Statewide and National runup to 2014 General elections

[vivek.rao]

Hope BJP leaders don't watch it and sit at home day dreaming.

[KJo]

An illustrious (new?) entrant to the sekoolaid club...

Its NOT secularism or muslim vote bank. It is investment of Suadi Arabia in Indian media, and also Infosys's business with Arab world.

Why is it that I ALWAYS see low-esteemed Hindus wearing Islamic caps and other attire, but NEVER see a Muslim fellow trying to make nice with Hindus by applying tilak on his forehead?

[durvasa]

It seems that this apparent split between congress and Lalu is well orchestrated to get JD-U in the equation, with this unholy troika fighting BJP-LJP. Congress and JDU will probably have pre-poll alliance, with Lalu getting in post election. Mafia knows it can not stop the juggernaut with Lalu alone. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 244347.cms

[vivek.rao]

[Singha]

in my opinion if a muslim prayer or a place of worship needs a entrant to cover their head, non muslims should tie a clean white hanky over their head and indeed this we see even in gurudwaras. likewise even non-hindus are expected to dress decently and take shoes off when visiting active temples.

this skull cap thing is a sign of abject sucking up especially when worn to some meeting that is NOT a prayer but just a meeting or a food party.

sure mosques usually have small shops nearby selling skull caps, aurangzeb himself earned money sewing skull caps, but that is meant for the true faithful not guests.

[vivek.rao]

BJP beats Cong in making friends

In 2004, Sonia Gandhi walked across to her neighbour Ramvilas Paswan to strike a deal with the Dalit leader which played havoc with NDA's calculation of a rich harvest in Bihar. In an equally bold reach-out, she put aside acrimony with DMK over Rajiv Gandhi's assassination to clinch a seat-sharing pact which swept Tamil Nadu. She also allowed the party to hitch its wagons with the fledgling TRS, champion of Telangana, for a political pact which helped the party nearly sweep the 42 seats in Andhra Pradesh.

Her success contrasted with the premature hubris with which BJP pushed away allies like DMK literally from its door step. It took away communications portfolio from Paswan, leading him to switch sides and it allowed Congress to walk away with Sharad Pawar of NCP when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was so keen to have him.

Fast forward to 2014, and the role seems to have been reversed. It is BJP which is netting allies of all sizes and stripes, with Congress losing them from a virtual clinch. The crossing over of Paswan to NDA is illustrative of the change. BJP snatched Paswan when he was more eager on Congress. A little flexibility could have thwarted the perception of BJP being the favourite.

Members are blaming the leadership for its fetish for experiments in the thick of a battle and for assigning individuals with few of the skills required to deal with the cold-blooded satraps. "At times, it appears that we don't want allies," a leader wryly commented. It is also realized repairing the damage may become even difficult if the perceptions drastically swings in BJP's favour: something which is already underway.

The growing indication that it could post its best tally has not lulled the BJP into complacency in search for more allies. In Maharashtra, it has picked independent MP Raju Shetty who runs the Shetkari Sangathana. It also readily indulged Shiv Sena's pressure to leave a Rajya Sabha seat for maverick dalit leader Ramdas Athavale.

[niran]

There is a Gurudwara in Bangkok few months ago a family of 28 refugees from Pakistan began to come and eat the Langer in full Islamic dress of burkha and skull cap this caused the management to be divided into
two sides
ones who had migrated from Pakistan were favorably inclined
those not from Pakistan were opposed
then one Hindu did his usual trick, brought in a 3 star Sikh general into the fray
now in Bangkok onree CinC or above can refuse a 3 star, hence, no burkha or skull cap
males uuses the usual scarf by Gurudwara and all have to wash dishes as karseva

[Prem Kumar]

An illustrious (new?) entrant to the sekoolaid club...

Wearing a skullcap is the anticipatory bail for future offenses

[Prem Kumar]

313 fidayeens set to hit Indian election


http://vickynanjappa.com/2014/02/26/313 ... more-19547

What's up with that number? Ilyas Kashmiri's terror unit was called "313 Brigade"

[johneeG]

Sanku saar,
do you mean to say that one must blindly support lotus in whatever they do? Isn't it a good thing that people have their own independent view of what is good and what is bad and then support

johneeG -- asking for a blind, and completely airy fairy whine fest to end is a call for blind support is it ? Either keep bashing up or keep a blind support ? The below is one such example

a) So, you are not expecting blind support? If so, good. If you are expecting blind support, then, I don't see any difference between blind supporters of one party/politician from another.

b) 'airy fairy whine fest', 'bashing up', ...etc are all your opinions of others criticisms. One could counter you by calling you as 'blind supporter'. But that would only lead to a slanging match. So, there is no point going there. The only thing that I was pointing out is that everyone has their own bias. When you point out others' bias, others can turn around point out your own bias. If you claim that you have no biases of your own and are a completely neutral & rational observer, then I have nothing to say on the subject except that I don't believe it is possible for a person to remain unbiased on most of the subjects unless one is a gyaani.

These so-called national leaders are neither popular with cadre nor can they win elections. They are not so great in their administration either.

Yeah, all the national leaders were born with Gandhi surname and went to the top on platter.


Seriously, you REALLY need introspection here.

a) Gandhi surname is not the only surname in the country. There are several other surnames and they are ruling roost mostly due to the surnames. Or atleast, they get an extended longer rope due to surname. Its not just one dynasty at the top but a pyramid like structure with several dynasties at each stage.

b) Most of the so-called national leaders are either due to their surnames or past laurels(decades back work). Right now, one can easily find better candidates than them to win elections or administration. Even those leaders who worked their way up had to do it against a lot of resistance, and when they finally got in, they join the cabal and try to stop anyone from getting on the gravy train.

lotus or any other political party only when they think it stands for the good? Otherwise, what is the difference between supporters of various political parties if they blindly support their respective parties?

We have to discuss that lotus is good now ? Seriously ? Lets get real, in any place where common sense existed, lotus is TINA. It is only the purest safforn syndrome which dictates that lotus must take agni pariksha while others get a free ride.

Firstly, I don't know what 'TINA' means. I am assuming it means the 'only logical choice'.

No, it is not purest saffron syndrome or any such thing. And yes, the merits & demerits of lotus have to be discussed just as all other parties get discussed. I don't know why you want to avoid any criticism of lotus.

Anyway, in politics, parties/politicians get support from following category of people:
a) blind supporters
b) supporters of a core agenda(s) or priority to a particular issue.
c) drifters

There can be some overlap and migration in the above categories. Then, there are people who don't have interest in politics or who see politics/politicians as the root cause of the problem rather than solution. They have their own good reasons to believe in it.

As I said, I don't see much difference among various blind supporters of parties/politicians.

Supporters of a core agenda(s) or priority to a particular issue:
That particular issue can be anything. It could be caste affiliation, reservation, development, subsidy, inflation, separate state, secession, economy, jobs, Hindhuthva, secularism, law & order...etc.

Here, the difference between various people is which issue is the core agenda or priority issue. For some, it may be caste, for others, it may be jobs, ...etc. The priorities of a person can change over a time, place & circumstance. So, as the priorities of a person change, his voting preferences may also change, unless he is a blind supporter or has some other overwhelming passionate agenda or is completely uninterested in politics. So, people vote based on these considerations.

Is lotus the logical choice in such circumstances? Sometimes it is, and sometimes it is not. In many regions of the country, lotus is absent or unviable option. A vote to lotus is a losing vote that will not make any difference in the larger calculations. Would people want to waste their vote(a vote that comes only once in 5 years and which is the only way of conveying their opinion towards the way politics works at national, state and local levels)?

In the few regions that lotus is present, it was able to make its mark through Hindhuthva. This core agenda created people who voted for lotus blindly without caring for other issues. This core voter base sustains the party. This allows the party to grow. Even here, the party needs to focus on good leaders and follow proper policies to stay relevant. This applies to any party including lotus.

Unless a similar emotional or strong single issue is present in regions where the lotus is unviable, people are unlikely to vote for lotus as it is seen as a wasted vote.

Your whole argument seems to be that lotus is the only logical choice because its far better than other parties. But, then, may be there are better politicians/potential politicians in the country than the lotus politicians. Why are people not voting to them and instead voting to lotus in some regions? Because, those other potential politicians are generally not viable options(i.e. they cannot win elections). So, lotus gets voted because it is more viable. After all, the democracy is all about choosing the best of the lot.

The same argument goes against lotus in the regions where is is weak. According to that argument, in those regions, there is no point in wasting votes on unwinnable lotus. Instead, it is far better to vote for a lesser evil. In some regions, lotus is the best of the lot(viable options). In other regions, lotus is not so, either it is equally incompetent/inefficient or absent as its opponents.

It is not at all coincident that lotus is gaining mostly in places where kongis(or their B teams) are their opponents. In any other place, lotus is unable to gain because lotus is not seen as such a great improvement. In such a circumstance, the only differentiating factor is Hindhuthva. (UP & Bihar also fall into this trend neatly.) So, basically, lotus is replacing kongis & their B-teams. But, even this is not happening in many regions because lotus is unable to enter those regions as it is seen as an unviable or unwinnable option.

But, even in regions where they entered, they squandered their gains through bad leadership in the past decade.(despite, such disastrous performance, how many national leaders were punished/demoted for the bad performance? Is their no accountability, only power? People make fun of pappu or dynasty on this issue when they are sought to be shielded from negative results, but how is the lotus national leadership different on this issue? Not just lotus, but commies & other parties also seem to shield their leadership from accountability any negative results.) Now, they seem to be on the upswing by backing on the general anti-kongi wave in the country along with pro-Modi wave.

There is another point here:
lotus has ruled only for 6 years while the kongis have been in power for 60 years. This is generally used as a positive for the lotus.(And I do believe that it is a positive for the lotus). Kongis have destroyed the dhesh in 60 yrs. But, there is another angle here thats generally missed out. The kongis also started out as a good party 60 yrs ago. Regardless of the top leadership, most of the people in the kongis were good. So, that raises the question, maybe the lotus is not as corrupt as kongis only because they have not been power as long as them.

Otherwise, why is lotus also accommodating the corrupt/criminals directly(within the party) or indirectly(by allying with such parties)? Why didn't lotus push for reforms in elections, police, ...etc to change the system? It was lotus that allowed FDI in media which is today used to spawn entities like Fordriwal. EVMs were introduced under the watch of lotus. Kongis are corrupt, no doubt. If people are unhappy with policies of lotus, whom should they vote? Should they keep voting for lotus? But, how long will lotus remain better than kongi if people keep voting to it?

And of course, the fact that lotus did not act on any of its core agendas which is bound to disappoint their core voters who must have voted to them based on those core issues. If lotus can betray its core voters who carried it for so long when it was completely unviable, how difficult is it for them to ditch other issues? Its a question of credibility.

The only thing that goes in lotus favour is that kongis and their B teams are worser.

For example, you seem to believe that there was no infighting in lotus. On the other hand, across the spectrum, it seems to be an accepted fact that there was infighting(and perhaps still is) in lotus. .

Sir ji, I am not into believing, I am into knowing. Lets have meaningful data point, and I will change my mind. So far I dont see any data points which suggest D4 or this or that.

I do see a collection of individuals with individual ambitions working together as a group for mutual goal with pulls and pressure, but infighting -- no .

'Believing' & 'Knowing' starts from the what qualifies as 'meaningful data point'. How do you come to a conclusion that there is no infighting? When you concede that there are individual ambitions with pulls and pressures, it is logical & normal to envision infighting in such a scenario. But, somehow, you rule out any infighting and ask for some evidence. Unless its a organization that is controlled by a single person/faction, it is natural to have infighting among various factions/persons. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Either you are saying that its a party which is dictated by one faction/person with no internal democracy or you have to accept that its a party which has an internal democracy which means there is bound to be lot of infighting for top positions.

Unless, there is a clear 'jinnah' statement by one of the people(which is a clear cut indication of break from the past), most of the evidence is circumstantial.(If I remember correctly, you aver that even the jinnah statement by Loh Purush is par for the course.) One can either take that circumstantial evidence into consideration or dismiss it. It depends on individual bias. But, whatever the method, I think the same method should be applied to all the people/parties.

If you say there is no infighting in lotus because there is no 'meaningful data point', only 'airy fairy whine fest' of 'bashing up', then one can similarly say that dynasty is not personally corrupt. Yep, there may be augusta but its all rumours as of now, no court judgements so far. The courts have not sentenced the dynasty to jail yet. So, unless that happens, no one should call them corrupt. Since, they are not personally corrupt and they even want to eliminate the corruption by bringing in laws(which the lotus is opposing), should the people vote for the dynasty again? Would you say that anyone accusing the dynasty of corruption, are indulging in 'airy fairy whine fest'? You cannot have one set of standards for your favourite party/politician and another set for others. If you have different standards, then its called bias.

Anyway, in the past you opposed when people said anything against Vajpayee. What is your view on the following interview of Balraj Madhok? Can this be considered a meaningful data point or is this also airy fair whiny fest?

On Monday, I met Balraj Madhok, the 90-year-old co-founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh at his house in New Rajinder Nagar. The meeting took place a day before the BJP and the Sangh observed the martydom day of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukheree and Madhok appeared very cheerful and fully alert despite his advancing years.

Being the senior most living member of the undivided Sangh Parivar, he still has a lot of fire left in him and he minced no words in criticizing BJP leaders who are trying to dilute the party’s commitment to hindutva. For him like before, hindutva was the only Mantra for the Sangh and that is what people expect out of this party.

Madhok was candid and frank during his meeting and paid rich tributes to Mukherjee who he said was ahead of his times and was singularly responsible for founding the Jana Sangh along with like-minded people. Both Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani were nowhere in the picture and even the RSS had no role to play in founding the Jana Sangh. He said that while preparing the first manifesto of his party, he had incorporated the basic ideas of the Hindu Mahasabha, Arya Samaj and the RSS in the document.

The RSS at that time was confused and was not clear which way things would go. After the ban following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the RSS was looking for protection from some quarters and the Jana Sangh appeared to be one such outfit, which could provide it since it had similar views on many subjects.

Madhok said that it was important to record it that it was Mukherjee and others like him who founded the Jana Sangh and not the RSS, which got associated with it subsequently. In the first elections, the Jana Sangh got little more than three percent of the total vote share and thereby was recognized as a national party by the Election Commission.

Madhok said that those who are questioning the basis of hindutva must understand that it was because of hindutva that India exists in its present form. India is a secular country since it is a predominantly Hindu country. It would not have been secular had it like Pakistan been an Islamic country. This is what needs to be understood by one and all, he emphasized.

Madhok does not care whether anyone agrees with his views or not. He said that for the BJP to come up and counter the Congress, it has to stick to its basic ideology and not harp on values, which the Congress has believed in. The two parties are distinctly different from each other and if there is any confusion within the BJP it is on account of Vajpayee and Advani who have done greater harm to the hindu cause than anybody else.

Madhok is very critical even today of Vajpayee and Advani and has not even a single good word for either of them. “When I criticized Nehru in Parliament in the wake of the Chinese aggression, Vajpayee came up to me and told me that I will never be elected to Lok Sabha again. Acharya Kriplani who was sitting nearby told me that do not take him( Vajpayee) seriously since he is Nehru’s planted man in the opposition”.

Madhok also said that attempts were made to subvert the party’s basic ideology by Vajpayee and some others. They talked about Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s humanism, which was nothing original but borrowed from the thesis of MN Roy and applied to Sangh politics.

“Advani was a RSS pracharak and subsequently taken into the Working committee by me at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s insistence. He used to live in a government accommodation at RK Puram and I asked him in 1967 to contest for the Metropolitan Council from that seat. Two days before the nominations, he came to me and opted out on the ground that there were several villages in the area and victory was not guaranteed. I told him no one’s victory including mine (I was South Delhi Parliamentary nominee) was not guaranteed. But he did not agree and I put up another person. The results came and we all won. Deen Dayalji told to nominate Advani to the Metropolitan Council (there were five nominated seats) and make him the Chief Executive Councillor. I declined to make him the CEC since he had not contested. But under RSS pressure I got him nominated and made him the Chairman of the Metropolitan Council and made Vijay Kumar Malhotra as the CEC.”

Madhok who has written several books believes that Deen Dayal Upadhdya was murdered as a part of a well-planed conspiracy and some top Jana Sangh leaders of that time could have had a hand in his killing. He also said that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee earlier did not die a natural death as is claimed by many people. These two deaths changed the destiny of the Jana Sangh and it got into wrong hands.

Madhok also spoke about how he was implicated in a breach of discipline case by Advani at the Kanpur session after he himself leaked out confidential information to the media but blamed him for the leakage. Similar tactics were employed at the recent BJP National Executive meeting also when some secret letters were similarly leaked. Madhok says that Vajpayee, Advani, Nanaji Deshmukh and KR Malkani did incalculable harm to the Jana Sangh cause.

Madhok also recalled how Indira Gandhi had rejected the demand for banning one of his books. It was probably at Sanjay Gandhi’s instance.

“She knew that I had said a lot of harsh things about her but she sent a senior officer to me to collect the copies of my book. Later she sent word that she liked it and she wanted me to implement some thoughts. When I asked her emissary how would I do that, he said that she wanted me to join her ministry. This is after she returned to power in 1980. I was reluctant and than I got a feeler that Sanjay Gandhi wanted to see me. The meeting was being fixed at an undisclosed place for June 23 but he died that morning in the plane crash. Looking back, I should have taken Indiraji’s offer seriously. I will at some point also like to meet Sanjay’s son, Varun Gandhi.”

Madhok lives with his two daughters after having lost his wife some years ago.

Link

[Prem Kumar]

Why is it that I ALWAYS see low-esteemed Hindus wearing Islamic caps and other attire, but NEVER see a Muslim fellow trying to make nice with Hindus by applying tilak on his forehead?

Good point. Perhaps the same reason that its always Hindus who claim that all religions are equal, valid & worthy of respect. You dont ever see a Christian or Muslim making that statement

[johneeG]

Why is it that I ALWAYS see low-esteemed Hindus wearing Islamic caps and other attire, but NEVER see a Muslim fellow trying to make nice with Hindus by applying tilak on his forehead?

Good point. Perhaps the same reason that its always Hindus who claim that all religions are equal, valid & worthy of respect. You dont ever see a Christian or Muslim making that statement

Yep, this belief or claim that Hindhuism teaches all religions are equally valid & worthy of respect seems to be source of lot of confusion, distortion and mischief. Unfortunately, many of the people who claim to speak on behalf of Hindhuism also reinforce this claim or belief. Even RSS or Modi seem to propound that Hindhus believe all religions to be equally valid.

Obviously, Hindhuism does not teach any such thing. Hindhuism does accept multiple paths but all those multiple paths are already part of Hindhuism. Hindhuism does not accept other religions as valid. If all religions(or more precisely, any ideology that claims to be a religion) are equally valid, then there would be no problem at all. There would be no dharma-adharma. Everything would be called as dharma, if all religions are equally valid.

Frequently, Ekam Sath viprah bahudha vadhanthi is quoted by people. But that manthra is only saying bahudha not sarva i.e. multiple paths not all paths are valid. And those paths that are considered valid by Hindhuism are already part of Hindhuism. Those paths that are not considered as valid by Hindhuism are not part of Hindhuism.

The difference between teachings of Hindhuism and other religions(particularly abrahanic) are:
a) acceptance of multiple paths(not all paths, only multiple) vs single path
b) omni-presence of God/Goddess vs limited presence
c) karma theory vs arbitrary
d) finite reward(pleasure)/punishment(pain) vs eternal heaven/hell.

Hindhuism teaches that God/Goddess pervades(Vishnu) all universe(Vishvam). 'Vishnu' means one that pervades. First name in the Vishnu Sahasranamam is 'vishvam'. It is to convey that God/Goddess pervades the entire universe(including all conscious and unconscious beings). That means everything including plants, animals, sun, moon, ...etc are filled with God/Goddess. Even I & you are filled with that same God/Goddess. So, Hindhu pray to God/Goddess in plants, animals, moon, sun, ...etc. Because they believe that God/Goddess is not confined to any only place(like heaven).

[krishnan]

[IndraD]

K BEDI JOINING BJP

[Hari Seldon]

^ Field her against Kejri in New Delhi constituency.

And charge her with implementing police reforms as MoS for Home in a Modi cabinet (if all goes well, inshallah).

[vivek.rao]

[panduranghari]

this lobby was broken by BT in urban MH - that is his greatest legacy. Gopinath Munde shows similar promise and is trying to excel it in rural MH in the heartland of 96-clan elite-sugar cooperative owing marathas (not the mango abdul 96-clanner maratha who is like any other norma bloke, who tills the land, works hard and earns bread). it is a very intricate operation to perform. BJP has to stay in power in delhi for at least 10 years to subvert this deeply entrenched system and convert it.

and even if it is converted, it will remain in hands of same ppl.

Can Sakhaar Karkhanas be hit financially without repercussions on common Marathi manoos?

And even if they stay in power for 10 years what will they do? Or what can they do?

Or should Brahmins who left villages and moved to cities, should move back to villages and re-establish their base?

[devesh]

meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[sunnyP]

Why is it that I ALWAYS see low-esteemed Hindus wearing Islamic caps and other attire, but NEVER see a Muslim fellow trying to make nice with Hindus by applying tilak on his forehead?

Good point. Perhaps the same reason that its always Hindus who claim that all religions are equal, valid & worthy of respect. You dont ever see a Christian or Muslim making that statement

I don't know why Hindus keep peddling this line. Hinduism actually states the opposite - it very clearly differentiates between dharma and adharma therefore how can people say that ALL religions are good/equal? I've never understood this ideology.

There are many paths to God however that does not equal all religions are good. Anyway, sorry for going off topic.

[muraliravi]

I don't know why Hindus keep peddling this line. Hinduism actually states the opposite - it very clearly differentiates between dharma and adharma therefore how can people say that ALL religions are good/equal? I've never understood this ideology.

There are many paths to God however that does not equal all religions are good. Anyway, sorry for going off topic.

Very well said bro. This has to be the rock bed of the next 50 years for hindus to effectively convert muslims and x-tians back to hindusim. Go ahead and say, that you have been duped by dear brother. I will take the responsibility to showing you light and help him chant the Gita.

[JohnTitor]

I don't know why Hindus keep peddling this line. Hinduism actually states the opposite - it very clearly differentiates between dharma and adharma therefore how can people say that ALL religions are good/equal? I've never understood this ideology.

There are many paths to God however that does not equal all religions are good. Anyway, sorry for going off topic.

See this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qav-7be_Zu8

[Atri]

this lobby was broken by BT in urban MH - that is his greatest legacy. Gopinath Munde shows similar promise and is trying to excel it in rural MH in the heartland of 96-clan elite-sugar cooperative owing marathas (not the mango abdul 96-clanner maratha who is like any other norma bloke, who tills the land, works hard and earns bread). it is a very intricate operation to perform. BJP has to stay in power in delhi for at least 10 years to subvert this deeply entrenched system and convert it.

and even if it is converted, it will remain in hands of same ppl.

Can Sakhaar Karkhanas be hit financially without repercussions on common Marathi manoos?

And even if they stay in power for 10 years what will they do? Or what can they do?

Or should Brahmins who left villages and moved to cities, should move back to villages and re-establish their base?

Nothing wrong in 96-clan Marathas retaining power, as long as they support the right cause. The jati-system appears evil because of lack of opportunities. Give an organic all-round growth and increasing pie makes everyone happy. There is a huge groundswell for Modi in this social-group. They will vote along their traditional voting lines, alright. But Munde and Modi has made serious dents in their perception towards BJP which was considered too "brahminical party". as the MH becomes more and more urbanized. this class will shift towards BJP.

however, MH-brahmins are in no position to move-back into villages. they are too deracinated for that. Time to create new-brahmins out of OBCs and Dalits. OBCs and dalits were the real supporters of Shivaji Maharaj, apart from Brahmins and kayasthas. Munde represents this streak of rising power. In the said region (the western MH - nashik+pune-nagar-satara-sangli-kolhpur-solapur), the 96-clan Maratha lobby will always remain dominant - it is simply the demography that is in their favor.

Problem has never been marathas. problem has been the closely knit sugar-lobby which is very similar to MH's own lutyen's cocktail circuit. The recent MSCB Shikhar bank controversy (its an apex bank in MH for all the cooperative banks and financial institutions in MH) is indicator of how the INC-NCP dynamics are at play. The MSCB was going bust, when Ajit Pawar through his hardwork saved this bank (no pun intended, he really worked hard to save this bank which funds and controls all the activities of all the cooperative banks of MH which funds the ventures of everyone associated with Sugar-lobby). IN May 2011, CM Prithvibaba dismissed the governing panel of the bank and replaced it with those members who are loyal to INC and hence queen-bee. This was the major jolt for Sharad Pawar. NCP would have digested INC in MH and emerged single party, if this trend had continued.

the bank which was in loss in 2009 (indiscriminate loans sanctioned to ppl associated with sugar lobby to win 2009 elections - both state and center) was on the course of scoring profit in may'2011 when INC struck it down on grounds of suspicious activity. In august'2013, the bank recorded profit, making everyone associated with the cooperative network happy. The credit went to INC for making reforms, when what he actually did was continuing Ajit Pawar's policies through the new INC-loyal governing council.

this has caused severe internal strifes within this sugar lobby and many of whom have switched over to NDA. The Madha constituency for example has become a civil-war turf for mohite-patil brothers when Pawar gave ticked to vijay simha mohite-patil, his brother switched over to a party named jansewa samiti.

This gives a much coveted opening to NDA in western MH. the NT (nomadic tribes) (dhangar - shepherd/hatkar - caste of the holkars) leader mahadeo jankar (of rashtriya samaj paksha - constituent of NDA) has great chance of winning in Madha. problem is, there is fight even in the upcoming OBC-NT factions for this turf - the two NDA constituents - Mahadeo jankar and Raju Shetty are fighting for Madha seat - pressurizing BJP in the process. Now it depends upon the skill of Gopinath Munde to arrange for a settlement in western MH. Sanjaykaka Patil of Sangli switched over to BJP, so did Sadashivrao Mandlik - sitting MP of Kolhapur.

In this post transformation time, OBCs and NTs will get larger stake in the pie of western MH-polity.Trick is to keep this section of society associated with Hindutva. A section is associated - yes - represented by Munde. But a large section is untapped. many forces, including Ovaisi's MIM are trying hard to win this section over.

As far as brahmins are concerned, all this does not mean MH-brahmins should not do anything. Many MH-brahmins who still are grounded - are the most clearheaded and idealistic bunch of individuals. Many times, they are idealistic to the fault. As long as they do not show any political ambitions, they are highly revered in rural MH. Many are into social service and they also form the backbone of RSS cadre in MH (partly, most are OBCs). Leaving the yuppy MH-brahmins of Pune-mumbai aside, they do show great potential if they chose to take up their traditional role of social reform, counselling and entrepreneurship motivated by ideology. They can pursue political career in urbanized part of MH - the towns and cities. But their largest skill should be in their entrepreneurial and social-counselling.

The vedshalas of Pune are extremely well-funded and yet many traditions are dying due to lack of interested pupils. The Saamaveda and atharvaveda tradition which was thriving in Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Kolhapur until 80s have not almost disappeared. So has many sub-traditions within rigvedic and yajurvedic schools. Society as a whole has been engineered to measure success by material wealth accumulated - this has enticed many brahmin youth (as most others, why blame them alone, hain ji?) away from ideals which their fathers and grand-fathers lived by. There needs a rejuvenation and dynamism introduced in society. Punjab is drug-ridden and truncated thanks to nehrus and indira and rajiv and congis. WB is in deep tamas. The ideological dynamism has to come from MH - but MH populace is fast becoming deracinated. Many non-brahmin sections are now rebelling against brahminical narrative of history (partly on the lines of dravidian faultlines, partly native and rooted rebellion - I welcome the latter). this has begun a churning and rattled the cage of MH-brahmins who were runnig away from reality living off their lives in cocoons. Most of the literary matter which this "upsurge" is churning out is drivel and BS. But this has nonetheless stirred the pot. I thank the orgs like Sambhaji brigade at least for this. I have been associated and in touch with preservation of modi-script letters from Maratha period. all this is bringing out hidden history. While I am really enjoying the sections of society challenging the brahminical view which has dominated the historical narrative, I am also observing the backdrops of those who challenge, for not all are rooted - its a very delicate and necessary surgery. One wrong step and MH (and subsequently India) will spiral down along the DMK way and next 25-30 years will be lost.

Know that MH is the only ideological fountainhead remaining among Hindus. Brahmin friends can help resuscitate that and make it lively again. I've always told this to my brahmin acquaintances - they owe it to dharma for their complacency in past 7-8 decades. If they can do that, they would have repaid their debt to our maataa and then could claim their right on Moksha.

[Sanku]

johneeG -- asking for a blind, and completely airy fairy whine fest to end is a call for blind support is it ? Either keep bashing up or keep a blind support ? The below is one such example

a) So, you are not expecting blind support? If so, good. If you are expecting blind support, then, I don't see any difference between blind supporters of one party/politician from another.

I fail to see why you expect me to expect blind support ? However blind supporters are not the same, this statement is a lot like saying, a devout Hindu == a devout XYZ of abhramic religion.

I find such equivalences, forced and unfortunate.

b) 'airy fairy whine fest', 'bashing up', ...etc are all your opinions of others criticisms

No they are statements on the current criticism based on the fact that non one has showed remote correspondence between their opinion and real life activities. These "criticism" are all completely unfounded, and saying that they are airy fairy was an attempt to challenge this behaviour.

The only thing that I was pointing out is that everyone has their own bias.

It is not necessary for me to have biases on every issue. I might not be god and free from biases everywhere, but at least on this topic, you would be better off discussing available factoids, rather than who has which biases.

a) Gandhi surname is not the only surname in the country. There are several other surnames...

This is precisely the sort of criticism that I have issue with. Please be specific and point which of the national leaders are there due to surnames.

b) Most of the so-called national leaders are either due to their surnames or past laurels(decades back work).

Oh so now it is due to decades back work -- clearly all the karyakarta of BJP are idiots, lacking your insights ?

When NaMo praises MMJ he is also being an idiot I suppose.

Can you please substantiate that statement on national leaders of BJP ?

No, it is not purest saffron syndrome or any such thing. And yes, the merits & demerits of lotus have to be discussed just as all other parties get discussed. I don't know why you want to avoid any criticism of lotus.

Because my dear friend, we DONT HAVE THE LUXURY of pages and pages of debates -- the choice is here and now, and the choice has to be made, the choice is also clear.

I have very little sympathy for intellecutalization of clear cut issues.

10000 page essay of relative stance of ideological purity of x vs y, when you are likely to be reading aliph, be, te in near future is to mind, criminal in terms of its impact.

[jamwal]

There are many paths to God however that does not equal all religions are good.

Well said. Stealing it.

[panduranghari]

Know that MH is the only ideological fountainhead remaining among Hindus. Brahmin friends can help resuscitate that and make it lively again. I've always told this to my brahmin acquaintances - they owe it to dharma for their complacency in past 7-8 decades. If they can do that, they would have repaid their debt to our maataa and then could claim their right on Moksha.

Thanks for a wonderful rejoinder.
Is there a framework to work on this agenda? Savarkar has helped by writing on this. But sometimes cheat sheet is what one needs. Not that this should be considered a tamas ic trait, but mostly standing on the shoulders of giants

[vic]

TRS has shown the middle finger to Kongress and going alone in Telegana. What sort of idiots are ruining congress nowdays?

[jagga]

TRS has shown the middle finger to Kongress and going alone in Telegana. What sort of idiots are ruining congress nowdays?

Gardish mein hain taare! (Very bad times)
Karma catching up with interest !

[vivek.rao]

Why would KCR merge or ally with CON morons who are losing support every second. Infact KCR will lose more votes by aligning with CON party than entering alliance with them. How can MAFIA which is losing power can scare him into merging with that party?

I have now more respect for KCR than Maya,Mulyam,Laloo,Nitish all combined.

[Ashok Sarraff]

TRS has shown the middle finger to Kongress and going alone in Telegana. What sort of idiots are ruining congress nowdays?

Another potential NDA constituent!

[krishnan]

Sonia monia would never have imagined this day would come



BTW one of my SHQ's friend ins spreading an article about the truth about sonia and family , even the truth that is rajiv khan and not gandhi

[muraliravi]

CSDS Poll tracker leak

Maharashtra: NDA 23-29, UPA 16-22 Other (NDA allies) 1-5

Their previous tracker (in Jan) for MH was NDA 25-33, UPA 12-20. So looks like a dip. The vote shares will tell the real story

Delhi: BJP 2-4, AAP 2-4

Delhi Jan tracker was AAP 4-6, BJP 1-3. So looks like a minor upswing here for BJP.

[krishnan]

..

[RajeshA]

CSDS Poll tracker leak

Maharashtra: NDA 23-29, UPA 16-22 Other (NDA allies) 1-5

Their previous tracker (in Jan) for MH was NDA 25-33, UPA 12-20. So looks like a dip. The vote shares will tell the real story

ABP News ‏@abpnewstv 10m
Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may not contest Lok Sabha polls.

[Virupaksha]

TRS has shown the middle finger to Kongress and going alone in Telegana. What sort of idiots are ruining congress nowdays?

Another potential NDA constituent!

its a master class, if TRS + cong means anti cong votes will consolidate to TDP or BJP in telangana - these two parties will never join up with cong.

cong seperate, TRS seperate means anti cong votes go to TRS. say among 15 seats, the split is 5-10, does it matter when those 10 seats are always up for sale, so can always be added to cong.

[muraliravi]

CSDS Poll tracker leak

Maharashtra: NDA 23-29, UPA 16-22 Other (NDA allies) 1-5

Their previous tracker (in Jan) for MH was NDA 25-33, UPA 12-20. So looks like a dip. The vote shares will tell the real story

ABP News ‏@abpnewstv 10m
Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may not contest Lok Sabha polls.

Yes Sir, Gossipguru and Sunday Guardian carried this scoop a while back. So it is official indeed now. Good news. So i guess this should compensate for the slight dip NDA has in this tracker. Rumor is that the BJP seats are intact, it is shiv sena that is taking a beating. In the last 2 months, a lot of people have left sena. MNS staying away from LS is good news for SS.

[muraliravi]

its a master class, if TRS + cong means anti cong votes will consolidate to TDP or BJP in telangana - these two parties will never join up with cong.

cong seperate, TRS seperate means anti cong votes go to TRS. say among 15 seats, the split is 5-10, does it matter when those 10 seats are always up for sale, so can always be added to cong.

The TRS can always be added to NDA also later unless TRS needs congress support in T's vidhan sabha.

[fanne]

please do post CSDS details when available!!

[muraliravi]

please do post CSDS details when available!!

fanne sir, wht i posted was leaks. they shd be broadcasting it live in another 1-2 hrs. will post it soon

[RajeshA]

Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 1m
2009 Election was a total fraud on people of Mumbai. NDA would have swept Mumbai but MNS ney khel bigaad deeya tha


Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 1m
Mumbai North: In 2009
INC Sanjay Nirupam 37.24%
BJP Ram Naik 36.40%
MNS Shirish Parkar 21.53%
MNS + BJP > INC


Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 2m
Mumbai North Central: In 2009
INC Priya Sunil Dutt 48.04%
BJP Mahesh Ram Jethmalani 21.78%
MNS Shilpa Sarpotdar 19.94%
MNS + BJP < INC


Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 3m
Mumbai North East: In 2009
NCP Sanjay Dina Patil 32.60%
BJP Kirit Somaiya 32.15%
MNS Shishir Shinde 29.79%
MNS + BJP > NCP


Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 5m
Mumbai North West: In 2009
INC Gurudas Kamat 35.91%
Shiv Sena Gajanan Kirtikar 30.48%
MNS Shalini Thackeray 17.52%
MNS + SS > INC


Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 7m
Mumbai South Central: In 2009
INC Eknath Gaikwad 43.00%
Shiv Sena Suresh Gambhir 30.35%
MNS Shweta Parulkar 18.10%
MNS + SS > INC


Deepak Singh ‏@smarket 9m
Mumbai South: In 2009
INC Milind Deora 42.48%
MNS Bala Nandgaonkar 24.91%
Shiv Sena Mohan Rawale 22.78%
Add MNS + SS = BJP would have won

[RajeshA]

Only Priya Dutt seems to be invincible from Mumbai North Central.