In India, politics has been reduced to a focus on the trivial. . The UP elections seem to focus on caste, quotas and freebies. It is a race to the bottom. At least that is what it seems from the outside. Populism, more than progressive policies, rules. Maybe it will take another election for different agendas to come to the fore.
2014 will be a crucial election for India’s future. There will be a change of guard in both the leading national political parties. There will be many regional parties all hoping to get enough seats to have disproportionate clout in a new government.
This is where history can help. Understanding our past elections can perhaps help decode the reasons for victory and defeat, and see how one can be turned into the other. India’s chequered political past offers a fascinating array of case studies and clues to help plan for the future.
Continued tomorrow.
