According to The Hindu, democracy has died yet again after the passage of the Telecom Bill. Why? Because it won’t allow journalists to lie and cheat

 The following article was written for OpIndia. Pasting it here for reference:

Bharat’s Parliament approved the Telecommunications Bill, 2023 in the recently concluded winter session. This act will now replace three archaic laws from the years 1885, 1933, and 1950. You read the years right. They are not a typo. Up until now, we were still governed by laws passed in 1885 too!  

According to the English media, democracy is either in danger in India or has already died in India. Any small action (such as waking up in the morning) by any member of the Modi government causes the death of democracy in India. The passing of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 was no exception. The usual suspects went berserk with their headlines. If you take a look at the collage below, it is clear that these media editors are still driven by archaic language from the year 1885.

However, the reasons they have given this time as a justification for their archaic rants will blow your mind. A good summary of their rants was provided by The Hindu. Wanting to stand out from the crowd, The Hindu published a detailed article under the section “FAQ” with an innocent headline – “Will new telecom bill streamline the sector?”. 

And to make life easy for us, they summarized the reason why all English media editors have yet again declared the death of democracy in India. First, the Telecommunications Act, 2023 is draconian. Why? Because – wait for it – it DOES NOT allow users to furnish false particulars while obtaining telecom services. The largest group that is impacted by this draconian provision is the journalists. I am not saying it – The Hindu has graciously told us the same. 

India is perhaps the only country in the world where democracy dies a thousand deaths every day because of laws that don’t allow people to lie, cheat and fabricate. And since journalists have descended from a different universe, they reserve all rights to “furnish false particulars” under the garb of doing their job. I often wonder if these people even read what they write! 

The “draconian” bill apparently also provides for “legal architecture for mass surveillance and internet shutdowns”. Notice the use of complicated language such as “legal architecture” just to sound highly intellectual! What “mass surveillance” are we talking about here? According to The Hindu’s own article, we are looking at the “controversy surrounding Pegasus targetting 300 mobile phone numbers…”. First of all, the Pegasus story has turned out to be a fake one. Assuming it is true – we are looking at a whopping 300 phone numbers in a population of 140 crores! Second of all, the government has no role in private software being used for “illegal surveillance”, so it is best left to your imagination what “mass surveillance” The Hindu and their ilk are talking about. 

Their arguments on the Internet Shutdown are even more nauseating. While The Hindu’s article focussed only on the Internet shutdowns in Manipur and J&K, their soul sister, The Wire, went ahead and told us that India already has the highest number of Internet shutdowns in the world, and additionally referred to Rajasthan and Odisha too. 

Well, guess what? When it comes to maintaining law and order, governments all over the world have extraordinary powers to ensure peace. Bill or no bill, state and central governments already have the power to order Internet Shutdowns in the interest of public safety, whether you like it or not. Going by the administrative scale of India’s area and population, what we have seen are minuscule shutdowns focussed on small areas (except for Manipur and J&K). External Affairs minister, S. Jaishankar summarized the situation aptly, in his inimitable style – “Now, if you’ve reached the stage where you say an internet cut is more dangerous than the loss of human lives, then what can I say?”

He is right. These people do not value human life. They just want to encourage more violence under the garb of freedom of speech and fundamental rights. These people speak as if the internet has never been used for destructive purposes and feign shock when told otherwise. At one stage, it looks like these people realise that their arguments are not being understood by normal folks. So they come up with a stunning argument to create scare amongst people – sample this snippet from The Wire.

First of all, they make it sound like a KYC document is equivalent to you writing your property in the name of WhatsApp! Second and most importantly, at no place is it told that KYC is needed for WhatsApp or similar applications. The ministry has even removed the references to OTT applications from this act because they are covered in the IT Act, of 2000. Again, if the government wants to ban or control any apk, OTT or otherwise, it doesn’t need this particular Telecommunication Act! There are enough laws that give it leeway to take such actions. 

If anything, this Act brings in much-needed structural changes to how the industry is governed. Certain key demands of the industry and citizens have been incorporated into the Act, thus making it easier for the industry to flourish. Significant amongst such provisions are spectrum auctions for telecom but allocations for satellite communications; the mandate of Do Not Disturb to help us from spam and scam calls; ease of deploying telecom infrastructure on private properties etc. 

The English media has yet again failed to provide an accurate assessment of an important legislation. As is their wont, they have fallen back on archaic arguments expecting the people to lap them up. The people have done well to ignore them.

AP Politics - Part 3

 The following article was written for MyInd Makers. Pasting it here for reference:

This is the 3^rd and last in a series on the political scenario of Andhra Pradesh. In part-1 we discussed the YSRCP and in part-2 we discussed the TDP.

Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party went alone in the 2019 elections. It won only 1 seat. Pawan Kalyan himself lost in 2 constituencies that he contested in. After spewing unbelievable vitriol on Modi and the BJP in the run-up to the 2019 elections, Pawan Kalyan meekly announced in late 2019 that he will be a part of NDA.

Despite joining the NDA, he had a love-hate relationship with the BJP. Not a single joint agitation was organised by the BJP-JSP in the state, because Pawan Kalyan felt that the stature of the state leadership of the BJP is not the same as his! News reports often indicated how he preferred to talk to the Delhi leadership and not the state leadership. He was pretty much going alone in his acerbic attacks on the ruling YSRCP, which were becoming popular by the day. As time went by, Pawan Kalyan realised that defeating YSRCP in 2024 elections is his primary aim and hence started warming up to the TDP, because if he stays only with the BJP, he will not make any electoral impact.

This creates a classic conundrum. Does this mean that there will be a TDP-JSP-BJP alliance in AP, similar to what happened in 2014? But then does that mean TDP returns back to BJP after all that vitriol pre-2019? Does the BJP want to get TDP back into the NDA fold? While answers were elusive to these questions, JSP continued to warm up to the TDP and when Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in September 2023, Pawan Kalyan went ahead and announced a formal alliance with the TDP. Where does it leave BJP in the scheme of things? We don’t know yet but Pawan Kalyan says he is confident that he will bring BJP onboard too!

Pawan Kalyan is a maverick. No one knows when he is active in politics and when he is active in movies. He often goes into a shell and till date hasn’t been able to carve out leaders of any significance from his party. The Jana Sena fought in alliance with the BJP in the recently concluded Telangana elections and lost all the 8 seats it contested in. His speeches rouse his cadre, of course. His punch dialogues are a treat for the fans. But like he himself told them – their whistles don’t translate into votes! He has travelled within the state more extensively post-2021 than ever before. Pawan Kalyan has a good hold over an ~20 lakh voters in AP, which is significant and hence makes sense for larger parties like TDP to want to be in alliance with the Jana Sena. Though he cannot win on his own, his vote bank in an alliance can bring significant benefits to the bigger party in the alliance.

What does 2024 hold in store?

As of now, we know that the fight is primarily going to be between YSRCP and the TDP-JSP alliance. Whether BJP will join or not, we have to wait and see. There are already strong rumours that that Prashant Kishor, who helped YSRCP in 2019 is now helping the TDP for 2024! The YSRCP is going to completely bank on the numerous welfare schemes that target most sections of the society. Surveys indicate a strong support from the women voters, in addition to support from religious minority groups in the state. Bye-election results have shown to us that there is anger amongst the youth because of the lack of employment opportunities within the state. Both the TDP and JSP are adept at crafting catchy slogans. The TDP is also trying to bank on the 14-year tenure of Chandrababu as CM.

Though the BJP is not a major player in the state, it can be rest assured of one thing – whoever wins, it can be assured of support in Parliament from both the parties! The fluctuating fortunes of all political parties in AP, over the past 4.5 years made for riveting political drama. We now await what the people have in store for the 2024 elections!

AP Politics - Part 2

The following article was written for MyInd Makers. Pasting it here for reference: 

In part-1 of this series, we had spoken about how Andhra Pradesh is the least talked about state in the non-Telugu media. This was in direct contrast to how AP was constantly in the news in the 2018 to 2019 period. The noise that Chandrababu Naidu and TDP made after they came out of NDA in 2018 often reached the levels of abuse unheard of before. The scale of debacle of the TDP that ensued in the 2019 elections was also unheard of before! The fluctuating fortunes of the TDP over its 40-year-old history are well documented. Chandrababu Naidu has been at the helm of the party for nearly 28 years in these 40 years. And has overseen 2 victories and 3 crushing defeats in assembly elections. The 2019 was the worst.

But being the wily politician that he is, Chandrababu Naidu didn’t take too long to try and warm up to the BJP! Even with the minimal MPs that he had, he announced support to the abrogation of Article 370 and then many other subsequent legislations that the Modi government bought in. When Jagan proposed the 3-capital plan, Chandrababu and his cohort media started singing a new song – everything is ready in Amaravati! This was in direct contrast to the vitriol they spewed on Modi regarding the building of the capital in Amaravati. This change of heart did not come because the BJP suddenly became very strong in AP. In fact, the BJP is still not a major player in Andhra Pradesh but Chandrababu was desperate to get back into the good books of Modi because of the mandate Modi received in the country.

With COVID hitting in early 2020, the TDP basically could not get the ground running up until late 2021. It is during this time period that they trained and ramped up Chandrababu Naidu’s son, Lokesh. Lokesh had the image of a pappu, until the 2019 elections. Many memes were made on how he pronounces Telugu words and how he doesn’t know many basics. By end of 2021, Lokesh was a transformed leader. He shed weight and also shed any inhibitions while delivering speeches.

Meanwhile, the political slugfest in AP was drowning into new depths every day. Vulgar comments on various leaders became a norm. At one stage, when the TDP MLAs were commenting on a leaked phone call of a YSRCP minister with a lady, the YSRCP retorted by asking if Chandrababu Naidu is the father of Lokesh in the first place. This led to the now famous press conference where Chandrababu Naidu cried inconsolably at how his wife has now been dragged into this dirty slugfest. This was also the turning point that the TDP was looking for. Chandrababu gained a lot of sympathy for the manner in which his wife (and NTR’s daughter) was insulted in the Assembly. Many neutral voters were also disgusted at what transpired in the Assembly.

It was around this time that the party also decided that Lokesh will take up a padayatra that will span a full year. He was truly ready to mingle with people and also communicate better. The TDP also came up with a catchy slogan – “Pscyho povali, cycle ravali” – literally translating to “The Psycho should go, the Cycle should come”. Psycho refers to Jagan Mohan Reddy. Cycle refers to the TDP’s election symbol.

Amidst this came the MLC election schedule – elections were scheduled for 3 graduate constituencies, 2 teacher constituencies and 4 local body constituencies. The 4 local body results were a foregone conclusion given the majority YSRCP had. It was the graduate and teacher constituencies that was grabbing the attention and space in the media.

In a stunning upset, the TDP won all 3 graduate constituencies. The 2 teachers’ constituencies were won by the YSRCP.  MLC elections are generally spread across multiple MLA constituencies. In this case, elections were held across 109 MLA constituencies with only the graduates as the voters, for 3 MLC seats. Everyone saw this as on the biggest opinion poll ever because of the spread! Even though opinion polls continue to predict a massive majority for the YSRCP, the impact of these real victories can never be understated. These provide fuel to the sagging fortunes of a political party.

However, the bigger push for the TDP came when Jagan Mohan Reddy arrested Chandrababu Naidu in September 2023! The prolonged stay in the jail further created larger sympathy in favour of Chandrababu Naidu. Similar to the unsavoury assembly incident, this arrest also created a large sympathy amongst the neutral voters. Normally reluctant people took to the streets to protest against this arrest. The facts of the case aside, the emotional aspect of this arrest was perhaps misread by Jagan Mohan Reddy. Yes, the electoral impact needs to be seen but it is now undeniable that the arrest has certainly helped speed up the formal alliance between the TDP and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.  

Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena party is already in alliance with the BJP and is part of the NDA. However, with the arrest of Chandrababu, Pawan Kalyan did not want to hold back anymore on announcing his alliance with the TDP, so he went ahead and announced an alliance unilaterally. In part-3 of this series, we will discuss the politics of the Jana Sena party and the overall scenario for the 2024 elections.

AP Politics - Part-1

The following article was written for MyInd Makers. Pasting it here for reference:

The electorate for the election of President of India are the elected MLAs and MPs. During the vote for Presidential elections in June 2022, there was only one state in the entire country where 100% of the electorate voted for Draupadi Murmu. Andhra Pradesh.

AP has zero BJP MLAs, zero BJP MPs elected to Lok Sabha. The two parties that made up more than 99% of this electorate – the YSRCP, the TDP – are not part of the NDA. In fact, we are all now very familiar at the vitriol TDP spewed on Modi and the drubbing they received at the elections in 2019. Both the ruling YSRCP and the opposing TDP have supported the Modi government on many key legislations as and when required – that is a support of 25 Lok Sabha MPs and 11 Rajya Sabha MPs.

If one looks back over the past 4.5 years, there are probably two states in the country that have garnered the least amount of space in the media outside of their states. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha – the two states that went to simultaneous polls with Lok Sabha in 2019. To an extent, I understand the least amount of interest in Odisha, because of the predictability of the political victor there and the near total absence of controversial events. In contrast, Andhra Pradesh provided for very intriguing political stories and enough controversies, and yet hasn’t been able to make it to the non-telugu media in the country.

I am also equally guilty of not writing enough about AP in the past 4.5 years. And thus, is born this three part-series (1, 2, 3) on the politics of Andhra Pradesh in the past 4.5 year. I will try to weave various major events over the past 4.5 years from the lens of the three major political forces in the state – the YSRCP, the TDP and the Jana Sena party.

The ruling YSRCP

Jagan Mohan Reddy won 151 out of the 175 seats in the 2019 assembly elections. The massive mandate presented him a very good and perhaps rare opportunity to turn around the fortunes of the newly formed state of Andhra Pradesh. While, in 6 months from now, we will know if the people think he utilised this rare opportunity to transform the state, it is useful to recollect the content of his massive ads in newspapers all along these 4 years.

You can pick any ad of his government over the past 4 years – and you can see how he has distributed money to the people. There are ads that delve into details of one single scheme and then there are ads that summarize all schemes. The free schemes target most sections of the society. In fact, a whole new segment of employment has been created by this government – village volunteers! A village volunteer is appointed with a salary of about 5000 per month and the job is to make sure beneficiaries are receiving the intended benefits! While this sounded exciting at the beginning, it didn’t take too long for people to realise that this is a mere short term employment prospect with no real growth!

The gist of all of the ads are the same – wealth distribution to the people – mostly in the form of money or partly in the form of infrastructure. You would obviously wonder where the money is coming from, to be given away. Andhra Pradesh has the highest fuel prices in the country. The government also ventured into the liquor business and gets revenue from that sector! And then there is real estate of course.

Jagan’s “mark governance” was a slogan that the YSRCP toyed for a brief while. They perhaps gave it up when YSRCP proudly claimed that Jagan announced “Power Holidays for industries” as if it was a benefit he bestowed! His “mark governance” has also been marred by many controversies starting with the 3-capitals plan for Andhra Pradesh. The plan is currently on hold because the High Court has given a ruling against it. We had written in detail about the egotistic plan earlier, so we will not delve into it any further.

Bigger controversies awaited him. Infact, the palace intrigue of Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy beats the best written TV shows. Y.S. Vivekananda, who is Jagan's own uncle (his father's brother), was murdered in March 2019. Y.S. Viveka's daughter had to approach the High Court to get a CBI enquiry done. In her petition to the court, she submitted a damning statement on Jagan too. On April 16, 2022 - the CBI arrested Y.S.Viveka's cousin brother - Y.S.Bhaskar Reddy as the main conspirator of this murder! Who is Bhaskar Reddy? Bhaskar Reddy is Jagan's wife's own uncle (mother's brother!). Bhaskar Reddy's son, Avinash Reddy is the current YSRCP MP from Kadapa constituency! Head spins while trying to figure out the scale of this intrigue. We aren’t done yet!

Jagan’s own sister, Y.S.Sharmila, broke ties with him and established her own party in Telangana. In a damning interview to a news channel, it was clear that the break up was anything but pleasant. Jagan’s mother sided with her daughter. Jagan’s mother was honorary President of the YSRCP. She had to quit that post in order to side with her daughter! In summary, Jagan broke ties with his mother and sister; and has his close relatives in jail in case related to the murder of his own uncle.

Jagan faces the exact same criticism that KCR faced – that he is not accessible to his MLAs; and that he doesn’t even meet the people of the state. There is talk about severe discontent in the party because he intends to replace as many as 80 sitting MLAs for the 2024 elections. Jagan also has distributed unbelievable amounts of money as part of government schemes, just like KCR has. The distribution of wealth hasn’t been enough for KCR to win back power. The Jagan  government’s focus on wealth distribution and lack of focus on wealth creation has certainly angered sections of the citizenry. While opinion poll after opinion poll (including one in this month) have told that the YSRCP will win 22 to 25 seats in the Lok Sabha from AP (total of 25 seats), the rising anger was evident from the fact that the YSRCP lost all 3 MLC seats in the Graduate constituency elections that were held in 2022, to the TDP.

Ah, the TDP 😊. The fluctuating fortunes of the TDP over its 40-year-old history are well documented. Chandrababu Naidu has been at the helm of the party for nearly 28 years in these 40 years. And has overseen 2 victories and 3 crushing defeats in assembly elections. The 2019 was the worst. In part-2 of this series, we will talk more about how TDP fared after the 2019 debacle.

 

N Ram pats his own back for a pompous, gassy editorial in The Hindu, The Wire has a monumental meltdown: Fallout of SC decision on Article 370

The following article was written for OpIndia. Pasting it here for reference:

On December 11th, the Supreme Court upheld the abolition of the dreaded Article 370 (I know it was repealed and therefore while Article 370 still exists in the Constitution, the original dreaded purpose for which it was intended doesn’t exist anymore). Certain sections of the English media; certain sections of the I.N.D.I alliance and the entire Congress party went bonkers over this decision of the Supreme Court. Watching their meltdowns gave me goosebumps, literally. Am sure that their WhatsApp groups buzzed with messages on what should be their best strategy on this topic. The line of argument they have chosen to bombard their readers/viewers is – Attack on Federalism! 

A long, pompous and gassy editorial was published in his newspaper, The Hindu (we will get it later in this article). N. Ram showed utmost humility and described his editorial as “clear-sighted and insightful”. A former CEO of The Hindu group of publications, Rajiv C. Lochan, dared to call out this humility of N.Ram on Twitter here (“Beware when one pats one’s own back”. He went on to comment that “the pervasive use of adjectives can’t strengthen a relatively weak set of arguments”. Rajiv Lochan was telling N. Ram that just because he used good English doesn’t mean that this editorial is insightful. 

Now, the unparalleled arrogance of N. Ram is well known. Occasionally he takes it upon himself to prove it yet again to all his readers. Rajiv Lochan provided the best opportunity for N. Ram to exhibit his famed arrogance and intolerance in public. True to his image, N. Ram use a lot of English words to convey a simple meaning. I would urge you to read the image below and have a hearty laugh at N. Ram’s meltdown! He is telling Rajiv Lochan that a mere CEO should shut up because there is no one better than N.Ram to have opinions in this whole world. How can a mere CEO comment in public about matters as trivial as Article 370? Imagine N. Ram’s attitude towards mere citizens if he goes bombastic like this on his former CEO! 

After reading the “clear-sighted and insightful” editorial about 3 to 5 times, I was able to find 2 sentences that summarized the arguments of the entire English media gang. The title of the editorial makes it sound like doomsday is near and we will die because of what the Supreme Court did! 

I have highlighted the relevant portion in the editorial that tells us that Parliament can now do anything while keeping a state under the President’s rule. This was what his compatriots at The Wire were also shrieking about. The meltdown at The Wire was even more monumental in proportions. Multiple opinion pieces popped up in a short time – all telling us the same thing – that there is no difference left between “democracy and dictatorship”; that there are “Serious implications” for the entire country; that this is an “attack on the basic structure of federalism”; and the best of all – Many “locals had feared” that they have been pushed into “meaningful silence”!

Think about what these people are writing folks. What is wrong with “meaningful silence”? What is wrong with anything that is classified as “meaningful”? How can you use the word “meaningful” as a consequence of having “fear” to want it? 

N.Ram, Siddarth Varadarajan and their ilk know very well that the Parliament can split or not split a state even when there is an elected government in place and the legislature wishes otherwise. When she was the CM of UP, Mayawati passed a resolution in the UP Assembly asking the centre to split into 4 states. The then Home Minister flatly rejected the resolution. The disastrous manner in which AP was split into TS and AP is still fresh in many minds. The AP Legislature resolved that the state should not be split. Did that stop Sonia Gandhi from taking a stand otherwise? Examples galore exist on this topic. Starting from 1956 when their hero Nehru suspended the first elected communist government in the world in Kerala using a “brute majority” in Parliament. 

We can further discuss the language of Articles 1,2 and 3 in the Constitution of India. It wouldn’t serve any purpose for these people. We are approaching 10 years of Modi government. Despite their wonderful knowledge of the English language, these editors and owners have not been able to find new words, in the past 10 years, to describe their contempt towards the people of India for electing Modi. By rehashing the same words, and in the garb of being “insightful” and “clear-sighted”, all that these people have succeeded in was to show us how blinded they are to the reality of a new emerging Bharat. A Bharat that will embrace all meaningful decisions and leave behind all the meaningless trash these people dish out every day.

What was Normal for You and Me, did not Even Exist for the People of J&K until Article 370 was Repealed

The following article was written for MyInd Makers. Pasting it here for reference.

On December 11th, the Supreme Court upheld the abolition of the dreaded Article 370 (Yeah yeah, I know it was repealed and therefore while Article 370 still exists in the Constitution, the original purpose for which it was intended doesn’t exist anymore). While the emotional high that we experienced on August 5, 2019, can never be attained, it was certainly yet another emotional day yesterday to see the Supreme Court uphold what the Government and Parliament of India did on August 5, 2019.

Frankly, up until August 5, 2019, I was broadly under the impression that many Indian laws don’t apply to the residents of J&K; that citizens of India outside of J&K cannot buy land and property in J&K; women residing in J&K lose out on property rights if they marry someone from outside of the state. But when news reports started emerging on the changes the residents of J&K were experiencing, I just couldn’t believe my eyes as to what all the citizens of the valley were deprived of, all these years.

Take a look at this report in The Hindu. Ignore the sorry choice of words ("dark halls") by the bigots at The Hindu, but did you know that Kashmiris did not even have any theatres and multiplexes till the year 2022?

The report says that the handful of theatres (11 to be precise) that existed in 1990 were shut down because of terrorism. They tried to open once but terrorists hurled grenades. And we were just helpless. It took the abolition of the dreaded Article 370 for Kashmiris to even go to a movie theatre and watch a movie. What was normal for you and me, wasn't even existing for J&K residents because of Article 370.

Nightlife has become very common in almost the entire country. Not just in cities but even in towns and villages, nightlife began to thrive primarily at the turn of this century. We all have seen how this helped businesses boom and for citizens to have a relaxing time. Guess what, until the dreaded 370 existed, nightlife eluded the Kashmiris.

According to this report, public life halted at sunset itself! Today, late-night cricket and football tournaments are a big draw in previously “volatile areas” that were only accustomed to violence. It was distressing to read this report because what was normal for you and me, wasn't even existing for J&K residents because of Article 370.

What was popularly called Paradise on Earth actually had no-go zones because of the violence perpetrated by the terrorists. With the removal of Article 370, tourism spread to places that no one imagined it would. Take a look at this report and tell me you don’t feel distress and happiness at the same time!

The report explicitly states that these villages were out of bounds for “outsiders” because of the violence by terrorists. The report also tells us how happy the villagers are, when they call the new situation as a “dream come true” for them. The dreaded Article 370 so far didn’t even allow them to dream, leave alone letting them come true.

Ever since this dreaded article was abolished and thrown into the dustbin, 185 people from outside of J&K were able to buy property here. A whopping 1559 Indian and Multinational companies have made investments in J&K since 2020. Do you now see the scale of how much the people of J&K were deprived of?

Controversial serial commentator, Malala Yousafzai, told us in 2019  that “people of Kashmir have lived in conflict since I was a child”, as if it is some badge of honour. In 2019, she was “worried about the safety of the Kashmiri children and women”. Today, report after report is telling us how Kashmiris are safer than ever, have better opportunities than ever, are getting more prosperous, enjoying the fruits of a booming economy and welcoming fellow Indians to visit them.

What was normal for you and me, wasn't even existing for J&K residents because of Article 370. People like Malala and her ilk yearned for a Kashmir that will eternally stay in conflict so that they can cash in on the misery of the people. People like Malala and her ilk did not want our fellow Indians from J&K to have a normal life like you and I have. The people of Jammu & Kashmir have shown us how they have royally ignored Malala and her ilk. If this does not make us feel proud, then what else will?

How The Hindu consoled itself and shielded Rahul Gandhi after electoral drubbing in 3 states: Blaming regional leaders, voters, Hindutva and more

The following article was written for OpIndia. Pasting it here for reference:

By now, we are all used to the Congress party leaders crediting the Gandhi family for victories and blaming the regional leaders for their defeats. It is understandable why they are forced to do this. However, it is baffling that certain newspapers, that claim to be brave, daring, unbiased and whatnot, also willingly resorted to this same argument. Just to shield the Gandhi family.

The Congress party lost in Rajasthan (RJ), Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh (CG) in the just concluded elections to these states. The Hindu, in a great show of loyalty towards the Gandhi family, asks us – Did overconfident regional leaders in the Hindi heartland pay no heed to Congress top brass?

That The Hindu wrote

We are told by the author that in these three states, “heavyweights took independent decisions often ignoring the high command”. Are we to seriously believe there are people in Congress who are capable of ignoring the Gandhi family and making decisions? The author cites the example of Kamal Nath cancelling an I.N.D.I Alliance meeting in Bhopal. Are we to believe that Rahul Gandhi had no role in the cancellation of such a meeting? However, in my opinion, the best argument by the author was about the CG election. He writes that “Though the AICC did replace over 20 MLAs to beat anti-incumbency, Mr Baghel could not effectively counter the allegations of corruption against his government by the BJP”. 

Cute, no? The Gandhi family thought their job ended with replacing MLAs. The job of winning the narrative is on the CM only though. Imagine if Congress had won. The same author would have written how the Gandhi family played a master stroke by replacing 20 MLAs! 

This article is not the only place where The Hindu has given us pearls of wisdom. Their editorial on the results of these elections was even better! We have been told that the victory was because the BJP’s campaign was “laced with communal propaganda” and therefore “had a more effective outreach to subaltern segments”. 

What The Hindu wrote

I like the choice of phrase – subaltern segments. It’s a posh way of insulting the intelligence of the voters. In this particular case, The Hindu is arguing that the voter chose BJP’s communal agenda over Congress’s caste agenda. In its entire (long) editorial, The Hindu makes no mention of governance-based reasons on why the voters were vexed with Congress in RJ and CG where it was in power; and why they didn’t see Congress as an alternative in MP where BJP has been in power for nearly 2 decades now. We are told that Ashok Gehlot is so awesome that even though he lost the election he prevented a complete washout! 

That The Hindu wrote

And just in case you forgot that they told you that the BJP won because of Hindutva, they repeat it once again in their (long) editorial. This time, they accuse women, youth and tribal communities of falling prey to “Hindu identity politics”. I wonder what wrong the men did, to not get this honour! 

That The Hindu wrote

The editorial is severely upset that the caste census idea of Rahul Gandhi did not resonate with the voters. The editorial takes up a lot of space and conveys very little. When you separate the wheat from the chaff, it is baffling how The Hindu always ends up arguing that BJP’s victories are always because of Hindutva and nothing else really matters. How they try to find solace in the performance of the Congress party is also very touching. Their front-page banner story also highlighted how despite losing, they had their vote share intact! 

That The Hindu wrote

I hope the Gandhi family realises how faithful the editors and owners of The Hindu are towards them and make such great efforts to make them look good. The effort the writers at The Hindu put up in finding new phrases and words to describe their disgust towards the voters is really praiseworthy! They have been resorting to the same argument ever since the 2014 Lok Sabha victory changed the political landscape of India. It’s been more than 9 years, but they are yet to get out of the shock! 

BJP increases vote share in Telangana but fails to win even as anger brewed against KCR: How it got the chemistry wrong, not mathematics

 The following article was written for OpIndia. Pasting it here for reference:

At one of the pre-2019 meetings in Hyderabad, a BJP karyakarta stood up and asked the leader presiding that meeting – All these years, we have been dancing in front of the party office to celebrate victories in other states. When will we dance at our office to celebrate our victories in our state? The hall reverberated with claps, specifically at the tone and manner in which the question was posed – a tone steeped in anguish yet passionate to put everything at stake so that he could dance for the said reason. 

For many decades leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, this dance eluded the karyakarta. Hence the anguish. They saw real hope post-2014. Hence the excitement. The passion was always there. It was the direction that they were looking for. And the karyakartas got their first opportunity to dance when the BJP won an unprecedented 4 Lok Sabha seats for the first time in Telangana. The first step towards the ultimate dream of capturing power in Telangana was made. Bandi Sanjay Kumar was made President of the party. The second step was made. The party won the all-important Dubbaka bye-poll. Third step. The party stormed the GHMC polls in an unprecedented manner. Fourth step. 

The party President started his padayatra, right from Owaisi’s bastion. He stood right before Charminar and made thousands of karyakartas chant Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Jai Shree Ram – something people thought was never possible. Yeah yeah – he got “communal” and all that. But you need to know about Owaisi’s bastion to understand the monumental scale of what the karyakarta felt when Bandi Sanjay did what he did, on the day he started his padayatra. Fifth step. A big leap.  

KCR fired one of his best lieutenants – Eatata Rajendar. The BJP convinced him to join them. He did and won the all-important Huzurabad bye-election. The stride of the steps was just increasing. The BJP held its national executive in Hyderabad and then held a massive public meeting – the crowd was so huge that the Prime Minister was pleasantly surprised and patted Bandi Sanjay on his back for it. Small gesture, but gave much-needed fuel to continue the pace of the steps being taken for the ultimate goal – power in Telangana in 2023. 

A Congress MLA resigned and joined the BJP, thus prompting a bye-election. Rahul Gandhi’s famed BJ Yatra was passing through the state when this bye-election was happening. KCR sent 80 of its MLAs to this one constituency to defeat the BJP. Against such strong odds, the BJP still put up a great fight despite losing this seat. A setback but definitely not the end of the road. Mysteriously, very mysteriously, this setback became the end of the road for the BJP’s rise in the state!

The karyakarta was flabbergasted when Bandi Sanjay’s term was not extended after his 3-year term ended in March 2023. Yes, missteps were made. The mighty BJP could have easily groomed Bandi Sanjay better when certain issues were being brought to the fore. It is still an abiding mystery why the central unit of the party could not find the right resources to groom a fledgling state unit. It’s not as if this is something new for a party like the BJP. They have tremendous experience and accessibility to resources to handle situations like this. The backlash from the karyakarta at removing Bandi Sanjay from the position wasn’t anticipated by the central unit. I find it very hard to believe though – for a party like the BJP that thrives on feedback, it is tough to believe that they didn’t anticipate this. 

For a party like the BJP that did what they did in MP and Chhattisgarh, it is indeed a mystery as to why they gave up on Telangana. Yes, we can list out all the missteps the party took in the run-up to the 2023 elections. We can talk about the mathematics of the election. In fact, I started this article to explain the mathematics behind BJP’s loss. Using the below graphic, I wanted to explain how the party that took GHMC by storm in 2020 has failed woefully in 2023 in the exact same area. 

I wanted to refer to the increase in overall vote percentage for the party; the victory in the northern areas of Telangana etc. And then I read this beautiful post written by a Twitter handle – Gems of KCR. This is when it dawned upon me that the BJP lost this election because it faltered on chemistry, not on the mathematics of the election. 

The anger against KCR was real (we explained in multiple articles here on OpIndia why people are angry). So real that the voter did not mind choosing the Congress party over KCR when it was the BJP that was responsible for the increasing anti-incumbency. The chemistry that the party built in the 2019 to 2022 was mysteriously broken in 2023. This election is BJP’s loss more than the Congress’s victory (not to take away credit, but Congress’s rise only coincided with BJP’s downfall). The karyakarta who wanted to dance the ultimate step in 2023 will now have to wait till for 2028 for the next chance. 

Congress topples BRS Apple cart

The following article was written for MyindMakers. Pasting it here for reference. 

Even though it’s been nearly 20 years since that election, the failed India shining campaign of the BJP for the 2004 elections is often talked about in the context of the Urban-Rural divide. After nearly 20 years, we again saw a similar result in the 2023 Telangana state elections. The incumbent BRS government went into the election with 100 MLAs (out of the total 119!). And they won only 39 seats this time, well short of the majority mark of 60. 16 out of these 39 were from the Greater Hyderabad area! The only notable Urban area in Telangana is the Greater Hyderabad region – which means that the BRS was totally routed from the rural areas of Telangana.

Why did KCR lose so badly though? KCR’s downfall began almost immediately after he won a massive mandate in the 2018 Assembly elections (won 86 out of 119). Despite not needing them, he wooed 12 Congress MLAs and 2 TDP MLAs into the TRS. He didn’t have a proper cabinet in place for nearly 50 days. He received the first electoral shock when the BJP won 4 LS seats, Congress won 3 LS seats and he won 9 seats (as opposed to a landslide he was expecting)! He, however, didn’t learn any lesson. He continued to take U-turns on many decisions; started abusing the media and his opponents in the choiciest of words; lost GHMC, 2 by-elections, and 1 MLC election. He continued to remain aloof and wasn’t available even for his ministers and MLAs (his ministers have confirmed this in interviews too!).

His son KTR was running the government de facto. He used to give instructions (under the garb of “requests”) to other ministers on Twitter, to show off his powers. KTR perfectly embodied the arrogance of KCR. He made very objectionable and disparaging remarks when a girl student was killed by her senior; and when a girl student committed suicide owing to his government failures. KTR looked the other way around when hundreds of students at various government-run hostels were constantly being admitted to hospitals because of food poisoning. Sarpanches were committing suicides because of lack of funds to Panchayats and the KCR-KTR duo simply didn’t even flinch. The KCR-KTR duo were not able to conduct a single recruitment exam glitch-free. Paper leaks and postponements became the order of the day, thus pushing lakhs of youth into a swirl of uncertainties. The list goes on, but I think you get the point of why KCR lost. There are just way too many issues on which the KCR-KTR duo failed the people of the state.

Social media played a very prominent role in building the anti-incumbency against KCR. Many anonymous handles created some excellent content to highlight the hypocrisy and failures of the KCR government. From 2019 to 2022, The BJP deserves a lot of credit for playing the role of an effective opposition for nearly 4 years. Despite winning only 1 seat in the 2018 elections, the party registered impressive victories in the 2019 Lok Sabha election (4/17); the GHMC elections (up from 4 to 48); 2 impressive assembly by-poll victories; and 1 impressive MLC victory. They were at the forefront of many agitation rallies against the BRS. The growth graph began to dip because of infighting in the party, which enabled the Congress to surge miraculously! 

The sudden resurgence of the Congress party began after it won the elections in Karnataka in May 2023. The people of Telangana were so vexed with KCR and his family’s arrogance that they didn’t mind choosing the Congress party as the alternative here. Up until that point in time, the Congress was in doldrums. They performed abysmally in every possible election after the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The Congress was then quick to grab the moment and momentum. They began an aggressive campaign, completely handled by strategist Sunil Kanugolu – the same guy who handled the Karnataka campaign. The Congress released their manifesto – 6 Guarantees – very early in the election cycle. In fact, they were the first party to release their promises. Both the BRS and the BJP were left to copy the Congress style of design of the ads and at times, keywords from the Congress slogans too!

This was definitely not the Congress party that we have come to seen in recent times. I mean, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this is not the same Congress party that fought the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh! The three-way contest between BRS, Congress and the BJP seems to have benefitted the Congress more. The Congress party in fact won back seats it last won 2-4 decades back! The drubbing that the BRS party received was severe. It didn’t translate into a sweep for one party alone, and that’s why the Congress party just crossed the halfway mark of 60 (they won 64 seats). For many observers, it was difficult to call the election decisively precisely because of this close contest.

The Congress party has now chosen Revanth Reddy, the current PCC President and the man widely credited for this victory as the Chief Minister of the state. It is now left to see if the Congress party will screw up governance (as is their habit. The last time Congress won 2 consecutive elections was in 2011. They have never won a pro-incumbency vote since then). The people of Telangana have spoken. It is up to Revanth Reddy to live up to their expectations.