BSP

The big day of results for the elections in many states – tomorrow is the D day (March 6, 2012)

Without any doubt, the year 2011 was probably the worst year for the Congress led Government. The ongoing investigations into the 2G scam, the CommonWealth Games preparation, and many others kept on showcasing that levels of corruption were incredibly high. Some amount of acclaim by Baba Ramdev in his quest against black money, and then the initial high levels of support for the anti-corruption campaign by Anna Hazare (coupled with the fumbling efforts by the Government to respond to the campaigns and the high level of arrogance seen from the Government side) pushed the Government to the back-foot. And then the Government saw its own ally leading the quest against an effort by the Government to push for some reform, namely the effort to bring in 100% FDI in retail, which was defeated by a campaign by Mamta Banerjee.
The year 2012 is likely to be another interesting year for the Congress, with some decisions by the Supreme Court on 2G already pushing the Government on the backfoot. And there is the elections for the Presidency, which is seen as an important symbolic step, but where the Government has a wafer-thin majority. And this is another reason where the forthcoming elections results are so important. These are the elections in the states of Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Goa and Punjab. In many of these states, the Congress fancies its chances, especially in the states of Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttaranchal.
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The whole drama about reservations for Muslims and its politics – primarily in Uttar Pradesh

For the past few days, in addition to the many caste calculations going on in the UP electoral scene, there is another twist that has been added to the whole discourse. This is related to political parties trying to attract the Muslim vote and what they can do for it. Now, getting support from a community is not a problem, but doing it only for electoral purposes and at the time of elections continues to be a problem, especially when it is so blatant.
A series of reports over the years have concluded that Indian muslims over the years have a level of development which is lower than that of the general population, and nobody can really doubt these conclusions. Further, over the years, a number of trades that had traditionally a higher proportion of Muslims (such as weavers) were affected by economic movements, further reducing the economic growth of the community. These were items that the Governments of the day should have handled, with targeted economic and development measures that laid a lot of emphasis on economic development that would increase the empowerment level of Muslims in the country.
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BJP going against it’s anti-corruption campaign – inducting accused politicians for the UP polls

The BJP keeps on trying to portray itself as a party that is totally against corruption, very different from the corrupt practices of the Congress and other parties. As a part of this, the party has sought to put itself as the main supporter of the Lokpal campaign, and had sought a strong Lokpal so that an institution to stop the endemic corruption in Government can be put in place. But, from time to time, the BJP also takes steps that immediately portrays the party as being opportunistic and forces those looking for an alternative to the Congress to re-think.
We saw this in the whole drama in Karnataka. It was quite clear for some time that the Yeddyurappa Government in the state was corrupt, indulging in many corrupt practices. And the state of Karnataka was critical for the aims of the BJP in South India, a part of the country where the BJP does not really have much of a presence in terms of electoral seats (either in the state assembly or Parliament). And yet, what the BJP accomplished in Karnataka was drastically opposite to all this, with the party getting a name for having a high degree or corruption; and even when this was recognized, the party was unable to change the Chief Minister who was the embodiment of this corruption.
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