Will you enter politics under Congress party banner?

[kabira]

Why is there such a big disconnect between the real polls and the e-polls. The BJP always appears much stronger in these e-polls ( not just on ICF). In the last general elections, Congress won comfortably.

lot of educated folks don't vote and lot of uneducated, rural ppl vote in numbers.

[Mariyam]

I am happy for the majority but as a minority (one among the 40%), I want a voice too, which I don't have because of the way democracy works in India. Therefore i silently watch as the country is plundered while the majority sing homilies about the party with a historical legacy.

You have a voice. Your representatives are a part of the opposition, which plays a vital role in the running of the country.

[Mariyam]

Only educated people should have the voting rights in india in each constituency. There will be greater chance of bjp being in power then' date=' bsp, sp, rjd will probably be wiped out.[/quote'] Sorry Vaibhav, but this is a really pathetic thing to say.

[Mariyam]

If the people of Gujarat wants a change' date=' they will remove Modi. There's no coalition at State level politics. However on national level it's coalition politics.. The National level politics should have FLUX as the Central level policies or lack of it affects the whole country on national and international level. Policies in Gujarat or MP or UP doesn't affects India on National or International level. State level and National level politics cannot be compared. This is like comparing Municipal level and State level politics.[/quote'] I agree with all of this. But why can't this be extrapolated to the national level. If the people of India want a change from the UPA ( Congress + Allies) , they will vote in that fashion. I'm contesting your earlier statement where you said that Congress winning again is dictatorship in the garb of democracy. Which it isn't. If anything, its the exact opposite. It is the most popular mandate.

[Mariyam]

Majority are not choosing Congress as explained in my previous post. Congress is a monarchy; no two ways about it.

I read that post of yours and agree with most. Let me re-word it then. The largest minority of voters are choosing Congress despite knowing that they are dynastic (which is wrong) and what not. It is not in the hand of the people directly who the Congress party chooses as a PM candidate, and who they chose to be party president. But it is well within the hands of the people to not give them an opportunity to rule. Common logic dictates that if dynasty politics was perceived to be a huge problem, people would turn away from the Congress. But apparently they don't. What does one make of it?

[Mariyam]

What about the antics of some party comrades who squander thousands of crores ? Would you stay silent and carry on with whatever good you can do (MMS/Pranab ?) or risk being a martyr ?

I was born to be a martyr. Martyrdom a certain romanticism attached to it :P

[asterix]

I agree with all of this. But why can't this be extrapolated to the national level. If the people of India want a change from the UPA ( Congress + Allies) , they will vote in that fashion. I'm contesting your earlier statement where you said that Congress winning again is dictatorship in the garb of democracy. Which it isn't. If anything, its the exact opposite. It is the most popular mandate.

The chances of UPA lead by Congress winning at the national level is more (even if at present they are highly unpolpular because of various issues like Corruption, security etc.). IMO they have more chance of winning because of the type of coalition they can manage. The coalition is with regional parties which wins because of aspirations of the people of that 'region'. Then it come to which one is more EVIL, Secularism or Corruption.. Secularism always wins over Corruption... But for once I don't want to worry about Secularism. I just want to see which alliance does something to tackle corruption. But i don't think we will see any other options as long as the "secularism" issue is there to trample upon other pressing issues..

[asterix]

Mariyam, although this issue is sub-judice, but you should try to explore more about how Kangressi Chidambaram 'turned the tables' in his constituency to win by merely 3000 votes. There you'll get one of the answers of why Congress manages to win elections.. I'm not saying other parties don't do it. But now that Amma is in power in TN, it would be interesting to see how Mr. Chidambaram 'turns the table' in the next elections..

[Guest Gunner]

You have a voice. Your representatives are a part of the opposition' date=' which plays a vital role in the running of the country.[/quote'] LOL! You don't get it, I might hve managed to elect whom I want for my local constituency but that doesn't mean I got the ruling party that I want at the centre or the PM.

[Guest Gunner]

I agree with all of this. But why can't this be extrapolated to the national level. If the people of India want a change from the UPA ( Congress + Allies) , they will vote in that fashion. I'm contesting your earlier statement where you said that Congress winning again is dictatorship in the garb of democracy. Which it isn't. If anything, its the exact opposite. It is the most popular mandate.

This is the thing. You didn't elect the UPA. You elected 543 members and currently congress has the biggest share of that with about 190 members, the rest is a numbers game they keep playing for the next 5 years without ever coming back to you. SO you no longer have a say in who gets to rule you, that is the beauty of coalition politics. We the people opened the door to horse trading.

[Guest Gunner]

Mariyam' date=' although this issue is sub-judice, but you should try to explore more about how Kangressi Chidambaram 'turned the tables' in his constituency to win by merely 3000 votes. There you'll get one of the answers of why Congress manages to win elections.. I'm not saying other parties don't do it. But now that Amma is in power in TN, it would be interesting to see how Mr. Chidambaram 'turns the table' in the next elections..[/quote'] That Honourable Son of a b!tch won't win from Sivaganga next time.

[Mariyam]

LOL! You don't get it' date=' I might hve managed to elect whom I want for my local constituency but that doesn't mean I got the ruling party that I want at the centre or the PM.[/quote'] But nobody asked you while voting which ruling party you want at the centre. You vote only for who ( person/party) you want in your constituency. Thats the beauty of the system. You could also then argue that your candidate lost at local constituency level, but his party won nationally. I mean, that way you can always find a way to be upset about the outcome of an election. What is the alternative system that you have in mind? @ Asterix: I'm afraid I don't know about the Chidambaram 3000 vote issue. My knowledge of politics and elections comes only from law books/ court cases regarding elections and ToI. I'll look it up.

[Guest Gunner]

But nobody asked you while voting which ruling party you want at the centre. You vote only for who ( person/party) you want in your constituency. Thats the beauty of the system. You could also then argue that your candidate lost at local constituency level, but his party won nationally. I mean, that way you can always find a way to be upset about the outcome of an election. What is the alternative system that you have in mind? @ Asterix: I'm afraid I don't know about the Chidambaram 3000 vote issue. My knowledge of politics and elections comes only from law books/ court cases regarding elections and ToI. I'll look it up.

This is where you are wrong. I want to have a say in all issues starting from local municipal problems all the way upto foreign policy which is why I would like to vote for a party which shares my ideology. Whereas in India this fundamental aspect of democracy has been torn to shreds and I am unable to vote that way. This is a very major issue.

[vaibhav_delhi]

Sorry Vaibhav' date=' but this is a really pathetic thing to say.[/quote'] what is pathetic thing to say? this: or this: or both? 1. Educated people are supposed to have a better view on policies and work done by various parties. 2. It would also be a great way do away with vote-bank politics to a great extent. But ofcourse, it is never going to be implemented in india.

[Vijay.Sharma]

I read that post of yours and agree with most. Let me re-word it then. The largest minority of voters are choosing Congress despite knowing that they are dynastic (which is wrong) and what not. It is not in the hand of the people directly who the Congress party chooses as a PM candidate, and who they chose to be party president. But it is well within the hands of the people to not give them an opportunity to rule. Common logic dictates that if dynasty politics was perceived to be a huge problem, people would turn away from the Congress. But apparently they don't. What does one make of it?

If you agreed with my post then you wouldn't have still contemplated the second bold-ed part. Anyway, your phrase - "Common logic dictates that if dynasty politics was perceived to be a huge problem, people would turn away from the Congress". My response - That is what is exactly happening. People are turning away from Congress over the last two decades. A Congress party that never got less than 200 seats in the Lok Sabha until the 80s started getting lesser than 200 seats since the 90s. In fact it no longer remained even the single largest party. If that is not a change then what is? Of course this time they got back to > 200 (edit - in fact it is 190) because people believed dynasty will not come back into the picture and Manmohan will be allowed to rule. Given the way they are drumming up Rahul baba I think they would have lost all the ground they earned between 2004 and 2009 come 2014 elections. Secondly, in 2008 the Left parties shook up the house and almost sent the country to premature General Elections which the public did not like. The result: Left was left with nothing and people gave Manmohan another go with a pro-incumbency verdict for UPA (not Congress). Please do not confuse UPA with Congress Suppose there were 100 ppl and until 1980s about 63 of them voted for Congress, today hardly 22 vote for Congress. Why you see Congress winning seats is because the 41 people who have gone against the Congress have not all voted for one party. Hence Congress still manages to win seats.

[Lurker]

Suppose there were 100 ppl and until 1980s about 63 of them voted for Congress' date=' today hardly 22 vote for Congress. Why you see Congress winning seats is because the 41 people who have gone against the Congress have not all voted for one party. Hence Congress still manages to win seats.

Isn't this true for any political party in India, and possibly the world today? Call it lack of great leaders around the world, Nehru for instance, but which political party in India has the clout to throw a leader of any stature? BJP? Kidding me? Their blue-eyed boy Narendra Modi was completely ignored by Nitish Kumar who openly stated Modi wont campaign in Bihar for the coalition. BJP ate the humble pie, bowed infront of Nitish and Nitish Kumar swept the election. I personally do not like this growth of Karunanidhi, Jayalalitha, Mulayam, Prafulla Mahanta, Lalloo etc but they are realities of life today. In a weird way it is akin to growth of regional and linguistic fanatism in India but thats the topic for a different day.

[Lurker]

I didn't know about that reservation constituency. Man, that is too much! Anyway what is the "reservation" for? Is it reservation for caste or something else

I am surprised you didnt know about this. About 100 plus seats in India are reserved for SC/STs. It is a constitutional law although I am completely at a loss to understand how can Consitution guarantee everyone equality and freedom and then stop somebody from contesting election. This is a key point, for me, in regards to seeing how political parties measure in their philosphy of equality. Congress has always been one to blame for this but BJP has also steered clear of this controversy lest they lose 25% of the seats even before a vote is cast.

[Lurker]

So far, we have 3 people who have said they would not mind joining the congress. Me, Aaku and Lurker . And the rest of them, around 12, wouldn't want to. Its safe to assume that these 12 would vote/join the BJP.

Possible reasons: a) The poll is dependent on those who show up. Some folks who have Congress leanings, generally speaking, have not shown up within the thread which would explain the numbers. b) Those that have voted against does not neccessarily mean they would stand for a different party, they may vote for a different party though. Which is why my question to Vijay as to if the better question would have been "Will you enter politics". c) Typically the crowd that shows up on most things internet are made of usual suspects from certain parts of India, or abroad. These have, again generally speaking, right wing sympathy leanings. Take north east India for example, that part of the nation is all congress but how many Indians do you meet from these area online? On the other hand if I had a dime everytime I ran into a Gujrati online...:-) And who do you think Gujaratis support? d) There is also this thing about how Congress has been run lately with Sonia gandhi as the puppet master, no self-respecting Indian would like that. That coupled with the fact that BJP, generally speaking, is lot less corrupt than average Congress leaders make it a pretty attractive preposition for disgruntled masses, specially those from urban areas. xxx

[Temujin Khaghan]

B.J.P

[Guest Gunner]

c) Typically the crowd that shows up on most things internet are made of usual suspects from certain parts of India, or abroad. These have, again generally speaking, right wing sympathy leanings. Take north east India for example, that part of the nation is all congress but how many Indians do you meet from these area online? On the other hand if I had a dime everytime I ran into a Gujrati online...:-) And who do you think Gujaratis support? xxx

This I don't agree sir. Everyone who is not in favor of congress is not necessarily conservative. I am about centre-left on the European compass and deep left from an American perspective but I can't identify myself with the Congress. The BJP is a choice out of a lack of viable alternative, it doesn't mean that I want to go break mosques and build temples there. I suspect there are many educated Indians who fall under this category, they are liberals but don't like the congress. Today I am even willing to vote communist rather than Congress. In fact considering the number of educated leaders they have I might very well vote communist in 2014.