12-24-2007, 02:13 AM (This post was last modified: 12-24-2007, 02:14 AM by G.Subramaniam.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Dec 24 2007, 02:08 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Dec 24 2007, 02:08 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->GS,
What went wrong in Godhara?
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In Godhra seat, muslims are 20% and thanks to hindu consolidation, BJP
should have won, however
1. The sitting MLA, Bajrang Dal chief, got caught on tehelka sting
2. The alternate candidate had to be found in a hurry
3. This alternate BJP candidate is implicated in 120 crore bank scam
4. For the last 5 years, the muslims of Godhra have become very tame and
hindus tend to forget easily
5. Modi for the last 5 years has focused more on development and less on hindutva
and this tends to increase hindu forgetfulness
<b>The lesson from Godhra is that development is not enough, there must be constant reminders of islamic terrorism or hindus will tend to forget</b>
<b>Congress didn't accept people's mandate: Modi</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Addressing a public meeting in his Maninagar constituency in Ahmedabad, he cautioned that 'people who have not been able to digest BJP's victory' will try to create hurdles in the state's progress.
"Instead of accepting the people's mandate, the Congress has already declared that they will continue with their anti-Modi campaign," Modi said, adding "I pray to God to give them strength." <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
"The people of Gujarat felt that the development work happening in the state should not be stopped. They felt that hurdles should not the created in the state's progress and so they voted for the BJP," he said.
<b>Modi assured the people of Maninagar that once he assumes office for a new term he will not do any thing for which the people of the constituency will have to be ashamed of</b>.
<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Dec 24 2007, 04:10 AM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Dec 24 2007, 04:10 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Good to see Modi back in power, he has done well after all the opposition.
Now i wonder what the fate of Keshubhai is.
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<b>Modi accuses Election Commission of double standard</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] on Sunday charged the Election Commission with double standards for its caution to him on his remarks about the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a fake encounter while sparing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi [Images] the same for her "merchant of death" utterances.
<b>"One notice for the son of Hindustan and another for the foreigner daughter. One decision for the son of Hindustan and another for the foreigner daughter. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>I think the hangover of colonial temperament continues," </b></span>Modi said in his reaction to the EC's ruling on replies given by him and Gandhi on their controversial remarks made in the run up to Gujarat assembly elections.
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<b>Idols are better vote-getters than ideology</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Popular myths have been demolished and demons slain in this election. For instance, the BJP hesitated to act against party dissidents led by Keshubhai Patel, fearing a rebellion among the rank-and-file party workers. <b>Some senior leaders in Delhi were hoping to put Modi in his place by letting the dissidents play spoilsport</b>. Sunday's result shows that dissidence has had minimal impact on the BJP's vote share, which could be anything between 50 and 51 per cent, up from its share of 49.5 per cent in 2002
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What this election has also demonstrated is that caste ceases to be a dominant factor when economics takes centrestage. The Congress tried to recreate the magic of KHAM (Kshatriya Harijan Adivasi Muslim) by selecting candidates with the right caste and community identity, creating some amount of concern among traditional election strategists in the BJP. The Congress's strategy has come a cropper.
Similarly, tribals, contrary to what pundits have been claiming in the media, have not shifted their loyalty en masse to the Congress. What should worry the Congress the most is Sonia Gandhi's failure to draw woman voters. Modi would not have been triumphant had women, irrespective of their age and social and economic status, not voted for him, their Chhappan ni Chhaati (Modi's reputed 56-inch chest), in vast numbers.
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<b>When the BJP election manifesto was being drafted, insiders say, there was a strong suggestion that it should mention an offer of amnesty for farmers who had defaulted on paying their electricity bills and against whom cases had been registered. Modi is believed to have given a patient hearing to his party colleagues and then put his foot down. He would not compromise on his policies. He took the issue to the people and they have voted in his favour</b> <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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Who are these senior leader? someone should door to them.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP rebels humbled, RSS stands sidelined </b>
deccan.com
New Delhi, Dec. 23: BJP leader Narendra Modi, preparing to be sworn in as Gujaratâs Chief Minister for a third term, was able to vanquish all the rebels who had joined ranks to defeat him in the elections. The eight rebels who contested on Congress tickets suffered major losses as Mr Modi consolidated his hold on the state and the party.
<b>The RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a major section of which was openly supporting the rebels, has also been âexposedâ, with BJP supporters of Mr Modi pointing out that âthey have all made themselves irrelevant in their opposition.â </b>
<b>VHP leader Praveen Togadia kept a low profile through the election campaign, and sources said that while he did not come out publicly he was fuelling the rebellion against Mr Modi from within.</b> <b>A senior RSS functionary admitted to this newspaper that the organisation was witnessing a âbhayankar (fierce) divisionâ and was split down the middle on the question of Mr Modi.</b>
The rebels were particularly active in Saurashtra, where five of them were contesting on the Congress symbol. Mr Modi retained 45 of the 63 seats in Saurashtra despite earlier reports that his hold on this part of Gujarat was slipping. Congressmen from the state do not hesitate to point out that the rebelsâ campaign was not substantive, and that despite the propaganda the people did not vote for them. <b>Prominent BJP rebel Dirubhai Gajera, who was contesting from Surat, lost despite the fact that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had staged a roadshow in his support in the constituency.</b> Another prominent BJP rebel who lost on the Congress ticket was Bechar Badani.
The Saradar Patel Utkarsh Samiti, floated by former home minister Gordhan Zadaphia (who was Mr Modiâs right-hand man during the 2002 violence) and former chief minister Suresh Mehta, is unlikely to survive this defeat. Mr Zadaphia had told this newspaper at the time that the one aim of the samiti was to ensure the defeat of Mr Modi, and for that it was prepared to campaign for<b> âanyone who is opposing Modi.â He said he had given inputs to the Congress for its manifesto and Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela confirmed that the samiti was âworking for us.â</b> Mr Modi has emerged victorious, and the BJP rebels who were hoping to effect a regime change have retired.
The Congress strategy in the state was dependent on the rebels, who were roped into the campaign at one level or the other to take on the BJP. At least 50 sitting MLAs had been denied tickets by Mr Modi because of the anti-incumbency factor. He fielded newcomers from most of these seats. <b>The RSS and the VHP decided to help the rebels, and indirectly the Congress,</b> because of the personality cult being built around the chief minister.<b> An RSS functionary told this newspaper that Mr Modi was becoming bigger than the organisation, and âthis could not be tolerated.â </b>
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VHP and RSS leadership is full of idiots and fools are writen all over them.
Maut ka Saudagar', 'Liar', 'the Ugly Indian' etc etc etc.
All the kind of epithets, the likes of which till now used to come easily out of President George Bush's [Images] mouth and the pens of his neo conservative supporters.
Mr Bush should be worried that he has now a growing number of competitors in the coining of demonising epithets in the community of the self-styled secularists of India.
What epithets they did not use against Narendra Modi [Images] for the last five years and particularly in the weeks before the election to the Gujarat legislative assembly, in which the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party won a spectacular victory despite the best (or worst) efforts of these self-styled secularists to demonise him day in and day out!
The pathological dislike -- even hatred -- that some of our journalists -- particularly in the electronic media -- have for Modi could be seen or sensed as one watched the television coverage of the counting of votes on December 23.
Initially, as it appeared that the BJP might not do well in the final tally, there was excitement among many television anchors. They thought they had tasted blood. After an hour, the BJP candidates started racing ahead and it became clear the the Congress was in for a drubbing.
The disappointment on the faces of some of the anchors was to be seen to be believed. A star lady anchor could not help remarking: 'Modi might be able to win the elections in Gujarat, but he still can't get a visa to go to the US and other Western countries.' Some consolation!
Instead of spending their time searching for abusive expressions in the dictionary and in their copy-book of such expressions, if these self-styled secularists had only visited the Web sites, discussion groups and blogspots of members of the Hindu community not only in India, but also in other countries of the world -- particularly in the US -- they would have noticed something, which might have given them cause for introspection.
They would have noticed that Modi is becoming the icon of a growing number of Hindus not only in India, but also in the Hindu Diaspora spread across the world. The support for him is not confined only to the Gujarati-speaking Hindus of the world. It is spread right across the Hindu spectrum -- whatever be the language or ethnicity or place of origin of the Hindus concerned.
They would have noticed that in the Hindu Diaspora in the West, more young people admire Modi than grown-ups. Many of his young admirers in the US were born and brought up there and had the benefit of the best of secular education. In spite of this, there is a sense of pride in them that the Hindu community has at long last produced a leader of the calibre of Modi.
What is it they see in him?
His simple and austere living of the kind associated with the late Kamaraj of Tamil Nadu, but not seen in the leaders of today?
His reputation as an incorruptible politician, the likes of which is not found anywhere in India, not even in his own party?
His style of development-oriented governance, which even his detractors do not hesitate to praise?
The fruits of his policy, which Gujarat and its people are already enjoying?
His tough stance on terrorism?
His lucid-thinking on matters concerning our national security?
His defiance in the face of the greatest campaign of demonisation mounted against him, the likes of which only Indira Gandhi [Images] had faced from her political opponents and sections of the media in the 1970s?
All these are factors, which influence their favourable perception of him, and which have already been highlighted and analysed in the articles on his impressive election victory.
But there is one factor, which is more important than these and which has not found mention in the analyses.
That is, for large sections of the Hindus -- young and old, even more among the young than among the old -- he gave them a sense of pride in their identity as Hindus.
They feel that he removed from their minds long habits of defensiveness as Hindus carefully nurtured by the self-styled secularists.
As if to proclaim one's Hindu identity and to assert one's rights as Hindus in their own homeland in which they are in a vast majority (80 per cent of the population) is to be communal, is to become an ugly Indian.
For these self-styled secularists, a pretty Indian is a Hindu, who is all the time on the defensive, fights shy of proclaiming his Hindu personality and asserting his rights as a member of the majority community.
These self-styled secularists would not address their sermons of secularism to the Islamic countries, where for a Muslim to convert a non-Muslim into Islam is an act blessed by Allah, but for a non-Muslim to convert a Muslim into his religion is a crime calling for the death penalty.
For them, secularism is a virtue which a Hindu should practise towards others, but not others towards him.
It is Modi's rejection of this hypocrisy of the self-styled secularists, which makes him stand apart as a Hindu leader with a difference in the eyes of his admirers.
Bharathiyar, the Tamil poet who inspired millions of Tamil youth to join the independence struggle under Mahatma Gandhi [Images], wrote: Tamizhanenru Chollada, Talai Nimirndhu Nillada (Say You Are a Tamil, Hold Your Head High).
The growing legion of Modi's admirers in the Hindu community all over the world are saying: Hindu Enru Chollada, Talai Nimirndu Nillada (Say You Are A Hindu, Hold Your Head High).
They are no longer prepared to be defensive in proclaiming their Hindu idenity, in asserting their rights as Hindus.
They are secular in the genuine sense of the word, but for them secularism does not mean developing a guilt complex about being a Hindu and all the time conceding the rights of others. They do not accept the argument that a Hindu, who asserts his rights, ceases to be a secularist.
<b>It's time to show large-heartedness, says Modi</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Gandhinagar, December 24: Making an indirect reference to his adversaries, Narendra Modi, who will take oath as Chief Minister of Gujarat for the third time on Tuesday, said "it is the need of the hour that we show large-heartedness towards each and everyone".
"Some people may have failed to see the changing times and the turn of events. It is the demand of the time that we show large-heartedness towards each and everyone," Modi said after he was unanimously elected as BJP Legislature Party leader.
Modi acknowledged his indebtedness to the BJP workers in helping him surmount the manifold problems and emerge victorious in the recent assembly elections.
Tracing the problem of rebellion in the BJP to corruption, he said that those people who were involved in 'hanky-panky' business have gone (lene-denewale woh log chale gaye). <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>"People thought that as we had not made appointments to the boards and corporations, there would be large-scale disaffection in the party and the BJP would lose.</b>
<b>"However, the BJP workers have not come to make commission but are out on a mission. They have not joined the party to receive but to give something back to the society,"</b> Modi said.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Karnataka is the new frontline state. Watch for fireworks and political jockeying. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lets see, in which direction Prasad will go.
Deve Gowda had destroyed his son's health by his dirty games.
<b>Why the idea of Modi wins</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But, equally, we should be under no illusion that the Congress provides the fuel that lights Modiâs fire. And the blaze now threatens to engulf them.
While most of the media was focused on the intellectually dead-end Hindutva versus Development debate, the real issue in the campaign was Modiâs personal attributes: his incorruptibility, his total dedication, his grim reaper-like character calling everyone to account. There is more than a touch of megalomania and narcissism in Modi. But that gives him an advantage. The first is a projection of utter sincerity. He is not a creature shaped by the opinion of others, and every initiative he takes belongs to him. Contrast this with almost every other politician. These politicians seem creatures largely of opinion. Like our prime minister, they disavow their own responsibility at every turn. In politics, if the contest is between sincerity and an utter lack of trustworthiness, the former will always have an advantage even if tied to an unsavoury cause.
Finally, it is sheer nonsense to say that Modi will pose a problem for the BJP more than the Congress. This is the sort of wishful thinking that has led many a pollster to clutch at straws. The BJP will emerge more unified and energised. His victory raises the spectre of a more polarising politics. But as India transforms, the tragedy is that no other politician can understand, âthare dil me kya che?â Most of them are too cowardly to even understand what is in their own hearts. This is why Modi stands out.
The writer is president, Centre for Policy Research
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