TINA factor? Poll results show people are the real alternative – Economic Times

Sharad Pawar must have been born under a super special star with every astral body in the right place. He is indestructible and unstoppable blessed a million times over by the gods who watch over him. Why, they even sent buckets of rain for him in Satara during the last leg of his hectic campaigning trip. Talk about divine intervention try beating that!

Some say the downpour swung several votes in his partys favour, as voters watched a portly 78-year-old seasoned politician address a mass rally, drenched to the skin. It was an inspired, brilliant decision to not cancel. Its hard to think of a single other politico whod have the shrewdness to carry on with the show, and behave like it was normal to address a gathering with the heavens opening up unexpectedly. That single visual established several things in one go Maharashtras Maratha strongman was back in the game!

He owned Satara like a boss. And proved sceptics hopelessly wrong. Every political analyst had written off Pawar, given the tattered state of his party at the most crucial time. Loyalists had jumped ship, brazenly defected, and were all set to start their new innings under a different captain. They had clearly underestimated Pawar and his game plan. Here is one politician capable of decimating any opposition, using his phenomenal brain power, while they foolishly focus on the obvious muscle power. Taunted by Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtras chief minister, on countless occasions, Pawar hit back with stunningly aimed left hooks that flattened the Fadnavis offensive. This is a Pawar speciality that foes should overlook at their own peril. As those who wrote him off will soon discover, when he strikes as he will he chooses his timing with lethal precision.

There is much to learn from these chatur warhorses! And the rather unexpected results of the two state elections (Maharashtra and Haryana) are telling indeed. To state it bluntly: the party bosses handling all things BJP screwed up big time. They now need to wake up and smell the sherbet. Nothing and nobody can be taken for granted, least of all the canny voter. No political party can afford to sit back and relax, regardless of its overall success. Political fortunes are made and unmade in a flash. Politics bites back viciously when no ones looking. Complacency kills. And this is exactly where the BJP faltered, stumbled and fell flat on its face. Could Fadnavis have ever imagined hed lose his tactical advantage and deliver such poor numbers? Ditto for the Haryana chief minister. Pawar as kingmaker and leader of the opposition in the state assembly is a googly nobody anticipated! Team Fadnavis went for a six overnight! Similarly, Dushyant Chautala with 10 seats will be the man pulling all the strings in Haryana. The underdogs are on a roll in both states, and it will be fun to watch who walks away with the bone.

The comatose Congress party provided the other big surprise, with a respectable showing that left political watchers gasping. How did they do it collect 44 seats in Maharashtra and 31 in Haryana when critics were busy looking the other way? After singing bhajans at the funeral of the ridiculously diminished Congress party, given the embarrassing performance during the general election, comes this sudden spike in popularity! How? Any explanations? None! One can keep redoing the math and still not figure out the anomaly. Which has made cynics wonder: if a down and out, and hopelessly demoralised, obviously headless party of losers and non-performers has pulled off this Diwali dhamaka, what would happen if someone actually took charge at this critical stage and gave those lazy party slackers serious grief? This could be Sonia Gandhis big moment to assert herself and seize control directly. Not through a phony proxy. God knows what her inner voice is telling her at this point, but lets hope wise counsel is being provided by that mysterious voice. If she assumes her natural position as the commander-in-chief in a more upfront way, with Priyanka as a trusted lieutenant (forget Rahul he aint cut out for this rough game), the political narrative could change rapidly. Nothing is as impermanent as the game of thrones politicians play around the world. The reality check provided to the BJP this week could lead to two responses the clever one would be to undertake an internal audit, instantly reboot and try to find someone to take over day to day matters from Amit Shah. The other, less clever option would be to go into denial and play the blame game. Either way, the ball is in the BJPs court. Lets not keep saying: Where is the alternative to the BJP? What other option do we have? Heres the good news: there is always an alternative. And the options are under our nose. Jaago, desh waasis we the people are the alternative and the option. The future of India is safe in the voters hands.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

Excerpt from:
TINA factor? Poll results show people are the real alternative - Economic Times