If there was a general election tommorow, who would you vote for?

[adi B]

Somehow I never understood this logic. IMO, in India, you've only 2 parties which have any real ideology. The BJP and the CPI-M (and its variants). Whether or not the ideologies that they espouse are right/justified is a different matter altogether. If the BJP were to become more 'moderate' or let me use the word more 'centrist' (for the want of a better word), they really aren't any different than a Congress/NCP/BSP etc. They're just another party without any unique identity. They'd lose out on their core support group. Whats the consensus people have over the CPI. Though their economic policies have been proven to fail, at an emotional level they deliver. Egalitarian. Nationalist (in a certain way). With a view on being self reliant. And on paper, unbiased to any particular creed or cast. Practically speaking communism may not be implantable into the Indian society/polity, but as an ideology it surely is fascinating.

no consensus. to hell with cpi :whack:

[adi B]

bjp has 2 regain some of its lost votes in general election 2014.. they have to get their count to close to or more than 150 in NDA led alliance , currently they have 116 in LS.. so there is a lasrge anti congress wave across india, bjp must take benifit from it to increase its vote % in NDA alliance....noway bjp can ever become a regional party, even now they have more than 1/5th seats of LS

[Sachin=GOD]

BJP-SAD took advantage of the anti-Congress wave to retain power in Punjab. In Punjab no incumbent CM has retained power in 46 years but it looks like the anti-incumbency against the Congress in Center was greater than anti-incumbency against BJP-SAD in Punjab. This is a significant development and BJP should try to take advantage of this in other states going to polls in the near future.

[jairamesh]

Had to go for Congress, as the other alternative provided have even worse credibility. Though, if CPI was there I would have voted them instead. Both CPIs need to merge and get back to their Marxist roots with a sprinkling of capitalism. And regional parties is nothing more than hindrance to moving forward collectively, dare I say, but democracy has created one too many deadlocks in Indian politics and growth. In today's tough economic environment in western statehoods, democracies have led to deadlocks with parties so ingrained in their egos (not ideals) that their decision making is hurting so many, but they oblivious to this suffering. Bring on the new-age Communists.

[Desi Cartman]

No chance. Nitish Kumar might be popular in Bihar but in large parts of the country the people don't even know who this guy is!!! Recently in the UP polls in some of the constituencies his party has such a small presence that in its meetings even the candidate didn't turn up :hehe: Some of the BJP's top leaders are more popular because BJP is present in many, many more states than JDU. I would say that either one of Sushma Swaraj or Arun Jaitley would be safe bets for the BJP. Also, I think most people here are being too pessimistic regarding BJP's chances. Its the Congress which has got the biggest drubbing yesterday - it was expected to win Punjab easily but lost badly, It was expected to win Uttrakhand but there also BJP has a chance. It lost Goa and performed poorly in UP so overall a very bad day. The UPA Govt is facing one problem after the other and it cannot get its major schemes passed in Parliament because even its "allies" are not with the Congress. For the past 5 or 6 years they have been trying their best to project Rahul Gandhi as the country's next leader but have so far failed spectacularly in convincing the people.

They are ahead in Uttrakhand They did lose Punjab - but BJP also lost seats They improved in UP and BJP lost seats GOA - well they were expected to lose Manipur - Congress won I understand that these results are not great but I can only lol when BJP supporters think they out did Congress. IMO Congress did bad but BJP did worse than Congress overall

[Desi Cartman]

Cant imagine "Bhenji Mayawati devi jee" and "neta jee Mulayam singh yadav jee" competing against each other in debates ... oh and then imagine if the others contestants are Laloo yadav - Diggi chacha , rahul baba etc

[Sachin=GOD]

They are ahead in Uttrakhand They did lose Punjab - but BJP also lost seats They improved in UP and BJP lost seats GOA - well they were expected to lose Manipur - Congress won I understand that these results are not great but I can only lol when BJP supporters think they out did Congress. IMO Congress did bad but BJP did worse than Congress overall

by 1 seat. But still both BJP and Cong have a chance to form Govt. Also, Cong was expected win easily because of corruption by previous BJP Govt. For the 1st time in 46 years an incumbent Govt in Punjab won again - this is no mean feat considering that the Badals are also corrupt. The Congress should have won around 70-75 seats in the house of 117 but manged only 46. They got 6 seats more than Assembly elections 2007 - not much of an improvement. Also, its a HUGE loss over the gains made in Lok Sabha 2009. How can someone say that BJP did worse than Congress when Congress lost Punjab (which it was expected to win) and is at par with BJP in Uttrakhand (where it should've won) , not to mention Goa where Congress was routed??

[Mariyam]

If BJP is to have any chance next LS elections then it'll necessarily figure Modi at the national level. It'll be a gamble which may not pay off but wimping out because of coalition partners' aversion to Modi will spell a certain disaster. BJP can do well only when it polarizes the electorate. And nobody can do this better than Modi. Absent this articulation of a center-rightist agenda' date=' people cannot tell BJP from congress.[/quote'] ++ My sentiments too. Beetle, I agree with everything you've said. However, if the BJP were to become even more centrists, they lose all those characteristics which make them the BJP. How is a centrally centrist BJP different from the Congress? How is it different from the NCP? Its just another party. Me thinks if the BJP (or CPI) disown their core ideology, they will do even worse than they are doing now. Simply because the die hard supporters would be disappointed and shift elsewhere. And those who are fringe supporters would be tempted to simply vote for other parties who have similar centrist agendas.

[The Outsider]

Modi is a clown and a genocidal maniac. The guy has tried to campaign for BJP outside Gujarat and has repeatedly got hi ***** handed to him in a platter. The biggest denouncement of this genocidal maniac was the way he begged to campaign in Bihar hoping to ride on an already assured win for Nitish Kumar, but Nitish gave him a boot, and went on to win a landslide!

[ravishingravi]

Somehow I never understood this logic. IMO, in India, you've only 2 parties which have any real ideology. The BJP and the CPI-M (and its variants). Whether or not the ideologies that they espouse are right/justified is a different matter altogether. If the BJP were to become more 'moderate' or let me use the word more 'centrist' (for the want of a better word), they really aren't any different than a Congress/NCP/BSP etc. They're just another party without any unique identity. They'd lose out on their core support group. Whats the consensus people have over the CPI. Though their economic policies have been proven to fail, at an emotional level they deliver. Egalitarian. Nationalist (in a certain way). With a view on being self reliant. And on paper, unbiased to any particular creed or cast. Practically speaking communism may not be implantable into the Indian society/polity, but as an ideology it surely is fascinating.

I believe that the 2 party ideology is fading if not entirely disappeared. Sure, there can be some rhetoric on either side towards their position, but both parties are essentially centrist leftist. Politics is the art of possible. I simply cannot see BJP winning on hindutva. 1) Majority of our states cannot be sold on it. 2) It is an idea that can be very easily manipulated and used against them.. 3) There can be some serious lapses in conveying this ideology correctly to people. There is some serious anti incumbency sentiments against congress today. BJP has to mould itself to the current environment than try to mould the people to their ideology. I see nothing wrong with them projecting themselves as the "non congress". People are looking for an alternative at the end of the day. I think the result in Ayodhya pretty much establishes where India is today. Ram Mandir is non issue. I think Congress is setting things up on a platter for them, if they are willing to adapt

[Khalpat]

Modi is a clown and a genocidal maniac. The guy has tried to campaign for BJP outside Gujarat and has repeatedly got hi ***** handed to him in a platter. The biggest denouncement of this genocidal maniac was the way he begged to campaign in Bihar hoping to ride on an already assured win for Nitish Kumar' date=' but Nitish gave him a boot, and went on to win a landslide![/quote'] What? Is this the way you console yourself? I mean do you even know Nitish has always been a good friend of Modi, he was very few of the politician who supported Modi after 2003. He did not invited Modi as he didnot wanted actual Clown of Indian politics Lalu yadav to shift people attention from development to their bread and butter ie cast, religion based politics. You may call him any name but please give me answers for following questions: 1. Before 2001 even cities like Surat and Vadodara did not have more than 18 hrs electricity. He used the same resources and developed a master plan for electricity now even the villages of Gujarat have 24 hrs electricity. 2. There are three states in India which produce cotton, Andhra, Gujarat and Maharashtra you would have heard farmers suicide from Andhra and Maharashtra frequently last 10 years. Have you ever heard any farmer suicide in Gujarat. Why? ever thought because Modi has planned in such a way that the farmers are selling there cotton in Chinese market. 3. Agriculture growth of more than 12 % in a barren land like Gujarat. He made it possible by linking most of the rivers, Central gov has not yet even been able to develop preplanning for river linking. 4. Law and Order. Ahmedabad was the most communally sensitive area every year there were so many news of Muslims dying in communal violence have you even heard of a child also getting injured in any kind of voilence in last 10 years. 5. Number of lions was decreasing drastically, this man took it also challenge and now Gir forest is one of the safest place for Lions. 6. Gujarat was the first state where even in villages there was broadband. 7. Its the only state were women can roam freely late night. 8. Its the only state were you have a number like 911 and if you dial it Ambulance will be at your door step within 10 minutes 9. Some reports suggested that Gujarat lag behind in mal nutrition, he not like our central gov leaders who r most of the time like we cant do anyhting took bold step and working on it as a challenge. 10. You throw a challenge to this guy and he will accept it. The women literacy rate was among lowest in Gujarat according to 2001 census and he took it as challenge and now the literacy rate of Gujarat women is among best. All this when a section of media, gov machinery and people like you were against his life and were searching for a single opportunity to hang him at India gate.Now please let me know how is he a clown and how this man got Bharat Ratna. 1. He became PM with more 3/4th majority. 2. Biggest genocide happened during his era Anti Sikh. 3. Kashmir problem started during his time. 4. Punjab problem became worse during his era. 5. He opened Ram mandir gate and hence strated the most communal era. 6. He sent his own army to kill his own people in Srilanka. 7. China opened their economy but this man did nothing and we became more and more backwards 8. Bofors made the way for people sitting at highest post as to how you cna do corruption and still nothing happens to you. His son is asking vote on his fathers name, its your decision to call Clown. The butcher or the Bharat Ratna.

[yoda]

Modi as PM can be the best thing for India, too bad it won't happen though. Yes minority appeasement will stop, but at least we will get some good economic plans going. Depends on what one's priority is I guess.

[Sachin=GOD]

What? Is this the way you console yourself? I mean do you even know Nitish has always been a good friend of Modi, he was very few of the politician who supported Modi after 2003. He did not invited Modi as he didnot wanted actual Clown of Indian politics Lalu yadav to shift people attention from development to their bread and butter ie cast, religion based politics. You may call him any name but please give me answers for following questions: 1. Before 2001 even cities like Surat and Vadodara did not have more than 18 hrs electricity. He used the same resources and developed a master plan for electricity now even the villages of Gujarat have 24 hrs electricity. 2. There are three states in India which produce cotton, Andhra, Gujarat and Maharashtra you would have heard farmers suicide from Andhra and Maharashtra frequently last 10 years. Have you ever heard any farmer suicide in Gujarat. Why? ever thought because Modi has planned in such a way that the farmers are selling there cotton in Chinese market. 3. Agriculture growth of more than 12 % in a barren land like Gujarat. He made it possible by linking most of the rivers, Central gov has not yet even been able to develop preplanning for river linking. 4. Law and Order. Ahmedabad was the most communally sensitive area every year there were so many news of Muslims dying in communal violence have you even heard of a child also getting injured in any kind of voilence in last 10 years. 5. Number of lions was decreasing drastically, this man took it also challenge and now Gir forest is one of the safest place for Lions. 6. Gujarat was the first state where even in villages there was broadband. 7. Its the only state were women can roam freely late night. 8. Its the only state were you have a number like 911 and if you dial it Ambulance will be at your door step within 10 minutes 9. Some reports suggested that Gujarat lag behind in mal nutrition, he not like our central gov leaders who r most of the time like we cant do anyhting took bold step and working on it as a challenge. 10. You throw a challenge to this guy and he will accept it. The women literacy rate was among lowest in Gujarat according to 2001 census and he took it as challenge and now the literacy rate of Gujarat women is among best.

There are many CMs who have done commendable work in their states - Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar, Raman Singh, BC Khanduri, Tarun Gogoi, Shivraj Chouhan etc - doesn't mean that all of them are (or should be) eligible to be PM. I agree that Modi has many advantages and has delivered in Gujarat for the last 10 years BUT there are many, many factors which are strongly against him and therefore he would not be a feasible PM candidate. You are very much mistaken about Nitish and Modi being good friends - they might have been good friends many years ago but currently Nitish is very much against Modi and he realized that Modi would polarize the Muslim votes in Bihar so he pretty much "ordered" the BJP to keep Modi away from Bihar. In fact I remember in 2009 there was a rally of NDA (I think it was in Punjab or Haryana) where Nitish even refused to stand alongside Modi. Modi wouldn't be acceptable to coalition partners and no party in this country can form a Govt without the support of allies. We have seen on a few occasions in different states when the Muslim vote polarizes, BJP loses badly - Modi would result in polarization and that would be disastrous for BJP. Allso, Modi's popularity is limited to mainly Gujarat. He campaigned in UP in 3 different elections but failed to capture the imagination of the crowds. He was made in charge of Maharashtra and campaigned extensively there but BJP lost. Nitish won't allow him to enter Bihar. He is not popular in states like Karnatake, Tamil Nadu etc - all these states together have more than 200 Lok Sabha seats. Now if the so called "PM candidate" is either unpopular or not allowed to enter in such important states then how will that help his party??

[Khalpat]

There are many CMs who have done commendable work in their states - Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar, Raman Singh, BC Khanduri, Tarun Gogoi, Shivraj Chouhan etc - doesn't mean that all of them are (or should be) eligible to be PM. I agree that Modi has many advantages and has delivered in Gujarat for the last 10 years BUT there are many, many factors which are strongly against him and therefore he would not be a feasible PM candidate.

Shouldnt it be made the criteria that only those who have done good work while staying at top executive post in a state should be given responsibility of running a nation. And yes you are right that only Modi is not there few others are also there. I was just replying to a post where as usual somebody starts name calling to this man. If you ask why he do not use the same words for Bharat Ratna Rajeev Gandhi. He will just run away. I mean atleast appreciate where good work has been done its phenomenal that this man has taken every thing as challenge and delivered. Lets for an example take Bihar, the legacy which Lalu has left was such that any body if he did a little work also he would have got great appreciation not taking anything away from Nitish as I am from that state only and his huge fan but ground reality is Modi task was more difficult then any others.

You are very much mistaken about Nitish and Modi being good friends - they might have been good friends many years ago but currently Nitish is very much against Modi and he realized that Modi would polarize the Muslim votes in Bihar so he pretty much "ordered" the BJP to keep Modi away from Bihar. In fact I remember in 2009 there was a rally of NDA (I think it was in Punjab or Haryana) where Nitish even refused to stand alongside Modi. Modi wouldn't be acceptable to coalition partners and no party in this country can form a Govt without the support of allies. We have seen on a few occasions in different states when the Muslim vote polarizes, BJP loses badly - Modi would result in polarization and that would be disastrous for BJP. Allso, Modi's popularity is limited to mainly Gujarat. He campaigned in UP in 3 different elections but failed to capture the imagination of the crowds. He was made in charge of Maharashtra and campaigned extensively there but BJP lost. Nitish won't allow him to enter Bihar. He is not popular in states like Karnatake, Tamil Nadu etc - all these states together have more than 200 Lok Sabha seats. Now if the so called "PM candidate" is either unpopular or not allowed to enter in such important states then how will that help his party??

Its upto you as to how you define friendship. But this is a fact that after riot also Nitish was very good friend of Modi. May be due to political compulsion they both have maintained distance. The rally about which you are talking in Haryana, both were on the same stage and they posed together towards the crowd by raising their holded hand together infact this photo was circulated by Congress party workers in Bihar while last election to create confusion in minds of Muslims of Bihar.

[Sachin=GOD]

Shouldnt it be made the criteria that only those who have done good work while staying at top executive post in a state should be given responsibility of running a nation. And yes you are right that only Modi is not there few others are also there. I was just replying to a post where as usual somebody starts name calling to this man. If you ask why he do not use the same words for Bharat Ratna Rajeev Gandhi. He will just run away. I mean atleast appreciate where good work has been done its phenomenal that this man has taken every thing as challenge and delivered. Lets for an example take Bihar' date= the legacy which Lalu has left was such that any body if he did a little work also he would have got great appreciation not taking anything away from Nitish as I am from that state only and his huge fan but ground reality is Modi task was more difficult then any others. the rally you are talking about happened in Amritsar IIRC. I'm talking about another rally (maybe it might have happened somewhere other than Punjab or Haryana, I don't remember the place.) where Nitish refused to stand with Modi.

tell that to the Congress party where having a particular surname is good enough to make someone the PM :giggle:

[ViruRulez]

No chance. Nitish Kumar might be popular in Bihar but in large parts of the country the people don't even know who this guy is!!! Recently in the UP polls in some of the constituencies his party has such a small presence that in its meetings even the candidate didn't turn up :hehe: Some of the BJP's top leaders are more popular because BJP is present in many, many more states than JDU. I would say that either one of Sushma Swaraj or Arun Jaitley would be safe bets for the BJP. Also, I think most people here are being too pessimistic regarding BJP's chances. Its the Congress which has got the biggest drubbing yesterday - it was expected to win Punjab easily but lost badly, It was expected to win Uttrakhand but there also BJP has a chance. It lost Goa and performed poorly in UP so overall a very bad day. The UPA Govt is facing one problem after the other and it cannot get its major schemes passed in Parliament because even its "allies" are not with the Congress. For the past 5 or 6 years they have been trying their best to project Rahul Gandhi as the country's next leader but have so far failed spectacularly in convincing the people.

JDU does not have popularity but that does not mean Nitish Kumar does not have popularity. JDU will obviously not have popularity because they do not have grassroots base in other states unlike national parties. But to say Nitish does not have popularity outside Gujarat is absurd. Nitish is the most popular leader of NDA in India and all educated Indians know him well. He was awarded by Forbes, MSN, CNN-IBN, NDTV etc. as the Indian of the year. So, he definitely has cut across not only sections within India but also outside India. Awards and recognition XLRI,Jamshedpur "Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal" for Industrial & Social Peace 2011. "MSN Indian of the year 2010" NDTV Indian of the Year Politics, 2010 Forbes "India's Person of the Year", 2010 CNN-IBN "Indian of the Year Award" Politics, 2010 NDTV Indian of the year Politics, 2009 Economics Times "Business reformer of the Year 2009". 'Polio Eradication Championship Award' 2009, by Rotary Internationals. CNN-IBN Great Indian of the Year Politics, 2008 The Best Chief Minister, according to the CNN-IBN and HT State of the Nation Poll 2007. I am not saying that his PM candidacy would help his party to gain votes outside Bihar but it will help NDA to gain votes. Nitish has got extreme popularity in all sections of society including lower castes and Muslims etc. who are not known to vote a lot for BJP or for that matter NDA. When people vote for national elections they look at the PM candidate and the person at the helm of affairs. And they know that Nitish is an incorruptible, secular, bold and progressive leader. So, they trust him a lot. Jaitley and Sushma are also ok but they do not have the x-factor for which people would vote them over Congress. Sushma might not get the youth vote too as she is seen as too much of a traditionalist as people might remember from her time as the Information and Broadcasting Minister when she banned Fashion TV, AXN etc. Jaitley has a progressive outlook but then not a popular leader or great personality. Modi is good but he would never be accepted by NDA allies and people within BJP leave apart common masses outside Gujarat. So, Nitish is the best bet.

[seedhi]

JDU does not have popularity but that does not mean Nitish Kumar does not have popularity. JDU will obviously not have popularity because they do not have grassroots base in other states unlike national parties. But to say Nitish does not have popularity outside Gujarat is absurd. Nitish is the most popular leader of NDA in India and all educated Indians know him well. He was awarded by Forbes, MSN, CNN-IBN, NDTV etc. as the Indian of the year. So, he definitely has cut across not only sections within India but also outside India. Awards and recognition XLRI,Jamshedpur "Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal" for Industrial & Social Peace 2011. "MSN Indian of the year 2010" NDTV Indian of the Year Politics, 2010 Forbes "India's Person of the Year", 2010 CNN-IBN "Indian of the Year Award" Politics, 2010 NDTV Indian of the year Politics, 2009 Economics Times "Business reformer of the Year 2009". 'Polio Eradication Championship Award' 2009, by Rotary Internationals. CNN-IBN Great Indian of the Year Politics, 2008 The Best Chief Minister, according to the CNN-IBN and HT State of the Nation Poll 2007. I am not saying that his PM candidacy would help his party to gain votes outside Bihar but it will help NDA to gain votes. Nitish has got extreme popularity in all sections of society including lower castes and Muslims etc. who are not known to vote a lot for BJP or for that matter NDA. When people vote for national elections they look at the PM candidate and the person at the helm of affairs. And they know that Nitish is an incorruptible, secular, bold and progressive leader. So, they trust him a lot. Jaitley and Sushma are also ok but they do not have the x-factor for which people would vote them over Congress. Sushma might not get the youth vote too as she is seen as too much of a traditionalist as people might remember from her time as the Information and Broadcasting Minister when she banned Fashion TV, AXN etc. Jaitley has a progressive outlook but then not a popular leader or great personality. Modi is good but he would never be accepted by NDA allies and people within BJP leave apart common masses outside Gujarat. So, Nitish is the best bet.

Do you realize how unrealistic you are being? The BJP may not be in top shape but any non-BJP person as the PM-candidate with kill the party for ever, it will become the laughing stock of the whole country, hardly any BJP worker will even campaign. I mean this will gift Congress a majority on its own, and BJP might end up with single digits. With Modi, Jaitley or anyone else from BJP it is a question of win/loss. With Nitish it is pure and simple extinction, a certain political suicide. There is as much chance of Nitish being the PM-candidate for BJP as Rahul Gandhi or MMS. Its not going to happen. Go with Modi - that is the best throw of dice left with BJP.

[ViruRulez]

Do you realize how unrealistic you are being? The BJP may not be in top shape but any non-BJP person as the PM-candidate with kill the party for ever, it will become the laughing stock of the whole country, hardly any BJP worker will even campaign. I mean this will gift Congress a majority on its own, and BJP might end up with single digits. With Modi, Jaitley or anyone else from BJP it is a question of win/loss. With Nitish it is pure and simple extinction, a certain political suicide. There is as much chance of Nitish being the PM-candidate for BJP as Rahul Gandhi or MMS. Its not going to happen. Go with Modi - that is the best throw of dice left with BJP.

I can almost say for sure Nitish would have been a trump card who would have won easily. It is about the overall perception. Nitish can attract votes of all sections of society and he is known as a non-corrupt progressive leader but without religious or caste problems attached with him. I like Modi but hardly any of the NDA allies would accept him as PM. And his image outside of Gujarat is that of a hardliner and would result in BJP ending in probably single digits (at least if you say Nitish would do that then Modi would definitely be lower). To be honest, even a major NDA ally like Nitish has openly criticized Modi and he and his party insults him openly. In the last elections, almost every BJP ally said equivocally that they would need to leave NDA if Modi is made PM candidate. Even within BJP, most are not sure of Modi as PM candidate and hence, go with the safer path of saying Jaitley or Sushma. Modi might be a good enough PM candidate but then his credibility outside Gujarat across various sections of society is a big question mark. And in recent years, the court cases etc. have been highlighted even more by media which has made his almost unacceptable. And BJP can never win national elections alone as they are hardly present in formidable numbers in even half of India and would definitely need allies. In Eastern and Southern parts of India, BJP is not even a formidable force. Many are even predicting that BJP might be swept away even in Karnataka in the 2013 elections due to the corrupt and undisciplined image. And even their present allies keep on lambasting them over other reasons leave apart a Modi which would be seen as allies as huge. And to be honest, the allies can survive without BJP but BJP cannot survive without the allies. A good example was the Patnaik govt. in Orissa where BJP met an instant death in the state as soon as they left the coalition. On the other hand, even after all the losses, it is quite known that Congress plays alone in almost all states as was said by a news channel yesterday. So, a win for BJP in many cases means win for BJP and ally whereas for Congress it means win on its own. So, they will definitely have some formidable presence from all states of India be it less or own whereas NDA tally does not mean its own tally. So, they need to take care of the allies very closely. Just to give an example in the election results recently, BJP top brass said that they were even surprised to win 12 seats in Punjab and thought they will lose all their 23 seats and would pull down SAD. So, it was actually an SAD win and BJP became even weaker in the state compared to last elections. If for some day there is some serious dispute between SAD and BJP over something then it would mean death for BJP in Punjab. Similarly, if BJP someday has problems with Nitish it might mean death for BJP in Bihar as people trust Nitish more than BJP there. So, it is a numbers game. Even in BJP's best ever performance during Vajpayee's time it was 182 seats which was a dream come true. And in today's date there is nobody with the charishma and clean image Vajpayeeji in BJP who can get votes across all sections of society. And Indian society today has become a lot more modern and moved away from religious lines compared to the 90s. In fact, BJP getting booted from Ayodhya is a good example of how it has become even more important for politicians to become acceptable to all. So, at best it can win at best say 150 seats even in the best of optimism. So, for the rest 122+ seats it would need alliance and many loyal NDA followers like DMK, BJD, Trinamool Congress, MDMK, National Conference etc. are openly opposing it and have left nowadays. So, it would instead need new allies. So, to be honest, unless they can put someone like Nitish who can get votes from all sections of Indians then they might find it very difficult to even stand a chance. And that is based on realistic facts of today. BJP has also become a lot weaker in many states since those 90s era and are declining even further or depending on alliances with regional parties. So, they need to think wisely on how they would go. I would like to see some leader like Modi (only if he displays a clean image in terms of incorruptible and secular leader) as PM but then he would never be accepted by most NDA allies and as well as other Indians. Even his allies have their states to heed to and they need to make sure they remain in power in their respective states before thinking about national politics. I hate all political parties in their current form but politics in India is also about votebanks and numbers game. Congress despite all their problems are quite good at it and know very well that BJP has very less chances of making it to the national politics again. At best, there can be a hung house and even in that case they would probably have better chances of support from other parties compared to BJP. Though it might mean that the ruling of the country would be quite terrible with Left Parties, TMC, AIADMK etc. calling the shots. Only a person like Nitish can bring a turnaround in NDA fortunes.

[seedhi]

I can almost say for sure Nitish would have been a trump card who would have won easily. It is about the overall perception. Nitish can attract votes of all sections of society and he is known as a non-corrupt progressive leader but without religious or caste problems attached with him. I like Modi but hardly any of the NDA allies would accept him as PM. And his image outside of Gujarat is that of a hardliner and would result in BJP ending in probably single digits (at least if you say Nitish would do that then Modi would definitely be lower). To be honest, even a major NDA ally like Nitish has openly criticized Modi and he and his party insults him openly. In the last elections, almost every BJP ally said equivocally that they would need to leave NDA if Modi is made PM candidate. Even within BJP, most are not sure of Modi as PM candidate and hence, go with the safer path of saying Jaitley or Sushma. Modi might be a good enough PM candidate but then his credibility outside Gujarat across various sections of society is a big question mark. And in recent years, the court cases etc. have been highlighted even more by media which has made his almost unacceptable. And BJP can never win national elections alone as they are hardly present in formidable numbers in even half of India and would definitely need allies. In Eastern and Southern parts of India, BJP is not even a formidable force. Many are even predicting that BJP might be swept away even in Karnataka in the 2013 elections due to the corrupt and undisciplined image. And even their present allies keep on lambasting them over other reasons leave apart a Modi which would be seen as allies as huge. And to be honest, the allies can survive without BJP but BJP cannot survive without the allies. A good example was the Patnaik govt. in Orissa where BJP met an instant death in the state as soon as they left the coalition. On the other hand, even after all the losses, it is quite known that Congress plays alone in almost all states as was said by a news channel yesterday. So, a win for BJP in many cases means win for BJP and ally whereas for Congress it means win on its own. So, they will definitely have some formidable presence from all states of India be it less or own whereas NDA tally does not mean its own tally. So, they need to take care of the allies very closely. Just to give an example in the election results recently, BJP top brass said that they were even surprised to win 12 seats in Punjab and thought they will lose all their 23 seats and would pull down SAD. So, it was actually an SAD win and BJP became even weaker in the state compared to last elections. If for some day there is some serious dispute between SAD and BJP over something then it would mean death for BJP in Punjab. Similarly, if BJP someday has problems with Nitish it might mean death for BJP in Bihar as people trust Nitish more than BJP there. So, it is a numbers game. Even in BJP's best ever performance during Vajpayee's time it was 182 seats which was a dream come true. And in today's date there is nobody with the charishma and clean image Vajpayeeji in BJP who can get votes across all sections of society. And Indian society today has become a lot more modern and moved away from religious lines compared to the 90s. In fact, BJP getting booted from Ayodhya is a good example of how it has become even more important for politicians to become acceptable to all. So, at best it can win at best say 150 seats even in the best of optimism. So, for the rest 122+ seats it would need alliance and many loyal NDA followers like DMK, BJD, Trinamool Congress, MDMK, National Conference etc. are openly opposing it and have left nowadays. So, it would instead need new allies. So, to be honest, unless they can put someone like Nitish who can get votes from all sections of Indians then they might find it very difficult to even stand a chance. And that is based on realistic facts of today. BJP has also become a lot weaker in many states since those 90s era and are declining even further or depending on alliances with regional parties. So, they need to think wisely on how they would go. I would like to see some leader like Modi (only if he displays a clean image in terms of incorruptible and secular leader) as PM but then he would never be accepted by most NDA allies and as well as other Indians. Even his allies have their states to heed to and they need to make sure they remain in power in their respective states before thinking about national politics. I hate all political parties in their current form but politics in India is also about votebanks and numbers game. Congress despite all their problems are quite good at it and know very well that BJP has very less chances of making it to the national politics again. At best, there can be a hung house and even in that case they would probably have better chances of support from other parties compared to BJP. Though it might mean that the ruling of the country would be quite terrible with Left Parties, TMC, AIADMK etc. calling the shots. Only a person like Nitish can bring a turnaround in NDA fortunes.

Nitish Kumar campaigned in UP for JD(U). How many seats did he win? How can you expect BJP workers in Gujarat, MP, Karnataka etc (basically all India minus Bihar) go an campaign for Nitish Kumar? Without any workers on the ground, no matter who the PM candidate is, there can only be defeat. All politics is local, and without a strong and motivated party structure on the ground there can be no victory. With Modi - one thing is guaranteed : the BJP workers will be enthused to go out and campaign for him. It may destroy the NDA but IMO Modi will resurrect the BJP. In 2009 an aged Advani failed to enthuse traditional BJP supporters (esp the middle class) to come out and vote for him. A fat lot of good was the support of the NDA partners.

[OutStumped]

I don't know if me posting a video will add any value to this thread, but this guy is someone who needs to be heard. [ame=

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