Delhi Assembly Elections 2015: AAP Scripts History, Gives Big Jolt to BJP, Wipes Out Congress

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scored a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly elections on February 10 by winning 67 of the 70 seats leaving Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with only three and completely wiping out Congress which failed to win even a single seat – a first. On a vertical slide since May 2014, the Congress hit the rock bottom in the Capital with all its 70 candidates losing the elections. Remember that Congress, which had ruled Delhi for 15 years until December 2013.

A record 67.14 per cent turnout was recorded in the elections on February 7 in which a total of 673 candidates participated. The number of candidates from recognized national and state parties were 296 while 183 candidates belonged to registered parties. There were 194 Independent nominees.

Thought to be a close competitor, the BJP could not garner a double-digit tally, failing miserably to read the signs that were evident from the buzzing AAP poll booths on election day itself. The BJP, which has been out of power in Delhi for the past 16 years, made a gamble by bringing in former IPS officer Kiran Bedi into the party and made her their chief ministerial candidate which is said to have triggered discontent among the party leaders and ranks.

To call the emphatic Delhi win of the AAP merely “historic” is to underestimate the contextual significance of the moment, arguably whose clearest meaning is the contemptuous rejection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s urgent appeals to the Delhi electorate to vote his party in so that his hands may be strengthened.

Positive Aspect

The surprising part of the result is not the victory of the AAP but the huge margin. This clearly indicates that this is not a negative vote. There are two important reasons for the AAP victory. The first is that a great majority of Delhi – especially the deprived – found the 49-day government to be one which had yielded positive results: petty exactions by police and government personnel had disappeared, electricity and water bills were favorably impacted for the consumer. Retrospectively this seems to have produced a sense that AAP provided a representative party of governance and was not just a party of Opposition.

The second important feature is that AAP not only managed to survive the Lok Sabha verdict but actually consolidated their organization. Elected councilors implemented schemes with their allotted money and the conviction of volunteers was energized again by the Delhi Dialogues which brought them into close contact with local needs of especially the underprivileged and produced local manifestos. All of this brought back the involvement with practical activity and the belief in using the political machinery to serve the nation, which is the real core of the conviction that propels the AAP volunteers.

Political Earthquake

International media have described AAP's stunning electoral triumph over the BJP in Delhi as a "political earthquake," taking a jibe at Prime Minister Modi's meteoric rise to the helm by saying -- "After all, what goes up must come down."

The New York Times dubbed BJP's defeat, less than a year after the party's victory in the polls at the centre, as a "smaller political earthquake." "Less than a year after Modi won a historic victory to become India's new prime minister, a smaller political earthquake struck the capital, as partial results indicated that Modi's governing party had been crushed in local elections by a young political organization led by an anti-corruption campaigner (Kejriwal)," the daily highlighted.

The Washington Post termed it as "stunning defeat" at the hands of the "upstart anti-corruption Common Man Party." "The contest was widely viewed as a measure of Modi's political clout here. The bitterly fought election for control of the legislative assembly mark the first political setback to Modi's BJP since he became prime minister in May 2014," the paper stated.

Advantage Women Candidates

Six women leaders have managed to secure a place in the 70-member House, a meager eight percent even as fairer sex accounts for almost 45 percent of the population in the national capital. There were 63 women candidates in this election as against 71 in 2013.

While as many as 66 women candidates were in fray, all the six winners, who have made it to the Assembly, belong to the AAP. They are Rakhi Birla, Bandna Kumari, Saritha Singh, Alka Lambha, Pramila Tokas and Bhavna Gaur.

Interestingly, the three women candidates elected to the Delhi Assembly in 2013 polls were also from AAP -Birla, Bandana Kumari and Veena Anand.

Birla, who was the Cabinet minister for Women and Child, Social Welfare and Languages in Delhi during AAP's 49-day regime, contested from Mangol Puri constituency in West Delhi and defeated Congress' Raj Kumar Chauhan by 22,699 votes.

Elected as an MLA from the Shalimar Bagh constituency in the 2013 Assembly polls, Bandana Kumari emerged victorious by defeating another woman candidate, BJP's Rekha Gupta.

Alka Lamba, a former leader of Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) who had joined AAP in 2013, won from Chandni Chowk constituency, defeating yet another women candidate of BJP, Suman Kumar Gupta, by more than 18,000 votes.

Another women who emerged victorious was Parmila Tokas, an independent municipal councilor. She was fielded from RK Puram constituency, where the party had pitted Shazia Ilmi in the last elections. Ilmi left AAP in 2014 and ultimately joined hands with BJP just before the Delhi elections. AAP's student wing president Sarita Singh won from the Rohtash Nagar Assembly constituency with a margin of 7,874 votes.

While women safety, which is a key concern in the national capital, featured widely in various parties' poll manifestos, when it came to fielding women candidates, the they did not opt for them. A total of 19 women candidates were fielded by three major political parties in the contest – AAP, BJP, and Congress.

BJP had given tickets to maximum number of seven women candidates including its chief ministerial nominee Kiran Bedi, former Congress leader Krishna Tirath and youth face Nupur Sharma.

All the six women candidates of AAP emerged victorious. The least number of women candidates was fielded by the Congress which had given tickets to just five.

Assessment

Undoubtedly, people have given a historic mandate to the AAP this time, carrying it on its shoulders to an absolute majority in the Assembly. This is a sign that people do not want pomp and show, and show of power, but results.

It is a vote not just in favor of Kejriwal but also against the arrogant Modi-Amit Shah duo. The Shah strategy of winning elections has failed. In fact, BJP-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers were annoyed by top-down decision making. An outsider, Bedi's choice as a chief ministerial candidate was a mistake the leadership still does not accept.

Coming on top of a massive hype, the one thing BJP has delivered is a disturbing communal atmosphere in the country and little else that might be tangible. Judging from the kind of people who voted AAP, this factor may just have been decisive, with the middle class intelligentsia making the difference on the margin. The disaster the BJP has encountered would place it on the back foot in the coming state election over the next two years.

Change of Reign in Uttarakhand: Khanduri Sworn in as Chief Minister

Major General Bhuvan Chander Khanduri (retired) has been sworn in as the sixth Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, replacing Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who was dumped by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command, which is desperately looking to refurbish the party’s image for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Reason Behind Exit of Nishank
The departure of Nishank as the state’s chief minister of poll-bound Uttarakhand is a reminder that in politics, timing is everything, as is perception. It was primarily because of timing that the writer-turned-politician was shown the door so swiftly by the BJP. With Assembly elections just months away, the party thought a last-minute image makeover could turn the tide in its favor. Also, at a time when it is planning an all-out offensive against the UPA over corruption, the BJP felt Nishank could become a baggage, burdened as he is with an image of inefficiency amid allegations about corruption in his government.
Possibility of Midterm Polls
Senior BJP leader L K Advani is set to roll out his rath to take on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) over corruption. The party hopes to build a nationwide movement amid a perception, right or wrong, that a midterm general election cannot be ruled out, and as such it cannot afford skeletons in its closet.
In the Uttarakhand BJP, known for infighting, many battles were fought between B C Khanduri and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari before Nishank took over -- ironically from Khanduri who has succeeded him now -- following the rout in the Lok Sabha elections. The two stalwarts have since buried the hatchet and joined hands in getting Nishank out of the way.
The 53-year-old debutant chief minister's style of functioning had led to many complaints. As for the allegations of corruption around his government, these range from irregularities in the award of hydroelectric power projects -- 56 of them had to scrapped after an uproar and resulted in a huge loss -- to a controversy over the change of the pattern of land use by a pharmaceutical company. There are, however, no allegations of corruption against Nishank specifically.
In the award of hydel projects, the allegation was that those who secured the contracts were not technically qualified and did not meet the terms and conditions. There were instances of some of them having allegedly furnished false addresses. Allegations of corruption also flew over Citurgia Biochemicals allegedly changing a land use pattern to facilitate a housing project.
"It is not just the issue of irregularities in award of hydro-electric projects. We have been alleging that there was misuse of funds allocated for organizing the Kumbh Mela and provided for disaster relief. Everybody knows about the land scam too," said T P S Rawat, who last month resigned from the BJP to float a regional outfit. Rawat said he had written to BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and Advani a year ago drawing their attention to corruption.
Nishank was called to Delhi several times and asked to work overtime to change the perceptions around him and the negative mood against the government. One complaint was that he had cornered most of the key portfolios. Nishank was directed to give up most of those and mend fences with Khanduri and Koshiyari, who wanted a person with an unblemished record at the helm.
The winds started blowing harder against Nishank about two months ago after Gadkari asked Rajnath Singh, aided by general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan, was sent to oversee election preparations in Uttarakhand. The feedback the two got was followed by a detailed survey. Sources said the findings were disappointing. The survey predicted "we would not fare well in the elections", a leader said.
The image of the BJP and the Nishank government had hit a low. He was inefficient, a Central leader said. Then there was the perception of corruption at all levels of government. "The common man had to pay a bribe at every walk of life. This is a reality," a party leader admitted.
Antyodaya Vikas Yatra
Yet Nishank, who has found support from Rajnath Singh and senior leader Arun Jaitley, as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was confident. He had begun his campaign, launching his Antyodaya Vikas Yatra -- the third phase of which had begun just days ago. Amid all this came the exit of Rawat, an ex-servicemen who started attracting a large number of his supporters to his newly formed party.
When this was accompanied by speculation that Khanduri could follow suit, it forced the party to sit up and take notice. The party, which had already shown B S Yeddyurappa the door, acted at a time when Advani was set to start his yatra and Congress leaders were referring to Uttarakhand whenever the BJP attacked the UPA over corruption.
It is said that a change of guard would work in the party's favor, both at the national and at the state level.

WikiLeaks Revelations and BJP

The same Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which targeted the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and demanded the prime minister's resignation, on revelations made by WikiLeaks relating to the cash-for-vote issue finds itself in a great quandary over the latest WikiLeaks revelations. While this provided great solace to the Congress, the BJP was forced to look the other way and to cut a sorry figure.

India-US Civil Nuclear Deal
In its latest expose, WikiLeaks has brought the BJP to stand trial. It can be safely assessed from the latest expose how greatly pro-United States the BJP is, which castigated the Congress and the UPA government toeing the US line. The fresh expose by WikiLeaks reveals that the BJP opposition to the India-US civil nuclear deal during 2008 was a mere ploy aimed at gaining political mileage out of the situation. According to WikiLeaks, BJP leaders had assured US officials that the BJP's opposition to the deal in public was only a political move, and the BJP was doing so to gain an upper hand over the UPA. The BJP leadership further assured the United States that should it come to power, it would do no harm to the India-US nuclear deal.

According to the expose, a member of the BJP executive committee and a prominent RSS leader Sheshadari, had told a US official in 2005 that the United States should not attempt to read between the lines to draw conclusion from the party's political resolution on foreign affairs. It is pertinent to note that the BJP in its above-cited resolution had accused the former UPA government of succumbing to US pressure, and following US dictates. While clarifying the BJP stand, Sheshadri told the US official that whatever was said in that resolution was merely to gain political mileage.

Deriving Political Mileage
One wonders that if the BJP was opposing the nuclear deal just for the sake of opposition, and to derive political mileage, was the BJP not misleading the country? True that after the Left withdrew support from the UPA on the issue of the nuclear deal with the United States, speculations on midterm election were rife, and the BJP was desirous of utilizing the opportunity to return to power at the central level. This attempt was clearly aimed at creating instability in the country, and forcing the nation to bear the huge expenditure of midterm election unnecessarily. At the same time, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its allies) continued to assure the United States clandestinely of their loyalty to the United States and support to the nuclear deal.

WikiLeaks has further revealed in the same vein that during 2009, the in charge of the US Embassy Peter Burleigh, after his meeting with L.K. Advani, informed Washington that the BJP leadership did not intend to pay greater attention to opposition to the nuclear deal yet again. The situation, emerging later, stands witness that though the BJP did not change its stance (of opposing the deal) in public, yet it never opposed it either.

This makes it clear that the same BJP, which goes all out against the UPA by accusing the government of being pro-United States, does not leg behind in US worship. The situation is a great solace for both the Congress and the UPA that it got an opportunity to beat the BJP with the same stick with which the BJP was beating it. It is, perhaps, because of it that the party (Congress) said, while reacting to the fresh expose, that it was the BJP's turn to be targeted. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari sarcastically said that the BJP had taken the WikiLeaks expose as holy political scriptures, but the Congress attached no more importance to it than being mere speculation.

Matter of Grave Concern
It is, however, of no importance who won or who lost on this particular issue. The basic issue, however, is the WikiLeaks revelations, despite having several loopholes and contradictions. Some of the expose, despite having the possibility of being incorrect, is not entirely untrue.

If even an iota of the expose is based on fact or truth, it goes to prove that the BJP that cheated people on the nuclear deal, or the Congress may oppose each other, but both of them stand on the same plank in the matter of worshipping the United States. This kind of a situation is a matter of grave concern for the entire country indeed.

Will There Also Be Voice for Change in India?

After Tunisia and Egypt, in many Western-styled democratic countries questions are being raised whether the people of these so-called democratic countries should voice against wayward leaders. According to Bhaskar Ghosh (Frontline 28 February), in India itself all those agonies and problems are faced by people that are faced by the people in Egypt. Prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing, unemployment is on its peak and the scams and black deeds of corrupt leaders are getting exposed.

Existing Problem
The problem in India is that there are very few honest people in the seat of power. The ruling party and the opposition, both are alike in respect of wealth accumulating and nepotism. Interestingly these corrupt people are lawmakers themselves. They increase their salaries whenever they like and can throw any rule or regulation pertaining to the qualifications and morale standards fixed for contestants of the election. They can purchase the will of people by showing the magic of the wealth. There is no restriction on them of any kind.

RSS Venom Against Muslims
How can a revolution come to India, when the country is unfortunately divided on religion, region, caste, creed, and color? In addition to the above, Muslims here are in minority and there is a large majority of communal class who spews the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) venom against Muslims and wants to crush them in all walks of life. This majority class, forgetting values and humanity, has engaged itself in plunder of wealth. Rejecting the pious traditions of Mahatma Gandhi's truthfulness and non-violence, they have adopted the morbid theories of Vir Savarkar and Nathu Ram Godse. Under these circumstances, they cannot be united to raise voice against any ailing system.

During the period of Jai Prakash Narayan, the entire nation had stood up against Indira Gandhi but after sometime, she again came to power and in the name of democracy, the same family rule came into existence. In this country, efforts were desperately made to introduce a third power but in vain. Hence, the minorities to avoid the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were unwillingly forced to vote for the Congress party, which is itself is a party of transgressors and ambidextrous politicians.

Voice for Proper Representation
Now the question arises who should streamline the procedures of public representation, as characterless and criminal persons are sitting as public representatives. Why should they be ready for election reforms, as the voice for proper representation was raised, but they did not agree to it? A large section of people are themselves involved in corruption, hence they do not mind seeing their leaders corrupt as well.

There exists no organization or leadership for bringing amelioration or revolution. All of them content on rallies and congregations. Not one of them has the capability like Egyptians to bring revolution in just 18 days.

RSS Move To Attend Muslim Religious Function

The world's history is proof that in the battle between truth and lies, truth wins always. It is another matter altogether that it takes a little time for the truth to triumph. Justice always takes a lot of patience and truth emerges from its debris. And there is always a reason for the delay in the truth to emerge, which only God knows. God works in mysterious ways. It also happens that the secret forces attack repeatedly so that all truths and hopes are shattered, and the moment when hopes are about to give up, God takes pity on them and truth triumphs. For the past three decades, Muslims in India are passing through such a phase and their enemies seem to be succeeding in their conspiracy. Evil forces seem to be succeeding in the country to make the life of Muslims a living hell in all aspects. Muslims are blamed for any explosion that occurs in the country, and this has become the fashion.

The Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), and other laws, is resulting in thousands of Muslim youth being arrested and confined without the benefit of any redress by a court of law. Any softhearted and justice-loving listening to their stories is bound to feel for them. After two decades of maligning and arrests, Muslims have become demoralized. They are losing patience. But God, by making Swami Aseemanand, the culprit of the Samjhauta Express explosion, confess to his crimes, has put these die-hard anti-Muslims in a state of panic. They could not even imagine that such a situation could arise. They were working to their black deeds according to plan. They were blaming all their activities on Muslims and harming them as much as possible. One harm was in the shape of explosions and the second was the arrest for explosions. They were being successful in their mission for a long time that they forgot that the darkness of the night is followed by the light of the morning. What has begun has to finish and now that the truth has emerged before the world they do not know where to hide. And now they are trying to hide behind Muslims.

Hatred for Muslims
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose very existence came into being because of their hatred for Muslims are now announcing their plans to attend a Muslim Milad (a religious ceremony) in praise of the Prophet of Islam. In Lucknow and its adjoining areas, the RSS is now distributing pamphlets, which states, 'The RSS is not the enemy of Muslims.' Rather, the group is an enemy of Jihadi (crusade) groups and that terrorists pose danger to the peace of the country.

The RSS's ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be one step ahead of the RSS. BJP's spokesman, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, has proposed the Congress party president Sonia Gandhi to apologize to Muslims who have been arrested on the charge of causing explosions, because after the confession of Aseemanand all these youth stand vindicated and proved innocent.

Is Mind-Set Changing?
One hoped that Naqvi's statement was not a political stunt and he was genuinely sympathetic to the hapless Muslim youth. But sadly, this does not seem to be the case. During a recent press conference at the BJP office in Hyderabad, he said that Muslim youth arrested in the explosions at the Mecca Masjid and the Gokul Chaat case, should be set free. He advocated this as a heartfelt sympathizer of Muslims, belonging to a party that is pro-Muslim. The love of all these separatist organizations is spreading sweetness all around, instead of poison. To say that their mind-set has changed, that they are genuine sympathizers of Muslims, does seem hard to swallow. Man can change his habits but not his nature.

Sympathy and the announcement to attend a Muslim religious function is a ruse. It smells of conspiracy. Keeping this in view, the administration should keep a watchful eye on the function. If these RSS members are offering genuine friendship then one should welcome them with open arms and pray to God that He gives them the intelligence to understand true Islam.

Verdict on Godhra Carnage

It is natural that people are raising multiple questions about various aspects of the Godhra incident after nine years. There are mixed feelings of agony and ecstasy both about the verdict. Out of 94 accused persons, 63 have been exculpated, and 31 have been convicted. Those who have been exonerated have suffered the torture of imprisonment for nine years.

The court declared the Godhra incident a conspiracy and not an accident, but which conspiracy worked behind the arrest of these 63 released accused was not pointed out. On 25 February, punishment will be pronounced to the guilty, but will there be an action against those who caused torture to these 63 innocent persons? Will the Narendra Modi government apologize and give compensation?

Nanawati Commission Report
It appears the court has made the Nanawati Commission report as the base of the judgment, in which it is clearly mentioned that first of all the conspiracy was hatched, and then to spread terror this incident took place. On the contrary, the Bannerjee Commission in its report said that coach number 6 of Sabarmati Express was not set afire, and there was no conspiracy either. The Bannerjee Commission called it an accident.

Now, the question arises that enquiry reports on one incident are different, and the court exclusively based its judgment on one report, thereby acquitting 63 accused on the basis of the report. It appears that the Gujarat police were waiting for the incident to occur for rounding up a large number of Muslims, whosoever was found. Not only this, they were persecuted heavily. Maulvi Umar, who was suspected to be the main conspirator, has been exonerated by court. When the main conspirator was found innocent, then where is the angle of conspiracy?
Discrimination and Hatred for Muslims
This way, between the lines, the Bannerjee Commission report gets strength, which has dismissed the angle of conspiracy. The phenomenon of Gujarat police rounding up Muslims indiscriminately and cause mental and physical torture to them proves its discrimination and hatred for Muslims.

The reflection of whatever Modi and the Sangh Parivar (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its allies) had been saying can be seen in the judgment. Now, will the assassins of thousands of Muslims be punished? If yes, when? Rioters of the 1992 riots are roaming freely, whereas the accused of the 1993 blast cases are being punished. There should not be two different scales of justice in a democratic setup.

Congress Silence About Gujarat Issue

We are not at all surprised that despite the investigation report submitted to the Supreme Court holding Chief Minister Narendra Modi accountable in the Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002, the Congress has so far made no statement. We were also not surprised when Home Minister P. Chidambaram's use of the term 'Hindu terrorism' was loudly objected by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he remained silent, whereas some Congress party men objected to linking terrorism with any religion. The entire Congress maintained silence on this objection.

Meanwhile, the media, having affiliation with the BJP and the Sangh Parivar (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and allies) had frequently been using the term 'Islamic terrorism' and 'jihadi terrorism.'

Major Scams and Corruption
We have now stopped thinking about the Congress attitude as in our considered opinion a large part of the Congress feel frightened to face the BJP or their outlook is the same. Imagine had this report indicted a Congress minister what hue and cry the BJP would have made. If you think that the Congress is silent because it is badly entangled and does not want the repeat of disturbance created by the BJP in the budget session, or the Congress is silent because of its involvement in the 2G Spectrum, the Adarsh Society, and other big scams, your assessment is almost true. However, this is not the real cause of its silence. In fact the party fears the BJP. Tell us as to where the Congress faced the BJP and if faced, what is the outcome? It was defeated by the BJP in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh, with exception to Rajasthan.

However, Rajasthan's success is not due to the efforts of the Congress party but due to the internal dispute among members of BJP Chief Minister Vijay Raje Scindia's party. As far as Gujarat is concerned, someone among the lieutenants of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi has advised them to keep silent about Modi. That adviser whosoever he may be has presented the logic that calling Modi the trader of death adversely benefited him, winning the election. Although this logic is bogus, if at all there is such an adviser, he is Modi's agent.

Point Against BJP
The real cause of defeat was the Congress party's allotment of tickets to those people who clandestinely supported the carnage in 2002. You must have noticed that the BJP getting a small point against the Congress makes a molehill out of molecule and the Congress by getting a serious point against the BJP reduces it to the size of atom, which even amazes the BJP. The Adarsh Society is one such example. The local issue of Maharashtra was hyped by the BJP across the country.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's matter was bigger than the Adarsh Society, but the Congress party played with it like a rubber toy. Acting upon the counsel of adviser to keep silent on Gujarat may cost the Congress party dearly, and like in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it may never return to power easily.

Wise, Brave Initiative of Congress

Communalism, corruption, terrorism and Naxalite (Maoist) violence are issues, which have not only hampered development and prosperity but have also vitiated national integration and unity. A country can be prosperous after passing through the process of development and burning issues like unemployment, poverty and backwardness can be solved when there is peace and fraternity and national unity. We can, in simple terms, call it our utter misfortune that despite the best efforts of the government some corrupt, vested interests and communal elements, are taking advantage of the weaknesses of laws and privileges of democratic rights, and spreading the venom of communalism in the country, which led to anarchy, civil war and disintegration.

Growing Problems
The country, at present, is passing though difficult times. New scandals, corruption, spreading violence and terrorism in the name of religion are coming to light almost every day. All this has not only brought Parliamentary system to an impasse, but has left the people are greatly frustrated and anxious. It is the bounden duty of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to salvage the country from this perilous situation and bring back on the right track, which has brought India a place of pride in the comity of the nations.

Since the present leadership, including the party president, Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is extremely worried over the current situation, it had accepted the resignations of some ministers and chief ministers. It had even issued orders to get the 2G-spectrum allotment case investigated by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament under the supervision of the apex court. Yet, the opposition continued to insist on nothing short of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the issue and continued to create uproar so that Parliament could not transact any business for days.

All this demanded of the ruling party to take major measures. Going by the need of the hour, the ruling party did exactly the same thing. The party at its 83rd plenary session held at Delhi, not only sounded the bugle of war against corruption but accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its allies of striving to disintegrate the country, appealed to party activists and senior officials to be extra cautious about these forces and take them head on with al the might at their command. Calling for imposing a war on RSS activities, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, likened it with Nazis, alleging that it is indulging in massacre of Muslims. A political resolution was also approved at the plenary, which calls upon the government to deal with religious fundamentalism with a strong hand. It also demanded that the likes and relations between the RSS and its affiliated organizations with terrorists, be investigated thoroughly. Digvijay Singh alleged that the Rath yatra (chariot journey) undertaken by a senior BJP leader, L.K. Advani, was the bases of terrorism and accused both the BJP and the RSS that they "hate Muslims as much as Nazis, hates Jews."

Referring to the argument put up by the BJP that all the Muslims are not terrorists, but all the terrorist are Muslims, the AICC general secretary said that this logic can be advanced that all Hindus are not terrorists but all those persons arrested in the case of bomb explosions at various places are activists of the RSS. On Gujarat, the party has called on the government to get exemplary punishments announced in all perpetrators of irreparable genocide during Gujarat riots in 2002. The resolution maintains that the ruling of the high court does not condone those who brought down the Babari mosque in any way. They must be punished by all means.

2G Spectrum Scandals
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi alluding to the Commonwealth Games, Adarsh Housing Society and the 2G Spectrum scandals, said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi, has motivated us to fight against corruption. He added that any progress becomes meaningless sin, which the person standing at the last end of the queue does not get an opportunity to progress.

Describing the activists of the party as an important bridge between the Congress and the common man, Sonia Gandhi said that whether we are in power at the centre or in the states we must not forget that the government comes into existence through the party. Hence it devolves in the government and the officials in the government to pay greater attention to addressing the complaints of the workers. She maintained that corruption in such a menace, which is eating into the vitals of every section of our society it, is the common man who pays a heavy price for it.

Sonia Gandhi stressed that fast track courts must be set up to get the cases of corruption against politicians and bureaucrats. To bring transparency in contracts, she wanted that effective legislations and a clear line of action should be put in place. Complete security be provided to whistle-blowers in all such cases of corruption. She called on chief ministers and union ministers of the Congress to voluntarily surrender their right to allot land and. The government should fund elections.

Need of Common Man
Rahul Gandhi, general secretary of the party appealed that the party officials should give top priority to the need of the common man and added that the country's progress cannot be completed until we learn to respect the common man.

Though the top leadership of the Congress has strived to defuse the demand and the mood in the country on the demand of a JPC investigation it he case of recent corruption it remains a matter of conjecture as to how the union ministers, state ministers and others who are at the helm of affairs, succeed in implementing these directions and what stand does the opposition adopt in Parliament on the 2G Spectrum and other scandals.

Gains, Losses of Major Political Parties in Byelections

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has been in the news for the last two days. The issue of its legislator Abu Azim Azmi taking oath in Hindi was in the news when viewers throughout the country saw the hooliganism indulged in by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). However, the incident proved a blessing in disguise for the SP, which rose in stature in a day, but the very next day, a setback brought it back in news yet again. The news was that the Ferozabad parliamentary constituency has slipped out of SP's hands with its strong candidate Dimple Yadav's defeat in the byelection held there.

Surprising Results
Byelections were held last week for some seats in various state assemblies and for the Ferozabad parliamentary constituency. The results of these elections are extremely surprising in some states, but the most amazing result was from Ferozabad where the Congress candidate Raj Babbar, a film actor-turned politician, defeated SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law by a margin of more than 85,000 votes.

The seat had become a prestige issue for SP leader Mulayam Singh, who had put in all his might there. His son, Nikhilesh Yadav, vacated the seat because he had contested from two seats (Kannauj and Ferozabad) and had won from both. Later, he resigned from Ferozabad.

Earlier, Raj Babbar had been defeated in the parliamentary election for the Fatehpur Sikri seat. Since Raj Babbar has snatched the Ferozabad seat from the SP, it has given a double jolt to Mulayam Singh because Raj Babbar had won from Agra earlier also as a SP member. Babbar left the SP when differences between him and other members erupted and joined the Congress.

Tension Between SP and Congress
One of the reasons of tension between the SP and the Congress was the Congress granting a ticket to Raj Babbar to contest the election, and the Ferozabad seat had become a prestige issue for both parties. To establish its presence in the constituency, the Congress had sent its young and popular leader, Rahul Gandhi to campaign for Raj Babbar.

Dimple Yadav's huband Akhilesh Yadav also went all out to support his party and wife. Despite that, the Congress emerged victorious with a huge margin. It is a matter of concern for the SP as to how this seat, considered to be a party stronghold, slipped out of its hands. Is the specter of Kalyan Singh continuing to follow it even now? One wonders why the image of the iron man of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh, is receiving a beating. Is the leader, considered to be the Messiah of minorities and farmers, losing his identity, or is the Congress gradually emerging like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes in the state and elsewhere?

Internal Dissension Within BJP
Barring Ferozabad, if one looks at the situation in Uttar Pradesh, one would find an important and significant difference. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the SP gained nothing but frustration in all the 11 assembly seats where byelections were held. A constant propaganda against the Bahujan Samaj Party was being carried out. The party was losing its sheen and getting unpopular in the state. Yet, by securing eight out of 11 seats, the party has manifested its strength in the state.

The internal dissension within the BJP has made it lose the Lucknow (West) seat where Lalji Tondon was the undisputed leader for the last several decades. Mulayam Singh has not won even a single seat. Also, seats held by the SP earlier have slipped out of it. The BJP would have to ponder why the sun of secularism is turning the drying leaves of its lotus (election symbol) into ashes.

In Kerala and West Bengal, the Left sees its defeated faces in the mirror by these results. In Kerala, the Congress has given a huge jolt to the Left Front by winning all the three seats for which byelection were held. It may be mentioned that the Left Front is ruling in the state. The Sangh Parivar (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its allies) had been carrying out a nefarious propaganda against Muslims in the state. Muslims there felt that the ruling front was doing nothing against that propaganda. Muslim youth's harassment on the pretext of "Love Jihad" has come out as the final verdict against the Left.

Advantage for Trinamool Congress
Mamta Bannerjee with her spell has badly mauled the Left Front in West Bengal. There, she assiduously campaigned to attract minorities to her party, the Trinamool Congress, proving false the Left's slogan of being pro-minority.

By joining hands with the Congress, she displayed great sagacity and caused the lights of the Reds to go off. She won eight out of 10 seats there. She won the hearts of minorities by allowing the use of Urdu language and other regional languages in railway recruitment examinations. She certainly benefited from it.

There is good news for the BJP also, which won one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan. This provided great solace to the party. Yet, BJP leaders must have felt the wave of resentment against the saffron brigade simmering among the masses too.

Hindutva and BJP

Despite its defeat in the 15th Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not intend to give up its Hindutva agenda. This was made clear at the BJP's national executive committee meeting, held recently in Uttar Pradesh, where it was categorically declared that there was no question of the party deviating from its avowed Hindutva goal.

Anti-Muslim Approach
However, a section of the BJP believes that the party's defeat is largely because of its distance with the Muslim community. This section believes that the party was defeated because of the staunch Hindutva face of the Gujarat Chief Minister and senior party leader, Narendra Modi, and the provocative speech made by party member Varun Gandhi. The section also feels that the party cannot progress by ignoring the Muslim community.

However, the group affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) holds that the BJP should not deviate from the Hindutva agenda. Having become flabbergasted with the internal dissension in the BJP, the RSS admonished the party and advised it that if it has any difficulty with the Hindutva, it is free to give it up. This encouraged the Sangh Parivar lobby. Consequently, the BJP recalled the Hindutva issue at its executive committee meeting.

Hindutva Agenda
The fact is that the BJP has been criticized on its Hindutva stand within the party circle. When the BJP was in power at the federal level, it had to bow repeatedly to secularists in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and had to shelve the Hindutva issue. The party's traditional voters, therefore, accused it of having forgotten the Hindutva agenda, Uniform Civil Code, Ram Temple, and Article 370. However, by the time the parliamentary elections were held, the party returned to the Hindutva and brought Modi, a star campaigner of the Hindutva and a staunch enemy of the Muslims.

Also by encouraging Varun Gandhi at his "venomous" speech, the party strived to give the impression that it continues to hold on to the Hindutva. However, the Congress party's electoral success and the increasing interest of the Muslims in the party, forced the BJP to admit that ignoring Muslims is not in its favour.

Hindutva vs Secularism
In short, ever since the results of the parliamentary elections were declared, the BJP find itself bind to the ideological struggle between the Hindutva and secularism. The party has never analyzed and examines the causes of its election defeat sincerely nor could it gather enough courage to accept its responsibility for the defeat.

The executive committee meeting in Uttar Pradesh can be termed significant in as much as that a senior party leader Arun Jaitley has admitted that the party has been weakened at the organizational level. At the same time, the BJP unit in Uttar Pradesh, taking the responsibility of the defeat, expressed its determination to continue to hold fast to the Hindutva.

One wonders whether by the time the elections to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly are held, the BJP would be able to compartmentalize the voters that may charismatically give their verdict in favor of it. Possibly, the BJP may resort to old tactics in the name of the Hindutva. Even if it happens, the party would have to bear the brunt of it.