It is that time in India again.The 14th Lok Sabha will have completed its course on 1st June 2009. In terms of the constitutional provisions, a new Lok Sabha will have to be constituted before 2nd June, 2009. So, India is getting ready for the general elections.
Since, it was only recently that USA held its elections, it will not surprise many if there are comparisons between the elections held in the strongest democracy in the world and the elections now being held in the largest (this time there are approximately 714 million people who are eligible to vote in the elections) democracy in the world.
One difference that instantly springs to mind when I think about the two elections is the lack of a clear Prime Ministerial candidate in the Indian elections. Agreed that the Congress and BJP – the two major national parties in India – have come forward with the names of their Prime Ministerial candidates, but I haven’t yet seen the two parties using these names as one of the major issues around which they are going to base their campaigning. This, I feel, is in sharp contrast to the US elections, where the main focus of the campaigns were names like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain.
Another major difference in the Indian elections is that the regional parties are going to be playing a major role in the eventual outcome. The leaders of the third front parties are silently hoping that somehow the elections result in an outcome, where there is no clear majority for any one party. This will mean that any party that will be able to put together a coalition with maximum numbers will rule the day. The Prime Minister, in such a case, could be just about anyone. There is a long list of names to choose from.
But, this is just the beginning. I hope as time passes and the elections draw near, a clearer picture begins to emerge. For in the present times of economic crisis, we do need a strong government, and a re-election is the last thing we need!
(I might be away from a computer during the weekend, so the BYB post may be a little late in coming. But, come it will.)
3 comments:
Sounds like India's system gets away from the politics of personality, which is what politics in the US can become. That is a good thing!
Good luck on elections and God's blessings be on your country as each decide who to vote for to help country out best.
I will look for your BYB Sunay post later.
Out with the old, in with the new. Same old, same old. May your elections go smoothly and your leaders be wise.
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