On last Thursday evening , pre-dinner hours, I thought I saw renowned classical singer Pandit Jasraj emerge and head inside Delhi’s new swanky domestic airport. But as I trooped into closer proximity to the grand musical  maestro, I discovered it was Sudheendra Kulkarni, the current political gad-fly of the BJP , key party spokesperson, LK Advani’s electoral strategist and regular Indian Express columnist. Fully aware that Kulkarni’s introspective piece in Tehelka has created bedlam in the lotus garden , I still congratulated him for being absolutely forthright. Understandably Kulkarni remained poker-faced and noncommittal, but he is  a receptive listener and a fine gentleman.

As Yashwant Sinha quits party posts, Jaswant Singh raises his baritone into an inflammatory  crescendo, and Sushma Swaraj describes the situation “ volcanic” even without  her characteristic hyperbole, it is discernible that the BJP is perhaps going through it’s most turbulent, tumultuous times. In a great number of ways, it manifests a political party that has remained in a self-contained cocoon, totally segregated from practical realities, lying lazily like a couch potato watching the idiot box, consumed by some strange self-delusional arrogance. Since every political commentator is having an open field day providing prognosis for the future and diagnosis of the past, I am feeling singularly left out ; hence,  my pearls of wisdom and the prescription for the BJP, following the American  style of “ 10 things to do model” ( where you can happily extend 7 ideas  into 3 more, or abbreviate 15 suggestions to 10); either way, it works. I have chosen 11 just to be a step ahead.

1)  THE POOR HAVE NO RELIGION

Please believe that Mr Narendra Modi ! The truth is that the UPA did an above average to good job, bordering on commendable,  but more importantly, it focused on India’s real needy and hopelessly under-priveleged, not merely the Ambani brothers,  stock –market punters ( who are less than 100 basis points of India’s population) and frequent fliers. The BJP still looks to represent only the middle-class, nothing wrong with that in terms of electoral targeting. But the middle class is precisely that, in the middle of nowhere, primarily indifferent and essentially a fair weather friend as far as political loyalties go. But it is those who live in the other side of midnight who really matter. The media and the BJP sniggered when Rahul Gandhi visited Dalit homes, slept overnight on charpoys,  and went unnoticed when visiting tribal areas in Orissa. In fact, barring Suman Jha from Indian Express , no one was even willing to cover the Youth Congress elections being held in Punjab, compelling Rahul’s crack-team to work on a press release draft! But the reason  why Rahul is today getting his much-delayed but well deserved appreciation ( although knowing him it makes not an iota of difference to him whether anyone notices or not) is because he is genuine and is pursuing a larger agenda of political purification.

The BJP is stuck on the middle-class story for vote purposes , but unfortunately, it is no longer anyone’s sweet spot . It is time they went “ swades” and read Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India. Back to the classroom, folks!

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“ When God created two sexes, He may have been overdoing it”.
Charles Smith

Sharad Yadav, the portly, chubby-cheeked, black-bearded veteran politician has threatened to hang himself from the tallest tree with the thinnest thread or consume tick-20 poison ( actually meant for cocky rodents on a nocturnal prowl). Now I do not have any reservations if that is breaking news or news flash or lightning thunder on our TV channels. After all, it is not every day that a professional practitioner of kurta-pyjama politics in the Hindi heartland , and that too a seasoned, hard-core cow-belt politician, threatens suicide. Yadav reminded me of a lachrymose Rekha in the 1970s Gemini melodrama, Maang Bhari Sindoor, ready to break bangles every time Jeetendra’s white-shoes turned caramel brown , and consume an unbranded tonic ( resembling cough-syrup Glycodin) in one deadly gulp, head held high at 85 degrees . In the absence of Bollywood humour of the Govinda variety thanks to striking feuds this Indian summer, Sharadji or Socrates has provided us with some much –needed comic relief. Now that’s what women can do to otherwise fairly rational men .

While he has not yet contemplated anything as remotely deathly as his bearded counterpart, Mulayam Singh Yadav is equally obdurate in his philosophy. His party hates computers, English and women, and his recent fall-out with Amitabh Bachchan is on account of the latter’s habitual bad boy behavior of blogging. Yadav, whose ubiquitous fund-raiser Amar Singh is supposed to be a ladies man ( am assuming most of those lovely apparitions suffer from chronic incurable cataract), is viciously trenchant in his criticism of the Women’s Reservation Bill terming it as a calculated “conspiracy”. Whew! Can you just imagine poor ole Manmohan Singh , moving circumspectly in Sansad Bhavan past the midnight hour in dark robes and a pen-sized torch, sending secret SMS messages to MPs with a not-so-subtle ultimatum to vote in favor of the 33% reservation bill, or else?????

Of course, Mulayam Singh conveniently forgets how his opportunistic party exploited the late Phoolan Devi, the much-publicised bandit queen, whose mysterious killing still remains unresolved. She was a woman, Yadav saab, but when it suited your political strategies, she was made into a sacrificial lamb. Jayaprada’s ludicrous case this time around exposed a woman’s vulnerabilities in a male-dominated world, where slime, sleaze and scurrilous elements are used to create a stigma on a woman with political aspirations.

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I see her often in the evenings, at a cross-road of South Mumbai. All of fourteen years perhaps, sprightly and smiling, cheerful and chubby-cheeked. She is usually accompanied by two brats, her younger siblings, who look straight out of a comic book, their naughtiness palpable through dry-skinned cheeks, practiced sales spiel and ruffled hair. The trio usually compete with each other to sell flowers in the fleeting sales window that they have before the go-ahead green lights come on. But they have their own rules of the game; even when they display their best marketing skills, it is not that the winner takes it all. They are happy that at least someone succeeded; they are family. Once she said to me, pointing towards the shorter fellow, as I offered her fifty rupees for a carnation bunch, ” Buy it from him, he has had a rough day today “. But the young fellow refused, a slight flush on his cheeks, demonstrating his own professional self-respect. ” It is alright. But tomorrow, promise you will buy from me?”.

Over the last few years, the above has become like a daily ritual. As the traffic signal is short, invariably a meeting is ensured. Sometimes they disappear for weeks, and then return with their familiar chirpiness, perennial smiles adorning their faces. ” So where were you guys?”, we ask. ” Our duty gets shifted from time to time to different places”, they say about their own little mobile work-place and the world of job rotation. But they are triumphant in spirit, and live in hope, a small family eking out an existence.

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It was late spring, and the first symptoms of the oncoming summer was apparent; one could instinctively feel the seasonal shift. In the corridors of India’s political quarters, however, no major alterations, not even subtle adjustments were expected. The election dates had been formally announced, and the NDA was preparing their victory speech, as a collective chorus screamed, India is shining.

10, Janpath by contrast wore a deserted look, almost serenely oblivious of the massive iterations happening around it. There was the occasional curious onlooker who gazed momentarily longer at it’s single-tiered protected quarters; cars whizzed past as if in a great hurry, even the summer swallow was being distinctively selective. It was hard to believe that it’s haloed occupants belonged to India’s most high-profile family, with deep historical roots. This was their litmus test; the grand old party’s very survival was now being seriously questioned. But the unexpected happened; in May 2004, the Congress humbled an arrogant BJP. Five years later, they have unquestionably recaptured their old glory, continuing with their triumphant consolidation, even if there is still a long journey ahead. Currently, one man is , judging from interminable media scrutiny, holding center-stage; Rahul Gandhi.

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I am surprised that Mr Arun Shourie has not taken full credit for the Congress-UPA victory. While the BJP looked clearly rudderless, uninspiring and adrift throughout the campaign, the former editor of the respected daily Indian Express was the celebrated one who espoused the cause of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister right in the middle of the campaign. It is difficult to fathom what his real intentions were, but the constantly prowling for breaking news-media promptly pounced on that fleshy bone and made it into a leadership debate. The BJPs fast acceleration on a steep decline to nowhere got further accentuated. Frankly, it must have certainly confused borderline supporters of Hindutva, not totally supportive of a fascist intonation in their philosophy.

In the 1980s, when we were just getting into the political groove as college students, Shourie masterfully carried the image of being an incorruptible social crusader. He was the poster-boy of expose journalism, at a time when most editorial types were merely happy writing lengthy prose, albeit with a fine flair . Khushwant Singh was of course, the most entertaining media-columnist and editor, writing in his friendly conversational style. S Nihal Singh, Girilal Jain, Dileep Padgaonkar, MV Kamath , Kuldeep Nayar were all well-honed editors, who essentially focused on government inadequacies and political and foreign policy issues, with their own personal ideology not necessarily obfuscating the germane issues. Kamath came out of the closet in his saffron robes post-relinquishing office. Shourie played a more calculated game.

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Society Columnists : When asked about the “ cow-belt”, some “ De-light disaster” said; “ Oh really, is that the latest fashion accessory from Ralph Lauren”??? May be she should occasionally drive down to discover the “ real India” beyond Worli Sea-face before writing those insufferably trite comments on Indian politics celebrating the common man. The aam aadmi is much more clairvoyant, intelligent and self-respecting than some of us in Jimmy Choo’s. Shall we say—Enough is enuff!

TV News anchors: Please stop those awkward self-congratulatory pats on the back for being “ closest” to their exit polls , and do an in-studio celebration of flushed psephologists, looking tongue-tied . At least , in that case, also declare honestly that your closest was wide off the mark , and woefully out of sync. It is like choosing between several losers, who fared the least-worse. Incidentally, yours truly, without all the razzmatazz trappings of expensive market research and colossal TV time , hit the bulls’ eye ( please check article, Exit Polls and Basic Instinct for full state-wide break –up) and predicted that the Congress alone would safely get 170, stretchable up to 180, and that the Congress-UPA would reach 226, stretchable up to 240. Sorry folks, but you got whacked by a whopping margin, despite huge financial budgets.

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5 pm sharp. It was quite dramatic actually. The very moment the momentous ( that’s the safest cliché to employ) elections 2009 came to a moderately-participated end, TV channels were ready to give us their pent-up, secretly kept, officially asphyxiated exit poll or post-poll surveys. Across channels, the drama ensued, with every show anchor on a ballistic binge, participating guests looking suitably grave and portending analytical expressions, and graphic images screaming new arithmetical formulations. It was heavy-duty brain haemorrhage. I am keen to know how the TRPs of English and Hindi news channels will compare with the never-ending IPL based on yesterday’s teaser trailer to the biggie spectacle of Saturday.

As a former banker who has seen his erstwhile several colleagues ( investment bankers and portfolio analysts top this dubious category) make a classic fool of themselves over the last year, I have developed a cold cynicism to mathematical models. One , because, only a few comprehend their stupid inanities and endless assumptions. Second, they are usually incorrect. If you don’t believe me, let me do a quick recap of 2004 exit surveys.

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At a small gathering of well-heeled sort in a South Mumbai club, Milind Deora , sitting Congress MP South Mumbai stood answering questions from the supposedly well-aware if not necessarily sufficiently-enlightened audience from his high profile constituency. At one point, Deora posed a query back , ” Do you know who is your local MLA? Or your corporator?” Out of a gathering of a hundred odd people casually carrying Blackberry’s, 3 half-bent hands went up feebly as if affected by a tennis elbow. Of those valiant limbs, two were just indulging in idle speculation and as for the other, he was the lone swallow of the summer party. In a great number of ways that minor interface manifested Mumbai’s chronic political ignorance. Or indifference. Or both.

On April 30th, as Mumbai voted, and camera crews whizzed around expecting a bone crushing multitude thronging polling booths, a certain reality dawned. Mumbai was happily sleeping, comfortably ensconced in it’s chosen irrelevance. In TV studios, botox -injected countenances seemed highly disturbed. Very angry. They were not carrying any designer candles this time. The big myth of Mumbai’s inner resilience had been decisively busted, and the candle-light whiffed out without even a careless mild blow of an innocuous breeze. The much-fancied South Mumbai constituency , which has India’s highest real estate prices for commercial complexes and residential property, the much coveted address of Malbar Hill, the haven of the new-rich Cuffe Parade, the breezy Worli Sea face , amongst others saw a dismal turn-out. Even worse than in 2004. At less than 43% voting percentage , it showed not just apathy, but sheer contemptuous disinterestedness. As someone told me, it was ” De-light disaster”.

The social butterflies , flitting in colorful avatars from one studio to the other, expected the tragic 26/11 terrorist attacks to galvanize the city ; but frankly, Mumbai has had other compelling challenges as well. Serial train bombings, the horrific July floods, bitter regional divides with North Indians, crumbling infrastructure, rising crime against women — has all resulted in rampant loss of its once thriving cosmopolitan character. People expected a spirited participation, led by some major sloganeering — “Enough is enough” kind. But they should have known better. But again, not everyone is clairvoyant.

There were early signs; when Raj Thackeray attacked innocent North Indian laborers, the city’s social conscience went in a deep slumber. There were no silent processions, and the conscious keepers, chose to look the other way. Suddenly 26/11 happened, and even those with Visa gold cards and Sunday brunch invitations realized their personal vulnerability. It was an act of brazen selfishness; there was nothing remotely altruistic about it. The candle-light at Gateway was over-hyped as India’s great public awakening; it was anything but, just an act based on an emotional impulse covered extensively by a myopic media on it’s own crusading trip. Honestly, it never really had any sustaining substance. Move over 26/11, 30/04 is the new date-line that defines Mumbai. Guys, take note.

For South Mumbai socialites , including soft-porn celebrity authors and pseudo-intellectual columnists who know more about the family history of Louis Vuitton than Mahatma Gandhi , this is shock , awe and distress combined. The upper-class in Mumbai is the ultimate in synthetic standards. So if you talk English with an exaggerated Oxford-affectation , you are not just deemed smart but even thought to be honest. But country-cousins such as Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mamata Bannerjee, Ram Vilas Paswan ,Mayawati etc are butt of jokes and considered as archetypal caricature politicians. Mumbai embraces the Amar Singh-type profile of politicians , well-networked, Bollywood affiliated, nattily dressed. . Prafool Patel of the NCP is their perfect role-model ; suave, smart, Napean Sea Road resident, who speaks ” good English” and appears on magazines like Hi-Blitz. Independent candidate and CEO ABN AMRO Meera Sanyal saw this clear space, hence South Mumbai for her, not Thane or even Mumbai North West. But what really explains the mystifying dip in voting numbers, despite Jaago-Re etc? It was much more than just mercury rising, actually.

The answer lies not so much in voter impassivity, confusing choices, long week- end break , lack of adequate candidate pull, or the summer heat or missing electoral rolls. It lies in Mumbai’s core DNA; Mumbai does not have a political complexion or character . It is a city with a commercial outlook , pregnant with career dreams , bare survival and the lure of endless monies and good fortunes. You will argue that every city has similar obsessions, but Mumbai is a terribly skewed exaggeration. Period! It understands only the language of Sensex, broker Jhunjhunwala , and floating interest rates. Jobs, income, growth, savings, success, value, and investments predominate Maximum city’s mind. While even in Delhi’s chatterati farm-houses and college canteens they will discuss Godhra and Gowda , in Mumbai’s local trains they talk about the Satyam scam , cement off-take, the fight between the Reliance brothers, and whether SRK is King . The middle class takes itself very seriously. It plays the middling role, neither here nor there; as long as the EMI can be paid, no sweat on what happens to the next door neighbor.

Mumbai is a city always on the borderline of survival , of hopes and jobs and dreams. Fiscal and credit policy and forex rates worry the city more than Ayodhya, Nandigram or Kandhamal. These are considered superfluous political issues as they do not impact local train timings. Or job openings. Or the week-end sale in the mall. And therein lies the problem.

The other day Veer Sanghvi quoted MJ Akbar’s well-known dig on Mumbai; ” that it needs to establish diplomatic relations with the rest of India”. It was a dicey suggestion. Because if Mumbai has its way, it would never issue anyone a visa . Because the city foolishly believes that economic and political realities are not so-directly intertwined. It is a city that loves to live in it sown terms— consumed by it’s own hubris. Leading the list of cheerleaders are some designer sarees.

Society women and over-zealous new-age activists have ruled the roost post-26/11 because they have exploited the city’s naïve political outlook, its gross ignorance of the Indian body politic, its atrocious neglect of its own self-preservation. And since these globe trotters are usually well connected they spin hear- say into reader-friendly columns bereft of any intellectual quality or academic intelligence, but impregnate it with rabid personal takes. It makes for ” masala-reading” on Sunday afternoons. So you will find them constantly rubbishing well-known personalities as it gives them cheap TRP points. In their self-created bubble they become icons; “She takes on the establishment, you know??? Worse, respectable TV channels then promote their pathetic bunkum. With 30/04 , it’s comeuppance time. Anyway.

Mumbai needs an inspired leadership to help it discover it’s dormant soul. One Lead India campaign cannot undo years of Page 3 hard-sell. Sadly, even a 26/11 did not shake it rudely enough to comprehend the relevance of a state. Or government. Or that India’s politics is as relevant at Olive as it is in Patna Coffee House. Frankly, if Mumbai continues to live in a cocooned existence it does so at it’s own peril. Check out Delhi; a traditional BJP bastion, the good governance of CM Sheila Dixit has made the Congress invulnerable in the capital, and the voters in Delhi have preferred their stronger infrastructure and improved environment to unnecessary political provocation. The people of Delhi have participated actively, and the widening difference between Delhi and Mumbai ( once far ahead) is for everyone to see from the moment you start driving out of the airport.

The other day a certain Ms De was in full blast in a TV program. I only hope the studio lights didn’t give her a heat stroke.

It is four days since Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi held his press conference in New Delhi. 96 odd hours later, there is an unusual buzz, frenetic activity, and incessant dissertation of Rahul’s various pronouncements. There is an understandable sense of palpitating fluster in the BJP. Regional parties are tongue-tied at Gandhi’s sincere unanticipated open-mindedness on potential allies. Typically media analysts believe it is only pure strategic posturing deliberately planned to create fissures in enemy camps. The process of assessment continues.

The resulting rise in political decibels is all because Rahul Gandhi spoke impromptu, letting his intrinsic honesty manifest itself. It is actually as simple as that. It is something the Indian media, high on overdose of mindless mind-reading just cannot decipher. No standard banalities from Gandhi; no typical statements laced in usual political correctness. On the contrary, Rahul Gandhi reflected candor and commitment; he was not afraid of opinion poll ratings of his post-press conference “performance”.

If you watch regular official spokesmen of national parties, they are all practiced to perfection , occasionally punctuating their brief by an impulsive outburst. That is the professional method adopted all over the world; key messaging, just stick to it . But in a fast evolving world, traditional norms are being challenged everywhere, now also including media interaction. In upsetting the traditional route of safe-speak, virtually single-handedly, US President Barack Obama’s “I screwed up” ( on his failed bid for nomination of Secretary for Health) is a landmark statement. It was refreshingly endearing, even if it shocked the mid-West and the conservative lobby in Capitol Hill.

In India, we have displayed shocking condescension, talk-down, almost pathological rubbishing of each other by political adversaries. Rahul Gandhi clearly believes that the Jurassic culture of senseless anti-anything and anti-everything propaganda needs to be peppered down; he would prefer intelligent articulation, and a balanced debate between opposing parties. And realistic appreciation of good work done ( as in the case of Nitish Kumar, for example ) , is not reflective of making concessions, but of being pragmatic and honest. Frankly, despite all the perfunctory platitudes , have we really ever had a “constructive opposition” in Parliament ?

Rahul has unwittingly, without any opulent ceremony and planned intent , encouraged plain-speak, thereby challenging the obsessed with sound-byte culture ( sorry, Narendra Modi, saab) media into meaningful substance-debate. It is a significant shift, and augurs well for a more transparent culture. It was hardly surprising to find the usually-never-lost-for-words Sudheendra Kulkarni of BJP looking totally foxed and completely clueless when quizzed on Rahul’s down-to-earth outspokenness.

For those who have carefully catalogued Rahul, they will not have been surprised at his trademark forthrightness. Perhaps it is time to do a quick recap:

1) I AM NOT READY TO BE A PRIME MINISTER

At a time when the entire gang comprising of Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, LK Advani et al have been shouting from roof-tops about their grand ambitions, the young man has politely declined the big job, without even momentarily hesitating on that fairly crucial decision. And this despite the fact that the Congress party will perhaps be the biggest single party in the UPA coalition and the Lok Sabha . ” I need more experience” says Rahul in exhilarating honesty, which shows how much he values and respects the Prime Ministerial seat. He has seen several family members at the helm, and for him becoming PM is therefore serious business. He wants to personally feel that he has “earned” it , and as and when he is ready he will make up his own mind. Five years ago, his mother Mrs Sonia Gandhi declined the same role for different reasons. Now if all that is not true commitment, what is??

2) I WOULD RATHER WORK FOR THE PARTY

Without batting an eyelid, Rahul made clear his personal preferences ; party-consolidation and nation-building. He was honest enough to admit that his “boss” and the PM may be able to cajole/coerce him into a Ministerial role , but he had urgent tasks at hand; the democratization of the Youth Congress, and increasing local grass-root penetration, being his overriding passions. That was a visionary statement, shorn of personal ambitions and myopic goals. When have we last heard “politicians” talk that language?

3) INDIA IS NOT SHINING

It takes a lot of courage during the times of “excess hyperbole” ( read election time), for a high-profile political personality, whose government recorded a stunning GDP growth averaging above 8%, to say that India is not shining. Because for Rahul it is not about just BPO jobs, FDI, Sensex, SUVs, shopping malls and the world’s biggest IPO. Gandhi is aware that having four Indians in the Forbes top 10 billionaires lost is not symptomatic of India’s real success. Or a bullish Goldman Sachs report. Rahul is worried about those staggering numbers above 400 million that are on the poverty bench, awaiting a huge economic alleviation. They live on a survival help-line. And for Rahul therefore, India will shine not just with income growth, but with it’s fair distribution. Can anyone argue with that economic rationale?

4) NITISH AND NAIDU: AND SOME GOOD WORK

It is amazing how Rahul’s undisguised appreciation of some good work having been done by the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh , Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar of Bihar has created such an unwarranted hullabaloo. The fact is that these two have certainly done well in some quarters, even if they are part of the NDA combine. Unlike conventional political bashing, Rahul openly praised some of their initiatives, without going over-board. So why on earth should that genuine appreciation create such political air-pockets and uncontrolled turbulence? It is something that the BJP can learn from. I honestly believe ( I had written that in my blog earlier) that LK Advani lost a historic opportunity to appear statesmanlike and raise the BJP brand by voting against the nuclear deal. Senator John Kerry of the Democrat party lost to a weaker George Bush , and yet came to India lobbying on behalf of the Bush administration on the nuclear deal as it was deemed in the mutual interest of the two countries. No petty partisan games; national issues took center-stage. President Obama has two Republicans in his cabinet, and Hillary Clinton fought a bitter battle with him ( more than even John McCain, perhaps) and is today his Secretary of State.

Being a political adversary does not mean asinine mud-slinging ( of the Narendra Modi type) or endless flaky criticism ( of LK Advani-kind ). Rahul has introduced the element of a balanced perspective when taking on his well-known opponents. We don’t have to be bitterness-personified, says Rahul.

5) DYNASTIC POLITICS

Gandhi has painstakingly stated that he wants to encourage local level, direct grass-root entrants into the party. Let me ask you; who has in the past publicly admitted to having an advantage of being part of a well-known political family? Rahul has stated just that , with courage and conviction. Which is precisely why he is pursuing internal party reforms with passionate zeal. In fact, Rahul has completely dismantled the much over-blown debate on dynastic politics by altering it himself. Surely, he cannot be expected to apologise for being born a Gandhi. It is like Anil Ambani or Ratan Tata saying, ” We are very sorry for being in the billionaire list. Please forgive us”. True, they would not have been there had it not been for their fore-runners, but they have also got there through their own incremental efforts, right?

6) ROLE OF THE CBI

All central government’s end up influencing , willy-nilly, some of the independent institutions of the state. It is a fact, an inconvenient truth, that people generally abstain from stating. Rahul admitted the practical reality ; it was not a confession of government interference in the Bofors case, but a public acknowledgement of the need to bring about ” systemic changes”, like in the pre-election issues of the Election Commission as well.

7) SWISS MONEY

Once again Rahul Gandhi promptly agreed with suggestions given by several experts, including LK Advani that we should look into the slush money parked abroad in Swiss accounts. It was a transparent statement; if something is good for the country , we should do it, irrespective of whom the suggestion comes from. That is the kind of consensus politics India needs.

8) THE END OF TERRORISM

I think everyone completely overlooked what happened on the first day of the elections, when Naxalites butchered people dead. Naxalites have emerged as a dangerous internal threat , and economic impoverishment is the root cause of their rampaging rise. In fact, Rahul understands that rural poverty , if not decisively overcome, could result in a violent social upheaval taking various forms. Village empowerment through education, employment and development is the long-term solution. And the Naxalite is an internal terrorist, make no mistake, if they resort to a violent agenda. And they do not need to travel to India by sea.

9) ON VARUN GANDHI

Rahul did not allow the first-cousin issue to escalate into political warfare; he chose to respect their ideological differences instead. Attacking Varun Gandhi would have been suitable fodder and pro-Muslim strategy , but he skipped it. He made no political capital out of it, letting Varun Gandhi and the BJP work on his resuscitation. It was dignity in politics, reflected with decency and character.

10) LONG HAUL , SO LET’S TALK BUSINESS

Rahul sent a clear message to all and sundry; “cut the annoying daily vacillations on your prime ministerial goals, get us the numbers, and we will talk”. I think in that one unambiguous statement he laid his cards on the table, taking the wind out of the sails of several negotiators. No hidden agendas. No beating about the bush. Deliver and we shall negotiate, said Rahul. Otherwise, Gandhi was categorical, the party with the largest seats will dictate the pace. Since ideological priorities were being traded-off over hard arithmetic by the regional players , then let the numbers speak for themselves, said Rahul.

Rahul Gandhi’s driving force is a constructive approach to nation building which cuts across party-lines. Not for him scoring brownie points with Modi on silly witticisms. Or awaiting media endorsements and poll pundit’s approval. He knows that the real verdict lies amidst those dusty-towns with no electricity, not glitzy studios with flashing back-drops. Unlike others, he does not have to try to be too clever. He is just being himself.

Rahul has brought in candor and character , measure and modesty, humility and homegrown simplicity to Indian political debate and discussions. He is willing to take the bull by the horns; if you can’t handle his frankness and matter-of-fact honesty, go check your conscience meter.

Some stated that it was a coming of age of Rahul Gandhi. I think it could be the beginning of a new one in Indian politics itself.

The Sanjay Dud-Mayawati fracas over the “jhappi and pappi” stuff provided comic relief from the never-ending venom, vitriol , Varun and vehemence on constant display during this summer-time election. Almost everyone has had an EC warning, and the standard pretext has been the ” context” in which the happening sentences have been gleefully uttered. Either way, what has been conspicuously missing in this election has been a sarcastic exchange laced with biting humor. For instance, just why hasn’t anyone from the Congress yet said about Narendra Modi that he is always trying to save both his faces?

The electronic media has had a field-day as most political parties have appointed spokespeople for dedicated channels on permanent standby. So sound-bytes are completely underwritten, and it is a win-win proposition on both sides, which is a fair deal . But what has been particularly noticeable is the almost condescending manner and ” judgmental” overtones of some senior editorial types from well-known TV channels. Absolute no-no, if you ask me, and defying basic norms of studio hospitality. One of them was openly damning the spokesperson of a political party, passing his own personal opinion with vigorous body language to boot , and sounding like a pompous, self-righteous indignant judge. The job of an anchor is to create an animated debate and ensure fair-play in the time allotment sphere, and let the best man( men ) score the points. But when anchors behave like football match referees, we have a serious problem. Worse, some of them come across as a Pope.

President Zardari in Pakistan does not believe in a ” body of evidence”, which given the Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab affair should hardly come as a surprise. But his rather outrageous statement that Osama bin Laden was dead, was an incredible shocker. Of course, Mr Zardari added that that was his personal assessment, as he had no ” evidence”, which must have given the US plenty to introspect on , given Zardari’s arbitrary interpretation of ” proof”. Promptly, the US President Barack Obama contradicted the fictitious tale, but one wonders where is all the new tranche of USD 400 million military help for Pakistan headed for if the head of state is as clueless as I am when solving trigonometry for high-school kids. Besides Zardari’s foot-in -the-mouth disease, Obama should seriously worry as unaccounted US funds could be actually be invested in a dubious portfolio, some of which could boomerang ( pun intended) on the US itself. As we continue the election battle, the Taliban in Pakistan seems like it’s almost running for office too.

Today my very famous Malbar-Hill flavored South Mumbai constituency has gone to vote, and I shall soon find out if some of them were holidaying in the snowy Alps, doing a lazy brunch , or those who are the recession-conscious kind , taking a long week-end break at Alibaug. It’s possible that others just chose to avoid the insufferable surly weather as it would mean an appointment with the dermatologist. Either way when I voted this morning, the crowds looked thinner than Kareena Kapoor in a size zero or whatever, although the general expectation was that once the afternoon sun set in, the gliterrati at least would troop by in dark glares covering three fourths of their prized beauty to press the buzzer. In a few hours we will know.

Till such time, let us watch a 7 over IPL match with a 7.5 minutes of a strategy break. Enjoy!