State News And Discussion - 3

[Guest]

<b>Modi fleet versus Advani rath</b>

Joshua Newtonn
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.a...ehHe7IsSU=&SEO=

NEW DELHI: One wanders to the left, another to the right. Both are equally in error, but, are seduced by different delusions, so said the ancient Latin lyric poet Horace on politicians.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has a sweet-bitter choice at hand, as the pull of corporate tycoons and the party’s vivacious leadership are in two contrasting directions for the hot seat of Prime Minister. As the BJP began reiterating L K Advani as its choicest candidate for the post, India Inc started pulling the saffron rath in the way of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The timing should amuse us. Former Vice -President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who was flapping his wings with plans to contest the polls, on Friday stepped out of the fray.

That ought to have cleared the rubble off Advani’s path. BJP’s boys even got busy in the capital city pasting a crore stickers on vehicles that scream: ‘Advani for PM’.

But then pop comes India’s major corporate honchos’ choice: Modiji.

Sparked off by Ratan Tata, and further sparkled by support from Anil Ambani and Sunil Mittal, the name is doing the rounds among influential circles. “If Modi can lead a state so well, imagine how well will he lead the country,” said Ambani. And Mittal piped up to echo the sentiment: “If there is one man who can run the whole nation that is Modi.” So, as choices, could the brand of politics that BJP pursues under these two gentlemen differ? A wooly public perception stops short with the idea that both Advani and Modi belong to the same school of Hindutva.

But a closer look reveals chinks in the theory. Former Deputy Prime Minister Advani believes Hindus are pushed into violence by the sheer political favouritism towards Muslims. His arch enemies he calls pseudo-secularists. On the other hand, Modi proclaims an acidic anti- Muslim policy. Loud and clear.

Apparently, both gentlemen seem dressed up for the occasion. One ensures that the contenders to the hot seat have fallen by the wayside and rallies the entire party behind him.

The other harvests lakhs of crores of rupees as investment and flexes his leadership muscles.

And to stay hip, both took to blogging and began swearing by the nation’s youth. On his website, Modi lauds youth ``having the potential to lead the universe.’’ Advani, on his blog, declares that ``India’s youth can make the 21st century, India’s century.’’ How convenient to forget for a moment that of these two PM aspirants of the BJP, one is as old as the Republic of India. And the other, the more probable one, far and away the older.