The BENEFIT-OF-DOUBT ZONE in INDIAN POLITICS!
yashas nataraj
by the inclusion of the expelled Uttar pradesh BSP Politician Mr
KHUSHWAHA by the BJP! Immediate to his induction into the BJP, the CBI
conducted raids which is FINE per se. However, the CBI did NOT/has NOT
raided the OTHER TAINTED POLITICIANS discarded by Mayawati and lapped
up by the SAMAJAWADI PARTY(an ally/probable ally of the Cong)!
"Benefit of Doubt(BOD) Zone" for the Moment/Particular ELECTIONS -
Wins the election! Who cares after WINNING? One should APPEAR in the
"BENEFIT of DOUBT" ZONE during ELECTION time! The Congress is adept at
DOING SO - Even in the 2009 ELECTIONS, it SET the AGENDA of the
ELECTORAL DEBATE and the BJP just got sucked into the VORTEX of
Advani's KANDAHAR fiasco and other SIDE-EXTRANEOUS issues! Actually,
the BJP manifesto was MORE ROBUST than the COngress on SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Issues and FOREIGN POLICY!
The Cong was able to CREATE the Benefit of Doubt in the INDIAN
PSYCHE(just as in CRICKET) and was able to project the BJP as the
culprit with the HELP of the MEDIA on the SAME SET of ISSUES on which
even the CONGRESS was GUILTY of..actually MORE GUILTY of - It
successfully EVADED the "CASh-for-VOTES Scam" - Just amazing!
Hence, it is this ZONE which PARTIES engineer to occupy as this
ZONE is favourably placed to WIN the Maximum Number of Votes FROM
DIFFERENT SEGMENTS - CRYSTAL CLEAR on your CORE ISSUES(one cannot
create obscurity/smoke-screen on core issues)..yet in the benefit of
doubt Zone on OTHER ISSUES!
This ZONE is DIFFERENT for DIFFERENT ELECTIONS and is DEFINED
based on the SET of ISSUES on which the ELECTION is fought! It is left
to the genius and capacity of the respective parties to both set the
AGENDA on the ELECTORAL ISSUES and also the ability to place their
parties in the ELECTORAL ISSUE-SPECIFIC BOD ZONE !
Eg: The BJP is Casteist..But, the Congress neither Casteist nor Not Casteist!
FACTS:
1. Local parameters in UP are different from the parameters
elsewhere....the party which manages to MASK its CYNICAL use of
"AVOWEDLY MALICIOUS" parameters like Caste, Corruption in UP FROM the
REST of INDIA especially the URBAN MIDDLE-CLASS which is
SELF-RIGHTEOUS ,MORAL and cannot appreciate the COMPLEXITIES of
POLITICS in INDIA WILL win elections and this is what PARTIES aim at!
2. POLITICS, as FOREIGN POLICY, is about HYPOCRISY though Hypocrisy
should be minimised in INTERNAL POLITICS!
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HOW to MASk?
(Analogy with the HUMAN BODY: Different regions of the Body seem to
have DIFFERENT MASKS on the DNA which prevents the expression of
certain genes and hence certain enzymes at inappropriate regions as
the DNA is the same throughout the BODY - This is just a guess!)
Use the MEDIA effectively so that the NEWS of CYNICAL POLITICS in UP
does NOT PERCOLATE to the REST of INDIA - RAHUL GANDHI and the
Congress is USING EVERY TRICK in the TRADE to get votes - from CASTE
POLITICS to CORRUPTION to COMMUNAL CARDS - MUSLIM APPEASEMENT
etc..But, the MEDIA is effectively MANAGED so that all these manouvres
DO NOT FIND MENTION in NATIONAL DAILIES! Later, the Congress can,
during the GENERAL ELECTIONS talk against CASTE POLITICS!
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The BJP still HAS to LEARN a LOT of "CYNICAL" tactics from the
Congress! The Congress also WOULD WOO the tainted candidates in
UP..But, they do it differently ....i.e SILENTLY - They will NOT
OPENLY accept the tainted members..But, promise them PROSPECTIVE
RETURNS in return for TACIT SUPPORT!
Of course, the Samajwadi Party and BSP can afford to engineer
such CYNICAL maneuvers as they are NOT NATIONAL PARTIES. The Congress
having tied up with the Samajwadi Party and the RLD of Ajit Singh WILL
BENEFIT from the CYNICAL manouvres of the SP and RLD WITHOUT having to
RESORT to such actions ITSELF!
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NO POLITICAL PARTY has ANY "INCENTIVE" to UNILATERALLY FIGHT ELECTIONS
HONESTLY...as "HONESTY ALONE DOES NOT ALWAYS WIN VOTES" and HENCE,
ELECTIONS - This the Urban MIDDLE-CLASS does not understand and hence
is given to MORAL INDIGNATION and HOMILIES!
It would be TOO UNFAIR to expect the BJP to usher in the
change that too during the UP ELECTIONS...it is a slow process!
Actually, the PARTY in POWER should INITIATE this PROCESS so that
OTHER PARTIES can follow SUIT!
INDIAN POLITICS has become SHORT-SIGHTED .. with short-term goals - it
is a FACT of LIFE!
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BJP's calculations in inducting Khushwaha:
1. BJP would surely have known that the MEDIA would lap this issue up
sidelining the abuse of the CBI given the ADVERSARIAL attitude of the
MEDIA towards the BJP!
2. In its calculations, the BJP thinks that this would NOT affect its
prospects much outside UTTAR PRADESH...i.e in Punjab and other states
where polls are being held.....FORGET the 2014 GENERAL elections by
which time this issue would be forgotten or at best used ONLY IN
ARGUMENTS!
3. Interestingly, Mayawati thinks that these CORRUPT MINISTERS wuld
DERAIL the BSP and the BJP thinks that the same Corrupt Politicians
would result in a NET GAIN for the BJP......This discrepancy is
probably due to the difference in objectives - Obviously, the BJP is
NOT thinking abt coming to power in UP whereas mayawati's objective is
to retain power! - The BJP's base is LOWER in UP!
It will have to be seen whether these calculations of the BJP bring in
favourable results!
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SOLUTION:
ONE SOLUTION to PREVENT SUCH LOCAL CYNICAL MANOUVRES is the ALIGNMENT
of CENTRAL and STATE ELECTIONS - The parties WOULD be FORCED to
MAINTAIN a CONSISTENT STANCE THROUGHOUT INDIA and WOULD NOT be able to
take ADVANTAGE of the TIME LAG, Benefit of Memory LOSS among the
PUBLIC!! - This is OF course TRUE for NATIONAL PARTIES(BJP and
Congress) which have to FIGHT ELECTIONS across STATES whereas the
STATE-LIMITED PARTIES not getting affected and REGIONAL PARTIES(spread
of 2-3 states) getting affected marginally!
Yes, the REGIONAL PARTIES may WIN in the short term using
CYNICAL MOVES..But, would NOT be able to EXPAND beyond a STATE! The
electorate should be trusted to see through the ruse of the REGIONAL
PARTIES after 2-3 elections. In addition, REGIONAL PARTIES would also
have to fight ANTI-INCUMBENCY!
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PS:
The System is FLAWED..The players are blamed...But, the SYSTEm can be
changed ONLY by the PLAYERS - Chicken and EGG!
ANALOGY of the Quantum Field Theory - The FIELD is the REALITY...The
PArticles are only TRANSITORY..Yet, the PARTICLES change/influence the
FIELD!!
Eg:
a. Our traffic system is flawed..Yet, the two parties involved in an
accident fight each other, holding the other responsible and as having
violated traffic rules - When the rules are themselves flawed,
FOLLOWING the RULES will create accidents..Hence, you see that PEOPLE
who DO NOT FOLLOW RULES end up being SAFE!
b. Our TAX SYSTEM - People who pay taxes are often QUERIED about TAX
evasion bythe IT dept and are denied/delayed TAX REIMBURSEMENTS
whereas the BIG PLAYERS like Reliance, Hassan Ali etc WHO evade
"THOUSANDS of CRORES"(who VIOLATE RULES) are NOT EVEN APPROACHED by
the IT Dept and are SAFE!