The Congress had it made. And they had to go and screw it up.

The Congress (I) led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) was having a reasonably good run. Unless they did something disastrously stupid, they more or less had the next election in the bag already. The BJP/NDA coalition stood completely discredited and was nowhere in the reckoning. The only way for them to win the next election was for the UPA to lose it. Looks like they have obliged.

C’mon. What were they thinking? Rather, not thinking. It is not as if the Indian electorate would not have countenanced a reasonable degree of corruption. We understand that politics in India cannot be conducted without some degree of corruption. And we tolerate that with Vedic stoicism.

It comes down to a matter of scale. It is the sheer magnitude the scams that have come to light in the last two years that has left the nation aghast. And, there are newer misappropriations being revealed every few weeks.

Once Anna Hazare undertook his fast for the Jan Lokpal Bill, the UPA goose was well and properly cooked. Even then the story was not quite over. UPA could have still salvaged the situation, and even turned it to their advantage. All they had to do was to show some signs of contrition, even if they were fake, and show some enthusiasm for tabling the Bill in this Parliamentary Session. In this manner they could have actually undone a lot of the damage caused by the scams that had tumbled out of their closets. And, claimed credit for allying themselves with Anna’s cause.

But, no. they had to go on the counter-offensive, and take on Anna Hazare. Even more than the scams themselves, this has been their undoing. For professional politicians they exhibited truly poor judgement. Don’t they know Indian Janata? You don’t attack a Mahatma. For the Indian masses, Anna was a Mahatma in the making. And, we want Mahatmas, we love our Mahatmas. And, we don’t like anyone bad-mouthing them.

UPA did just that. And much, much more. They really spread themselves – and boy, are they going to pay for it! Sonia Gandhi’s absence was really evident. And, Rahul Gandhi demonstrated that he is not leadership material at all. Initially, there was the inexplicable and enigmatic silence. And, when he finally opened his mouth he stuffed both his feet into it.

He had the temerity to chastise Anna. Here, again, Indians don’t appreciate young people speaking ill of their elders. Especially, a venerable old man. On the other hand, if he had thrown his lot with Anna, he would have been the de facto PM of the country from that instant. He really, really blew it. Now if the Nehru-Gandhi line is to continue, Priyanka will have to step up.

That brings us to Mr.Narendra Modi. Whether anyone likes it or not, here comes the next PM. He knows that alright, and has made his move. That is what the Sadbhavana Mission, and three days of fasting was all about.

That begs the question: how good are his credentials? His claim to the hot seat is ‘good governance’. To be fair, he is presenting a fairly creditable progress report where the question of development in Gujarat is concerned, with him as the Chief Minister. The promise is that he can do it for the whole country. In a Globalized India that is pursuing its destiny as the potential super power of the 21st century, this is a saleable proposition. And, there are many takers for it. It is also likely that he, and BJP with him, might adopt a more accommodating stance vis-à-vis the Muslim community. That has become a necessity of realpolitik. The question is: how does he account for the Gujarat riots?

If we go by the Development Model, the person with a better claim to the top job is actually Nitish Kumar. Here is a man who turned around Bihar, that too, in just four years. The argument is: if he can do that for the basket case even among the BIMARU states, surely he should do well by the country. And, there are no corruption/genocide charges against him. Problem: he represents Janata Dal (United), which has no presence at a national level. And, the electorate is wary of a ‘Janata’ government in any form. We remember the last time they were in power.

CPI (M)? R.I.P.
Who do we vote for in 2014? What lies in store for India?
Cry, beloved country.
P.S.: There is hope. Imagine that the UPA Government tables the Jan Lokpal Bill, and sets in motion the process to make it a law. Imagine the present government sets up real electoral reforms, with the options of rejecting candidates on offer, and recalling elected representatives. UPA will win. Guaranteed. Now, imagine pigs flying. I said hope, not pipe dream.