What amuses me the most..is the lack of any proper issue in this race to throne. Parties are nitpicking only single issues to achieve the magical figure of 145 (288 total assembly seats).
BJP-Shivsena is panning the ruling government for the lack of preventive measures against terrorism, which is not completely wrong. But such things happened during the times of ShivSena-BJP too. And, Congress did the same. Held the ruling government solely responsible for it. This will continue...picking each other's collar. MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) is hell-bent on the 'outsider'/'Marathi Manoos' issue. The Dalit leaders (including the Statue princess Mayawati) as usual are more concerned for the well-being of dalits (or rather say increasing Reserved Category Quota) in the state. NCP(Nationalist Congress Party)-Congress, well I believe they still don't have any strong issue to raise. Their main issue will always be.. Which party will have their CM and Deputy CM ? Pre-Nup agreements for NCP-Congress marriage :P . What say guys ??
What about farmer suicides ( this is just like another news-feed for us - like military attacks in Kashmir), lack of electricity supply (10-12 hrs of cuts in rural and 5-6 hrs of cuts in urban areas), corruption (self-explanatory), slum- improvement (the likes of Danny Boyles don't have to pay anything for shooting another 'Slumdog Millionaire'), urban mis-management (it took aeons to make the Bandra-Worli Sea link..Metro Rail project is in hibernation) , flooding (26/7 are common sights in 'Bombay' or rather 'Mumbai'...hope Raj is not reading this), improving the education system(it is no way at par with CBSE and ICSE boards), and terrorism (26/11 issue fizzled out very quickly) ??... the list follows. But apart from one or two, no one's bothered about the umpteen problems this MahaRashtra (great State) has.
The influx of North-Indians, preserving Marathi heritage is a big issue for some. But what one needs to understand is that my merely speaking Marathi language all the time, printing Govt. docs and decorating signboards in Marathi is not going to help tremendously. Things has to come by respect, not by force. What about the Maharashtrians who settle in other states ? Are you asking them to do the same ? Anyone taken effective communications training ? Mass-Media.. any takers ?? I will continue to write on this...and can end up writing another post.. this is very sensitive issue and needs to be address, but by proper means.
The inter-winding stories of this elections has many complex plots. The main story being "The Long-Lost Brother" or cousin I would say (the Thackeray clan) . The legacy of one of the prime and adorned leader in the state is completely divided and they would be themselves responsible for cutting each other's vote. And yeah..another similar story of the Dutts....Sanju Baba is the face of Samajwadi Party (they woo the Muslim voters) , while his sister sitting Congress MP. Clashes and slanderous remarks on one other during election rallies continue between these blood-ties.
"I'm Prince/Princess Charming" story is prevalent in Bollywood . We know the likes of Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Khannas, Aroras and Shettys cannot act and they still feature in big-budgeted ventures. Nepotism. And it exists here too... Big Mom-Dads ensures that their kiddos get the party tickets..who cares what work they have done for the constituency. As long as you have a surname - Deshmukh, Pawar, Patil (yes.. the President fame), Munde, Rane, Alva... you're good to go. The current CM Mr. Ashok Chavan has already entered the record books for being the first father-son CM duo in the state.
"STATUEry Warning" .. flicked from some website...and there ain't anyMayawati involved here. Not a very significant election issue..but very interesting. A humongous statue of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the lines of 'the statue of liberty' is planned and billions of rupees will be flown for this..eventually it will all flow into the sea..cuz that's where the statue is planned. Congress wants this to be a symbol of celebration, commemoration of their great rule (they think this will be their Taj Mahal). Here's the twist, Mr. Bal Thackeray is not in favor of this. Yeah, after renaming all the stations and airports, and already having similar statue at the Gateway of India..who needs another one..that too in deep sea. Just changing few thousand documents and doing the renaming process doesn't cost billions.. Right :P ?? But look at new angle, we could have more tourists for this amazing thing. And how about the ride to this statue and charging few dollars for the visit. Dollar influx baby.
"The NCP-Congress Alliance" no need to say anything about this. The say they are together and they still fight internally. What NCP needs is assurance of the CM berth(they have been eyeing this for past two elections) and they will change sides with the snap of finger. This alliance rests on such weak foundation that neither have any similar ideologies nor principles, just for the numbers they are together. Infact, NCP was formed because Mr. Pawar didn't like to report to a person of foreign Origin (Mrs.Gandhi) and what happens..he joins hands with Congress the same election. But snapping ties doesn't look a plausible situation.. given past two elections and number crunching by few channels.
"The Dalit Votebank" is never considered a threat for the deciding the winner. The platform, which was brilliantly laid by Dr. Ambedkar was never taken properly by its leaders. Divided leadership and so many parties fighting for their rights (reservations - 'Jai Bhim Bolo Andar Chalo') have muddled things up. The Atahavales (of RPI- Republican Party of India), Mayawati (who calls herself "Dalit ki Beti"...lolzz) and other leaders (including Ambedkar's grandson) have only one task to take up. No one should defame an Ambedkar statue. You know what follows next..stone pelting, riots, bandhs, and school holidays (yippee). Other parties also dwell on same logic to stay in limelight.
"The Bollywood Saga".....now that election rallies will begin...pretty lasses and blue-eyed boys will do the party endorsing. Its fun to see Neha Dhupias, Zintas, Khans, Kapoors et al at rallies and media covering it extensively. Poor people.... they also have to suffer from these same parties when their movies inadvertently offend any religious sentiments under the pretext of Malapropism.
"Thriving on the Left-Overs" - Congress has been making a living out of it esp. in Maharashtra. The deserted leaders like Narayan Rane, Sanjay Nirupam (from Shiv Sena, BJP) have benefited Congress exceedingly... like getting the Konkan region votebank from Rane. And with likes of Raj Thackeray who can join them (if his Marathi Manoos issues are addressed)..things look good for Congress.
Congress has hardly faired any better in administration in their two 5-yr quotas and people may look for change. But, more or less any party is just the same. Differences in ideology doesn't necessarily mean not the same functioning. All work in same way. Sluggish, Defensive, Self-Plaudits..thats how everyone is.
There can also be a scenario of 'hung assembly' (96' case) ..100 crores already betted on this. And it would fascinating to see how the independent parties exchange their seats for some portfolios. Oct 22 is the result date...and the movie ending looks very open ended.
Sorry for writing this huge essay :)..but felt strong about this. And had lot of material to cover. Thanks for reading the epic post.
Disclaimer: Being in the States and not able to vote for past few elections..doesn't make me an outsider. I still care for the things that happen and this is my personal opinion. Nothing to be taken too seriously for knowingly/unknowingly offending any person. I guess I will have to change this disclaimer later and add more apologies :P.
