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Ground work for the 2014 general
elections has already begun? A greater role for Rahul Gandhi in
national politics is being envisaged keeping the next elections in
mind. Inside BJP, an increasingly greater number of people are
seeing Narendra Modi as the future PM-candidate, as it is clear
that the previous portrayal of PM-in-waiting for Lal Krishna
Advani became an ever elusive mirage. People associated with
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) can be seen even on Facebook and
other social networking sites, portraying Narendra Modi as the
messiah of the masses (read Hindus). For some in Congress, this is
being seen as a blessing in disguise.
How can Narendra Modi’s candidature as PM-candidate be a blessing
in disguise for Congress? Can somebody, in his wildest dreams,
ever think of a situation where Narendra Modi will be the election
mascot for Congress? Yes, it is true! There is a realization
within the Congress that Narendra Modi will pave the path for
Congress emerging as victorious in the 2014 elections. So if Rahul
Gandhi is hoping to play a greater role in the next Government,
the votes to form the Government will be garnered courtesy Modi
and the great network of his promoters – the RSS. This is the
‘gameplan’ being made by the so-called ‘suave’ and ‘elite’ group
of Congress’s ‘think-tank’, whose ‘great planning’ saw Congress
‘gain vote-share’ in the recently concluded UP Vidhan Sabha
elections. For those unaware, Digvijay Singh left no stone
unturned on journalist Rajat Sharma’s ‘Aaj ki Adalat’ to prove
that Congress actually performed well in the Assembly elections.
There is a group within the Congress which is saying that the
moment hardliner Narendra Modi will be fielded ‘officially’ as the
PM-candidate, all the secular Hindus and in particular the
minorities, including the Muslims and Christians, will rally
around the Congress, eventually leading to its victory. This group
is even saying that Narendra Modi will actually turn into a
Congress’s mascot for the elections, thereby ensuring its win. It
further goes on to say that there is no need for the Government at
present to go out of the way to do something for the Muslims, as
they will have no choice but to vote for it, come what may!
Irrespective of the Sachar Committee Report and other similar
findings, which prove beyond doubt that the Muslims in the country
need a special helping hand to come out of the socio-economic
depths that the community is presently in, these Congressmen are
bent on proving the opposite. They in fact are harbingers of the
same mentality which has brought Muslims to this level
post-Independence. For them, vote-bank is more important than good
governance and justice.
Not that there are no saner minds left in the Congress! But they
are few and at times their view doesn’t count. The shrewd
politician that he is, Mulayam Singh Yadav has already announced
that Samajwadi Party will be fielding candidates for various
Parliamentary seats in Gujarat as well. If Narendra Modi is
portrayed as the BJP’s Prime Ministership candidate, Mulayam knows
well who best will appeal to the flagrant emotions of Muslims than
his party. In return, he will either bargain more for himself in
UP or play the role of spoiler in Gujarat and other similar
states. If that is the case, why the Paswans and the Laloos and
even parties like Peace Party won’t wish to have a piece of the
pie?
It will be in the interest of the Congress if it builds the
foundations of the campaign on the basis of performance and
formulates pro-active strategies to gain votes with performance as
the parameter, rather on building a fool’s paradise and relying on
the backlash of certain events, which may or may not happen as per
the desired plans. Rahul Gandhi will soon play a more important
role in national mainstream politics within the Congress but if
such Congressmen are left to advise him, the great momentum of
support that can be generated owing to his charisma and that of
Priyanka, may be lost forever.
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