One India I have been thinking about is taking a few days to actually travel through Uttar Pradesh to get a better sense of what is happening. Maybe, even attend some of the rallies of the leaders. It is an India that is very different from what we in Mumbai are used to. Even though … Continue reading Elections Excitement – Part 5
What is going to be interesting is what happens once the elections results come out on March 4. First will be the spin each party gives to claim victory. Football-like results will be trotted out – 3-2, 4-1, or whatever. Once we get past that, we will need to get down to the harsh realities … Continue reading Elections Excitement – Part 4
We get filtered news through the English media on the UP elections. In most cases, it is what the parties would have us believe. So, stories emanate about how internal surveys show the Congress leading, and another report has the BJP focused on 243 seats of the 400+ in the state. It will all boil … Continue reading Elections Excitement – Part 3
The real battle, of course, is in Uttar Pradesh. From the reports and hearsay, here is what I have gathered. BSP and SP are in tough fight for first place, with both expected to get 120-130 seats. In essence, the BSP is expected to lose about 90 seats from its 2007 tally. These spoils are … Continue reading Elections Excitement – Part 2
Elections in India are always fun. No one really knows how voters think, and yet everyone tries to speculate. Voters get wooed in multiple different ways through all kind of sops. It is both political theatre and a celebration of democracy, as commentators repeatedly remind us. And every bunch of state elections is a “semi-final” … Continue reading Elections Excitement – Part 1
