The General Elections of 2013

Yes you read it right - all four of us reading this blog! Much water has been held up along the Cauvery delta (even as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka squabble over who gets the water), and the political climate of this country has been getting uncertain with each passing day. With Sharad Pawar speculating about 'offending allies in November' and Mulayam Singh and Mayawati loathe to play the 'secular' card at the risk of eroding whatever little electoral respect people have for them, the set-up is perfect to precipitate an early general election.

With the government in a suicidal mode (judging by Salman Khurshid's angry exchange with journalists) we have a situation that can only explained by the word hilarious, the only way Congress can salvage its present downfall is to call early elections so that the yuvraaj can take charge and save the party from a severe rout. However, yuvraaj is in no mood to take charge of the party, and would rather go surfing and rock climbing.

BJP is in  fighting mode. No, it is not ready to fight its political rivals - rather it is busy trying to control its infighting. There is nothing family like about the Parivaar, with everyone wishing to be Prime Minister in 2014. The problem is this - who will become a Minister in the government? Moreover, being roiled in corruption, it has been reduced to nothing more than another major party on the decline. The Opposition, or lack of it, is going to hurt India, and soon will need to be filled up, else the country's democracy is in danger.

All the smaller parties are salivating at the prospect of forming a Third United Front/Alliance that can push the country into further uncertainty. What they do not understand is that they cannot survive without the national parties supporting them. Moreover, how can bitter political rivals within the federal set-ups be expected to come together for 'supporting' each other? Can a Jayalalitha and Mayawati come to the aid of a Karunanidhi and Mulayam or vice-versa? It is just impractical. Newer parties will hold the key, but they will certainly end up eating into the votes of all parties, thus causing major upsets that we cannot imagine.

Elections are going to happen for certain in the middle of 2013 - make no mistake about it. May the luckiest alliance win!

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