It’s the holiday time again for
kids here. Another academic year is done and dusted with and we are witnessing
heat all around. Summer is scorching so are elections. IPL season 7 starts
today amidst raging controversies and credibility deficit. A world cup was lost
in final where an ex hero turned into a villain. A plane is missing without any
clues. There is a crisis in Crimea.
But nothing takes away an iota of
attention from LS elections. It’s now or never situation for those who mean for
India. Yes I can hear many accusing me to be right fundamentalist etc but
asking my erudite friends if we have any choice. UPA 3 will be disaster for
country. The self proclaimed purists and
agents of change who lived by media have been put to death by media (though
some life is being infused from foreign shores in terms of support and money). They had chance to create case study in Delhi
but again individual ego and ambitions prevailed. Third front is nonexistent. If
one believes in the pulse and the opinion polls, we will have NDA govt. But
then Indian voting system is strange. It has sprung surprised in past and one
should not rule out incumbent’s hold over systems and below the table
practises. They have ruled of 60 years so they can still spring some surprise.
You never know in India. Last night before voting is crucial especially in
slums and rural areas where booze flows along with cash and kind incentives for
poor people. So as they say in Marathi ‘raatra
vairya chi ahe jaaga raha’ (Enemy is around so be vigilant). This is true especially
last night before election. Tomorrow we vote here in Pune. May 16 is month away. So the things will get interesting every day
till then. Growth which includes all and focus on basis infrastructure are the
only things which will take India ahead and not some subsidies, wasteful
schemes. I can also hear slogans from newbie party supporters that both NDA and
UPA are same and corrupt. But are these newbie parties ready to deliver in 14. Come
on, common sense should prevail and not idealism or pessimism of NOTA.
On cricket side, i felt BCCI has
an opportunity to cleanse the system but power as they say blinds. Induction of
Sunil Gavaskar is right step. Let Kumble, Ganguly and Dravid also join in
ensuring no conflict of interest. This
is the time for gentlemen with honour to show these power hungry incumbents how
to run the show. IPL thus is slow starter for me. On world cup loss, its
combination of wrong selection by India (right from the start of tournament
when they crushed everyone till finals) and excellent performance from Srilanka
on day mattered most. But solace is only fact that we reached finals. The
recovery phase in 13 again lost momentum in NZ. Now again it is the time for
selectors to hone right talent and for youngsters (apart from Virat Kohli) to
stand up and be counted. Still the team
is in transition.
On international front Crimea
issue, MH370, China-Japan, Afghan elections offer intrigue for observers.
Economy in US has improved. Now we look forward to world cup soccer in Brazil
to catch imagination amidst lot of controversies later in June.
Interesting summer ahead, and
very important one....
