Arjun wrote:Highly cogent analysis as usual from Minhaz...This fact is a keeper:
In 1996, “pariah Vajpayee”, with 161 Lok Sabha seats, couldn’t get allies for longer than 13 days. In 1998, with 182 seats, he won the support of 24 allies. Those 21 extra seats won hearts, not Vajpayee’s sudden shift to the centre of Indian politics.
A truthful statement. Indian regional, sub regional parties are all just dandha. It is the carrots and stick that work and has nothing to do with secularism and communalism, Modi, Advani, Vajpayee etc. Only for rhetoric, fornt-end discussion purposes they keep taking those terms.
Even the anti-cola George Fernandez is part of historic disinvestment government of NDA. All these socialists are part of the same massive privatization. The great anti-north-anti-hindi-anti-Aryan DMK was part of NDA to keep their arch-rival Jaya out. The only real ideological groups are Left and purer-Muslim parties such as MIM who are opposed to BJP at any cost. For them Modi or even Shahnawaz Hussain doesn't make any difference.
It is a myth to attribute everything Vajpayee. All it needs is either BJP gets 175+ or Congress gets less than 125 - BJP led NDA/some new name will form the government. Modi is simply not a factor for getting alliances or losing alliances.
Modi is only a factor for BJP to get more votes and seats. If BJP closes its ranks and work as unified entity rest will fall in place. Even after having internal elections, surveys, moods and when everything is pointing to Modi, the party is still showing disunity. That will be the only reason for a potential UPA-3. Modi-polarization, Mod's inexperience to rule center(most hilarious), Modi-this and Modi-that is all internal broth and has nothing to do with alliances.