American columnist George Will once said – columnists must have three seductive skills – he must be pleasurable, concise and gifted at changing the subject frequently.
To a large extent – some of these qualities and need not in that order may suitably apply to politicians also. For BJP and Indian voters, Narendra Modi has been ‘pleasurable’ – the lethal combination of being a champion of Hindutva cause and a development catalyst.
Modi’s way of communicating with people too has been very good – crisp and direct; and yes, he has been very successful in changing the course of debates.
On the other hand, Congress and opposition politics always seemed to have contributed in helping the BJP cause by pursuing their narratives of 'reactions' and most of the time lose the count of trees amid the count of woods.
What does the phrase missing the woods for the trees mean? -- To not understand or appreciate a larger situation, problem, etc., because one is considering only a few or smaller parts of it.
However, there are other important and at times -- more important issues - in terms of governance and the impact of the same in people's lives and in deciding the destiny of the nation. Thus, the takeaways from the year 2023 -- as we embark on a journey for 2024 -- should be -- people need to discuss, debate and understand issues such as -
* The Next Stage of Economic Reforms
** How far can BJP’s hardline 'Hindutva-ridden nationalism' go ? (Art 370 is now history and Ram temple a reality -- the 'flexing' Hindutva card could see push for Uniform Civil Code.
As we discuss these, we need to ponder what happens to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid case. It's progressing. Importantly, the Allahabad High Court has dismissed petitions by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the mosque committee, ruling the 1991 original suit is not barred by The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
The High Court wants the Varanasi local court to adhere to a six-month deadline for completion of proceedings.
*** The welfarism politics vis-a-vis elections now could revolve around “Modi ki guarantee” slogan.
The Congress perhaps overplayed it in Karnataka and now does not have enough money to foot the bill. Telangana's new CM Revanth Reddy now needs Rs 70,000 crore additional budget to implement the Congress party's Six Guarantees.
In recent months, the Congress could have lost a few more states but critically it won Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. Are these wins due to freebies etc?
Notably, in 2019 manifesto, the Congress party promised the 'poor 20% of families' an annual cash transfer of Rs 72,000. The Congress and even parties such as JD-U have played Caste census card. But it seems the issue is still 'falling weak' before BJP's robust Hindutva plank.
The so-called Opposition unity is a myth and also a puzzle. These parties are now divided over what they should do on Jan 22, 2024 -- should they attend Modi-inspired show at Ayodhya or stay indoors? The Congress has announced Bharat Nyay Yatra by Rahul Gandhi from Jan 15 in north east. But the cadres may not be thrilled so much !!
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has her issues and her ambitions. She along with Arvind Kejriwal of AAP played mega spoilsport by pushing Mallikarjun Kharge's name as PM-face. The snub to Rahul has left the grand old party furious but Nitish Kumar is irked more.
There are lot many questions and speculation on how seat adjustments will be done among I.N.D.I alliance constituents. People are also asking about joint rallies etc. But the fact of the matter is in 2019 on Jan 19th, an opposition rally was organised in Kolkata. But in terms of results nothing much was achieved.
In fact, from Bengal the saffron party's strength for Lok Sabha went up from two to 18. For 2024, Amit Shah has set a target of 35 out of 42 and yes, there is a vivid nervousness in the Mamata camp though she still has the advantage in the state. But there are chances her 'positioning' could yet again deprive seats to the communists and Congress.
West Bengal politics will also discuss 'expulsion' of Mahua Moitra. Earlier this year even Rahul Gandhi was disqualified. But will these impact polls outcome? Top of that this year there was an unprecedented smoke attack in Parliament. Also in debate would be issues such as passage of three new criminal laws replacing IPC and CrPC codes and the Evidence Act. Opposition were busy shouting and getting 'suspended' when these draft laws were given approval in both the Houses. Of course they have called these draconian!
The centre has announced 'plans' to take up privatisation of two state-run banks, along with IDBI Bank. Can we expect something more drastic in structural reforms? 'Processed reforms' - they say are already happening. In November 2021, the Prime Minister had backtracked from the path of agri reforms. 'More reforms' were expected in labour laws.... will these come; or more importantly will these really emerge as election issues for the supposedly most important battle of our time -- 2024 elections ??
ends
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