Budget Aala Re!!

Union Budget of India 2009-10 to be presented on 3rd July is without doubt one of the most awaited budgets in the history of India. It will be Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's 4th full budget (rest three presented during Indira Gandhi's government). Undoubtedly, our dear Pranab Da has a mammoth task on hand, as he not only has thwart the galloping march of global economic recession to hurt India further, but also has to reduce the fiscal deficit (currently a humongous $62.26 billion). After handing UPA a glorious victory and almost a stable government, the expectations of the Indian Junta are high & hopeful. The FM is well aware of this fact and rightly points out - The focus of the government is the aam aadmi with more employment & income generation schemes.

India enjoyed a gross domestic product (GDP) of over 9% for 3 years consecutively from 2004-05 to 2007-08, but India's economic progress took a beating because of the global slowdown and the GDP now is just 6.7%. Although, the stock market showed signs of revival by touching 15,000 points mark, most of the industrial sectors particularly infrastructure, exports, housing, and textiles are still reeling due to the effects of economic crisis. So, how does the newly elected government plan to bring the growth rate back to 9% ?

Disinvestment of the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) seems to be the answer for the funds that the government need to provide the much-needed stimulus to the economy. With Left out of the government, the government will most likely go for a big-bang disinvestment of it's stakes in blue chip companies like BSBL, MMTC, NALCO, NTPC, NMDC, and Coal India. It is expected that the government will add $94.77 billion to its kitty by selling it's stakes in these companies. Infact, at the current market rate the divestment of 10% in BSNL alone could fetch the government a meaty Rs. 20,000 crore (Courtesy: Times of India). The auction of 3G spectrum and the public issues of companies like Oil India, RITES, and NHPC will further increase the government's spending power. If the sale goes as expected, the infrastructure sector seems to be the biggest beneficiary of the increased government spending and it will mean a green blinker for various gigantic road and energy projects.

The economic recession has also bolstered the government's appetite to surge the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance and pension sectors from 26% to 49%. Indian government is also likely to dilute it's ownership in retail & banking sector to increase the foreign currency reserves. However, Congress's key allies TMC and DMK have already given indications that the government's path to divestment & foreign investment will not be hassle free and it will be interesting to see how does the government pushes it's liberal economic agenda. Will the government keep atleast 51% equity in the PSUs? Mostly yes, but we will have to wait and see!!

Despite providing the loan waivers to the farmers and lifting the ban on exports of wheat & non-basmati rice, the agriculture sector which supports two-thirds of India's population, is under crisis. The under-performance of the agricultural sector apart from various external factors has led to the increase in price of the essential commodities. Nearly one-third of India's total population lives in extreme poverty and slashing the prices of these commodities is of paramount importance for the government. The government is expected to boost the agricultural sector by providing cheaper credit, fertilizer subsidies, easing the curbs on grain exports and future trade, and improving the irrigation facilities. On a different note, the government should also promote organic farming, which as compared to conventional farming can yield greater productivity & returns on a small area of land.

India's second largest employer textile industry is one of the most hard-hits by recession with job loses touching 1 million mark. The industry is highly unlikely to meet its target of $40 billion in exports by 2009-10 pertaining to the lack of competitiveness and the economic slump. The budget will cater this issue by mobilising funds to build technologically advanced manufacturing facilities and urging the banks to provide credit at low interest rates. The proposal of scrapping the import duties on synthetic fibre will surely surely help the industry in cutting costs by 5-7%.

Deregulating the auto-fuel prices is another critical issue which Mukherjee may address in his budget. The trio of Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum (HP), and Bharat Petroleum (BP) registered a combined losses of Rs. 1 trillion by March 31 2009, mainly due to selling the fuel at government mandated prices. The proposed move is likely to help these companies to cut down the losses.

Indian Junta is also expecting the finance minister to reduce their tax burden by increasing the income tax slabs, which in turn may propel consumer spending and generate demand. India Incorporation is also looking to get a relief in taxes by atleast 5 percentage points. The IT industry already stunned by the indications of US probable move towards protectionism, is expecting the government to bail them by extending the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme for atleast 5 years and abolishing the fringe benefit tax (FBT).

Government spending on education, health, and employment programmes is going to be high. According to the Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India), a stimulus package of Rs. 1 trillion should be announced to put a major thrust in the real estate, housing, and construction sectors. However, considering the high fiscal deficit Pranab Mukherjee has warded off the industry against any expectations to receive big sops and incentives. Government is wary of the fact that it's national rural employment scheme & mollification of the farmer's loans in the last term has led to a tremendous increase in the fiscal deficit. So, this union budget will be a litmus test for Pranab Mukherjee & Co. as not only will they have to ensure the economic growth momentum, but also will to have keep the fiscal prudence in mind.

Well for all the Indians, the expectations are really high as they have done extremely well by giving Congress led UPA a clear majority and by denying Left any role in decision making. Now it's time for the government to live up to the expectations of the Indian Junta, deliver their promises, and come down to business. After all victory does not come at no cost!!

-Kartavya Jain

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

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