SHOOT THEM ALL
Not with Bullets but through Ballots

If Oscars could win elections, Manmohan Singh is already prime minister for the second term. Indian heartthrobs have won beauty contests, Indian cricket teams have won world cups, Indian brains have helped crack the nutty Y2k problem, Indian business magnates have acquired global status, and India has emerged as the second fastest growing economy. As the Father of India’s Economic Reforms that made things possible, Manmohan Singh deserves credit. The man has shined in every post he occupied, from a professor at Delhi School of Economics to RBI governor to Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission to Finance minister to Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh is indeed the best prime ministerial candidate, but does that mean anything to the electorate?

L K Advani, projected as the saffron prime ministerial candidate, has very little to show on the performance side. His public statements have been disproved more than once, suggesting a possible credibility gap. He lacks the stature of Atal Behari Vajpayee, the acceptability of Sushma Swaraj, the ebullience of Arun Jaitley. His Machiavellian machinations have added numbers decisively but have also multiplied enemies within who could bring him down. Not a front runner in any of the popularity polls, he will be least acceptable for other party political wigs who would be king-makers in the post-poll scenario.

Look at Mayawati’s spectacular rise and her potential to challenge any serious contender. On her own she can win more seats than Advani or Manmohan. But on her own, she cannot get the magic number. She needs the Third Front and the Congress to realize her prime ministerial ambition. Without getting closer to the Third Front, she has left her options wide open – for friends, former friends, future friends, and even friend’s enemies. She knows in politics friendship is all about numbers.

Do not underestimate Pawar. In a horse trading game, he could outwit the winnable, with Maharashtra’s sugar lobby backing him. If the Left get a sizable number, which is unlikely, Pawar could be Mayawati’s nemesis.

In Andhra, Chandrababu Naidu has nowhere to go. He will not be averse to a stint in Delhi, if the Left hand it over to him on a platter. Jayalalithaa won’t mind playing `the tail wagging the dog’ as she did with the rickety Vajpayee government of the first term. But don’t be surprised if Maya finds that the 09 polls was a big maya!

Now a word of caution: Don’t trust pollsters and psephologists because they are wrong all the time. And look at the comedy of Indian politics. The moral police in Mumbai are thrashing north Indians for purely moral reasons. The moral police in Orissa are raping nuns for purely moral reasons. The moral police in Mangalore are beating up girls in the pub for purely moral reasons. The moral police elsewhere break windowpanes and glasses on Valentine’s Day for purely moral reasons. In the brave new world of Indian politics, morality and brutality are synonyms. In cold blood, our morality has divorced humanity and decency.

At a public function, a retired general once said: ``To solve all the problems of our country, line up all the politicians and shoot them ‘’. Shoot them indeed, but not with bullets but through ballots. For which, there must be a Digital Revolution – hundreds of blogs and websites shooting politicians, not with bullets but with words. The new medium, the internet, is the power of the people, is the voice of the people, is truly the alternate media, when the established media have failed the people. In a democracy, public opinion tilts the balance of power. The vision and brainpower of the youth must ignite a Digital Revolution, and the Ballot Revolution will follow, throwing all our discredited politicians into the Arabian Sea. That is India’s audacity of hope. Onward Indian youth!