the one sowing seeds of communal divide.

Jaago Re!!

-Kartavya Jain

Is Manmohan Singh Apolitical?

In the history of Indian politics, the term 'Apolitical' has never been emphasized and used so much as it is in the 2009 General Elections. Surprisingly, the term is used for our current Premeir and UPA's Prime Ministerial candidate for the ongoing LS polls, Manmohan Singh. When this Oxford graduated economist was pushed to become the PM of India after 2004 elections, it was due to an unexpected and sudden shift in the course of events. He was called an apolitical Prime Minister and a few had faith in his ability to run a coalition government. Understandably, after all it requires more political than academic experience to understand and control our manipulative and intense political system, and our dear Manmohan Singh had never even won an election.

But, after successfully running a coalition government at the center for 5 years, is it right to call him apolitical? The answer is a plain straight NO. This was an apologue created by some of his fellow congressman to reap on his squeaky-clean image and to avoid him from being judged under the same ruthless guideliness as all other Indian politicians are. Manmohan Singh has come a long way in the last 5 years. The acceptance of prime ministership offered to him in 2004 hitherto by chance, may be the political call of his life and start of his career as a real politician. Running a coaltion government for 5 years with the Yadavs, Pawars, Karunanidhis and Karats is a no apolitical person's forte. It's a feat which a person with great political acumen and well-versed in political dealing can only achieve.

In 1991 during the P.V. Narasimha government, even though MMS fearlessly spearheaded the crucial economic reforms agenda, he was not under the direct fire from the opposition parties and was not directly responsible to the Indian masses. But, while heralding the Indo-US nuclear deal, Singh knew that any wrong step at this point, will not only cost dear to his country and party, but will also mark the end of his own political career. So much was he convinced with the deal being in favor of long-term national interests that he selflessly pursued it, even after Left's threat of pulling the support. The way he covertly roped in Samajwadi Party's support to win the no-confidence motion against his government on July 22, were signals of his rise as a confident and skilled politician. The signing of Indo-US nuclear pact may well be called the corner stone of Manmohan Singh's albeit short, but successful stint as a politician.

Before signing off, India needs a leader who is 'apolitically political,' i.e. we need a prime minister who thinks apolitically & selflessly on the issues, policies and reforms of national interests, but at the same time showcase his/her political savviness and grit while implementing such policies and reforms.

-Kartavya Jain

India: 'A Flawed Democracy'

In a recent report published by the Economist Intelligent Unit's (EIU) Democracy Index, India has been dubbed as a 'flawed' democracy. Of the total 167 countries reviewed, 30 were named as full democracies, 50 as flawed democracies, 36 as hybrid and the remaining 51 as authoritarain regimes. The rankings were given on the basis of the country's performance on 60 indicators which measure electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture. EIU placed India at 35th among the 50 countries to be found as flawed democracies. The good news however is that with a score of 7.8 out of 10, India is pretty close to achieving the status of 'full' democracy.

So, why did India not manage to be in the ivy league of full democracies? India unfortunately, scores low in political culture and political participation, corruption and lack of government accountability. At a time when India was gearing up for its 15th Lok Sabha elections, which even the EIU termed as world's largest democratic exercise, the timing of this dubitable distinction couldn't be more perfect.

Rather than considering the study as an eye-opener and vowing to take India to the elite league of full democracy, our politico as usual sneered at the results of the study. Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari says, "Whoever is responsible for this report needs to see a psycho. India has a functioning democracy from the grassroots to the top. Anyone who calls this a flawed democracy must get his head examined." While BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad says, "India does not need a lecture on democracy from Western intellectuals. The people of this country have an unfettered right to choose or unseat any party at the local, state and national level."

But, there are mulitple reasons floating around which makes me believe this study instead of considering it a mere western rhetoric targeted against India. Our two Prime Ministerial candidates are the biggest example of we being a flawed democracy. On one hand, we have L.K. Advani, who was evidently the spearhead and man behind the demolition of Babri Masjid, which not only tarnished the secular image of India globally, but also probably laid the foundation of the communal divide between two prominent religions in modern India. How can we let a person of such fanatic nature lead a secular nation? On the other hand, we have Manmohan Singh, who wants to contniue his stint as the premier of India without even contesting the elections. Democracy is of, for, and by the people, so doesn't it make more sense that the person who holds and is responsible for India's future for the next 5 years be an 'elected' people's representative and not just a nominated party representative. Being a people's representative will not only instill confidence in him, but also will also connect him directly to the people and make him aware of the real issues and problems at the ground level.

The manifesto of the country's 4th largest party SP says, "If brought in power -- the party will solve umemployment problems by putting a hault on computerisation, the salaries provided by private firms will be in sync with the minimum government wages (which will infact lower the income of people working in private sector), and the government will put an end to the expensive english medium schools and use of english (someone needs to remind SP supremo that his own son and heir of SP, Akhilesh Yadav earned his degree from University of Sydney). And if all this was not enough, a sentence on their website "Samajwadi Party is a party primarily based in Uttar Pradesh, where it bases its support largely on OBCs (Other Backward Castes) and Muslims, particularly Mulayam Singh Yadav's own Yadav caste," shakes my belief in our democracy. If the party with such a depressing manifesto can rule India's most populous state and be an important part of the central government, then our democracy is nothing but flawed.

India has fared extremely well in the categories of electoral process, pluralism, and civil liberties and is just shy of becoming a full democracy (8 being the score to be a full democracy). Our dear politicians rather than just boasting to be 'apolitical,' should take a cue out of the study and improve the political participation and political culture. Indian Junta should also exercise their right to vote and vote to form a single party government which without any doubt will expedite the economic reforms and will pave our way to become a full and developed democracy. With India in the midst of its 'crucial' general elections and Indians readying to vote once again, the timing of the emergence of this report could not be more appropriate.

-Kartavya Jain

Vote India : Qualifications or Religion?

India goes on polls at the dawn of 16th April in 15 states and 2 union territories(124 constituencies) with a total electorate of 14.31 crores. The 15th Lok Sabha polls are touted to be one of the most interesting and taut elections in the history of Indian democracy. There are innumerable reasons and criteria like infrastructure, water/power, terrorism, foreign relations, jobs, inflation etc., on the basis which the Indian public can choose their MP, Prime Minister and the party/alliance.

But, one other criterion which has been effectively used to their advantage by most of the political parties in the previous elections is asking people to vote on the basis of caste/religion. So, the obvious question which comes to mind is --- Will India vote on the basis of a candidate's experience, qualifications, commitment, honesty or on the basis of his/her religion or caste?

BJP's rise to power in the 13th Lok Sabha is an apt example of people voting on the basis of religion. Remember the 'Jai Jai Siya Ram' slogan and the false promises to build the temple at the Babri Masjid demolition site. Not to forget that Congress's faliure at various fronts, and people wanting a change and forseeing a good leader in A.B. Vajpayee were other important reasons, but BJP's claim to be the pro-Hindutva party was one of the most prominent and probably still is.

The upsurge of other political parites such as Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the states of UP & Bihar, clearly indicates how caste/religion still has so much dominance on Indian Voter's mind. All these political parties as they boast, work for the uplifment of the dalits and other backward castes. But, if that is the case then why do most of the people from UP and Bihar in particular, still migrate to other states looking for employment. Can't these parties even after being in power for so many years generate employment for the people in their own state? If not for casteism, these Mayawatis and Mulayam Singhs could never dream of leading a state or nation.

The attempt of a few political parties to use the caste/religion trump card in the 15th LS elections is clearly noticeable in the 'hate speeches' and the allegations of supporting a particular religion resulting in a softer stance on terrorism. Terrorism has been given a religious twist, which in reality is a global virus infecting the whole world despite of its caste, culture, or religion. If at all terrorism were religion and/or region centric, we would not have seen any bombings and killings in Pakistan.

It's very critical that every Indian understands the importance of his/her vote and voting for the right person. We must not elect a candidate based on his/her religion, caste or creed, but on the basis of his integrity and committment towards India and Indians. It doesn't matter which party he/she belongs to, what matters is he/she determined to work against corruption, criminals, nepotism, favouritism, and works towards our progress as a society and country. We don't want fanatics and criminals at the helm, but we want leaders with an aggressive and positive attitude who work towards the ultimate goal of development of India as a free society and full democracy. We can't let the self-serving politicians fragment India on the basis of religion/caste.

Every Indian voter must excercise his/her right to vote because its not just our constitutional right but our DUTY. In these elections, together we all should stand and make sure that we elect the right people to power, as this will lead to the creation of a deeply embedded Indian society and will take us a step closer to make INDIA SHINING !!

Vote and Motivate Others to Vote

- Kartavya Jain

Manmohan Singh Vs L.K. Advani

Manmohan Singh Vs L.K. Advani

With the 15th Lok Sabha elections kicking off on April 16th, the race for the Prime Minister has essentially boiled down to Manmohan Singh vs Lal Krishna Adavni. The rise of third front may have given Ms. Maywati some hopes, but chances of her becoming the PM of India are really miniscule. A lot of confusion was created (mostly by the media) over Rahul Gandhi's candidature for the coveted post, but now it's crystal clear that Manmohan Singh will be the PM if UPA comes back to power. Sharad Pawar also tried to set-off some alarms by making his penchant for the 'Chair' public, but he himself knows that with 25-30 MPs of NCP he can't dream of becoming the Prime Minister of a billion people nation.

Congress took a very smart move by projecting MMS as the PM for 3 reasons - first-off all the accomplishments of the current government are under the leadership of MMS and so it makes complete sense to make him the lead face of the campaign, secondly he is one the most respected and taintless politicans in the Indian politics now, and thirdly this decision has caught the opposition off-guard (as they were not sure who the PM's candidate will be till the last moment) and will compel them to re-think their strategies at a very crucial time of elections.

Elections 2009 are indeed going to be very interesting - we have two prime ministerial candidates who have impressive experience of public service behind them, who belong to two completely different school of ideologies (Congress & BJP) and more often than ever we have the full 5 year performance of both the governments to compare.

So, who does India think will be the appropriate person for this job? On one hand we have Manmohan Singh representing UPA (Congress) who has shown in the past 5 years that he has the will and determination to take India to new heights by his pro-economic policies and reforms. He has relentlessly pursued the issues of national interest and progress by signing the Indo-US nuclear deal even if it was opposed by his own allies and party members. Manmohan Singh has exhibited exceptional fortitude and political acumen in dealing with terrorism related issues with our neighbor. He has implemented various rural and fiscal reforms such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and rationalizing the tax system to name a few. The decisions of his government are taken at 7, Race Course Road and not at 10, Janpath, despite what the critics say.

On the other hand we have L.K. Advani, who no doubts has greater political acumen and experience than Mammohan Singh. L.K. Advani has been nurturing the dream to become the PM of India since a long long time and has left no stone unturned to turn it into a reality. But, does he has the willingness to serve India? MMS wants India to vote for him because he thinks he has done a decent job as the PM in last 5 years, while Advani wants India to vote for him because he thinks that MMS is not suitable for the post. He keeps lashing at MMS for his incompetence in taking decisions, his softer stance on terrorism, and a freshly (and legitimate) brewed argument of MMS not contesting LS polls. But, wasn't even former PM A.B. Vajpayee alleged to be work under the control of RSS. The most prominent role Adavni has played was may be in the demolition of Babri Masjid and it was during NDA's tenure when the 2002 Gujarat riots took place, and terrorists attacked the Parilament, Red Fort, Akshardham temple, Kashmir State Assembly, and were even ESCORTED by our then Minister of External Affairs minister to Kandhar.

India is an ever maturing & growing democracy and it's time that politicians make the elections a healthier excerise and not a road-side circus. The candidates running for such an honorary and responsible postion must make arguments and counter-arguments which are issue-oriented, are of national interest, and based on facts, and not which invloves maligning each other personally. It's time that the media should do a careful and responsible analysis of the political parties, its candidates, and their manifestos, rather than showing some sensational inconsequentional 'shoe hurling' news. The media should feed the Indian Junta with factual and not sensational news and help them in reaching a decision rather than making them more confused.

India needs a leader who banks upon his achievements in national progress, public welfare, and improved infrastructure, to win and not on the flaws of the opposition candidates. We need a leader who backs himself for the dignified post of Prime Minister with his accomplishments and NOT the one who wants India to elect him because he thinks that the other candidate is weak. We want a leader with secular approach and who thinks about national unity and integrity.

With Dr. Singh brimming with confidence and riding on a good 5 year term and Advani probably making his last attempt to become the Prime Minister of India, the LS Elections 2009 are certainly going to keep everyone on the edge of their seats.

Jaago India!!

- Kartavya Jain

Manmohan Singh Should Contest Lok Sabha Polls

Manmohan Singh Should Contest Lok Sabha Polls

There is a long ongoing debate on whether or not Manmohan Singh should contest in the Lok Sabha elections 2009, or if we look at a broad picture the question actually should be ---- whether a country's premier or any person for that matter holding a dignified ministerial porfolio in Indian government should be required to contest and win a Lok Sabha seat.

While the constitution allows the Prime Minister to be either a Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha member, our history does not seem completely in line with it. None of the Indian Prime Ministers till date have continued 2 terms as a member of Rajya Sabha. One may argue that even former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi started her Prime Ministerial career as a member of Rajya Sabha and so did H.D. Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral. But, the point of contention is that all these premiers went on to contest and win Lok Sabha election later on in their political career. Even Inder Kumar Gujral with less than an year tenure as the PM and no achievements of national progress, was able to manage a thumping win.

Focussing on MMS, if he doesn't contest the elections the opposition (specifically BJP) will legitimately make an issue out of it and paint his image as a weak politician (not to mention that BJP had Jaswant Singh who infact lost in 1999 LS elections, holding 3 very critical ministerial portfolios during its reign). MMS's only appearnce and loss in 1999 Lok Sabha elections doesn't help his cause either. Manmohan Singh has done a decent job as the Indian Prime Minister in the last 5 years by achieving various goals of national progress and public welfare. He has shown grit and determination on various fronts be it Indo-US nuclear deal or dealing with our menaching than ever neighbor. Its high time that the MAN behind India's 'Economic Boom,' should show that he has arrived as a politician too. He should actually be leading the campaign for UPA and selling his achievements to the Indian public face to face. Infact, for him to contest & win the same seat in South Delhi where he lost a few years ago, will be the most fitting reply to the opposition. MMS's decision to contest the election will truly act as a shot in the arm for the UPA cadres and will leave the opposition with a herculean task of finding a flaw in his SUPER CLEAN image. Manmohan Singh's postive move will help Indian voters entrust confidence in his political abilities and may well take the UPA clearly ahead of its opposition.

Amendment in the constitution may be the need of the hour!!

Change for GOOD and not just Change is what we NEED!!

- Kartavya Jain

India General Elections 2009

India General Elections 2009 : An Overview

The world's biggest democracy is all geared up for its 15th Lok Sabha Elections slated to start on 16th of April. A multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society, India is a country know for its diversity and the Indian political system truly resembles it. With 7 National Parties, 48 State Parties, and 1000 Registered Unrecognized Parties contesting the 2009 elections, to say that the general elections in India are the 'Mother of all elections' in the world, won't be an exaggeration. Although, Indian National Congress (INC) Party and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the two bigwigs of Indian politics, the dominance of other national, state, & regional parties can be adjudged from the fact that not a single party has been able to obtain a complete majority in the 543 seat lower house of the Parliament since 1984-85 general elections.

As alliance or coalition is the call of the day, at present there are 3 major alliances (INTACT as of today) trying their fate in 2009 elections -
1. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) - Current Ruling Party/Alliance- Led by Congress
Prime Ministerial Candidate - Manmohan Singh

• Congress (I) or INC - Oldest political party of India, led by Sonia Gandhi, has an all India presence and came as the single largest party in 2004 general elections. Current Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hails from INC.
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - Led by Sharad Pawar (previously a Congress member), has a strong presence in Maharashtra. But Mr. Pawar has already made his ambitions to become the PM of India clear, and so we can see a switch in the loyalities at the end of the elections.
• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) - Led by M. Karunanidhi, has a good presence in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, current ruling party in Tamil Nadu
• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) - Led by Shibu Soren, will be interesting to see how he woos voters after his defeat in bypoll assembly elections in Jan 2009
• All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) - Very minor presence in Hyderabad
• Sikkim Democratic Front - Ruling party of Sikkim led by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling
• Trinamool Congress - Led by Mamta Banerjee (previously a member of Congress), known for her agitation against Tata Nano plant in Singur, has a good presence in West Bengal. It will be interesting to see if this alliance can fetch any seats in West Bengal for the UPA
• Indian Union Muslim League - Very small presence in Kerela
• Republican Party of India (Athvale) - Small presence in Maharsahtra

2. Naitional Democratic Alliance (NDA) - Led by BJP Prime Ministerial Candidate - Lal Krishna Advani

• BJP - Main opposition party led by Lal Krishna Advani. BJP is very strong in North & Central India, but weak in South India (excpet Karnataka) and East India. Was in power as the NDA from 1999-2004, but lost to its counterpart UPA in 2004 general elections
• Shiv Sena - Leb by Bal Thackrey, has a strong presence in Maharshtra
• Janta Dal United (JDU) - Led by Nitish Kumar, party has presence in Bihar and Karnataka and is the current ruling party in the State of Bihar. Interestingly, it failed to win even a single seat in the recently conducted elections in Karnataka
• Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) - Led by Prakash Singh Badal, has strong presence in Punjab and is the current ruling party there. The party believes that RELIGION and POLITICS go hand-in-hand
• Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) - Led by Om Prakash Chautala, has presence in Haryana
• Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) - presence in Assam
• Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) - Led by Ajit Singh, has presence in Western Uttar Pradesh
• Nagaland People's Front (NPF) - presence in Nagaland

3. Third Front - Amalgamation of different parties

• Telugu Desam Party (TDP) - Led by Chandrababu Naidu, party has strong presence in Andhra Pradesh. TDP lost its ground to Congress in 2004 State elections and since then has gone back to its route level. With 42 seats at stake in AP, this party may play a significant role in boosting Third Front's hopes
• All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) - Spearheaded by J. Jayalalithaa, party has got strong presence in Tamil Nadu
• Communist Party Of India (CPI) - Led by Prakash Karat, party has got presence in West Bengal, Bihar, Kerela, Uttar Pradesh. Supported the UPA led government in the 14th Lok Sabha till July 2008, but withdrew its support over the government's decision to go ahead on the United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act
• Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) - Has strong presence in Tripura, Kerala, and West Bengal and is leading the state government in these states. It also supported the UPA led government in the 14th Lok Sabha till July 2008, but withdrew its support due to the fall-out with the government on the nuclear deal with the United States
• Janata Dal Secular - Led by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, JD(S) has got political presence mainly in Karnataka
• Telengana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) - presence in Andhra Pradesh, has aspirations to created a separate state Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. It supported the UPA government for the same reason, but withdrew its support later due to UPA's faliure to create Telangana
• All India Forward Bloc - has stronghold in West Bengal
• Revolutionary Socialist Party - has presence in West Bengal, Kerela, and Tripura
• Haryana Janhit Congress - has presence in Haryana

Apart from these three alliances, other poltical parties which are foreseen to play a major role in deciding the Power Structure of the 15th Lok Sabha are -

• Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) - Led by Laloo Prasad Yadav, have supported the UPA government till date and vowed to support them after the 2009 general elections also. RJD has formed a secular alliance with Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Samajwadi Party to contest elections for 134 seats in Bihar, UP and Jharkhand. RJD has a good stronghold in Bihar and Kingmaker as Laloo Yadav boast he is, may turn one in this election.
• Samajwadi Party (SP) - Led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, supported the UPA government after the Left pulled out support on the nuclear deal issue. SP has a good stronghold in Uttar Pradesh
• Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) - Led by Ram Vilas Paswan, has good presence in Bihar. LJP has also sweared to support Manmohan Singh & UPA after the general elections.
• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) - Current ruling party in UP, led by Mayawati a Prime Minister aspirant. In 2007, BSP came as a single party to win the majority in State elections since 1991, indicating its clout in India's most populated state.

With UP and Bihar sharing 120 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, and both biggies Congress and BJP not seen as favorites, it seems imminent that the party controlling the maximum number of seats in these states will have a pronounced say in who comes to power in the 15th Lok Sabha. As political parties are known for their tendency to switch loyalties and break alliances, any such move before or right after the elections shouldn't come as a big surprise ------ after all it's all about the country, isn't it ?

Schedule The 2009 general elections will be conducted in 5 different phases through April and May-

1. Phase 1 - 16th April 2009, Thursday - 17 States (124 Constituencies) 2. Phase 2 - 23rd April 2009, Thursday - 13 States (141 Constituencies) 3. Phase 3 - 30th April 2009, Thursday - 11 States (107 Constituencies) 4. Phase 4 - 7th May 2009, Thursday - 8 States (85 Constituencies) 5. Phase 5 - 9th May 2009, Wednesday- 9 States (86 Constituencies)

Counting of the votes will start on 16th May 2009 and is expected to finish on the same day.

Vote India and vote responsibly as your vote can create a Vibrant & Shining India!!

- Kartavya Jain