Delhi Poll Outcome

It is a deja vu moment.  The victory of AAP has many parallels with the BJP victory at the center in May last year.  It is a decisive mandate.  The mandate has been given on the basis of clear-cut issues rather than caste, region and identity.  It is a mandate that leaves little excuse for not delivering on the promises.  I would like to think that it also shows what happens when a decisive mandate is not fully honored, and hence it embodies a warning too for the beneficiaries of the mandate.  It says in very clear words that petty corruption and crony capitalism have reached a level that the public will revolt against at every available opportunity.  And it shows its disapproval for narcissism at any level.

The electorate in India seems to be maturing fast.  The old tricks deployed for dividing the electorate ad infinitum on the lines of caste and creed are now giving ever diminishing returns.  The electorate seems to be sending out a message that it is a taskmaster and will not put up with non-performance.

The electorate is essentially telling the politicians, "We are giving you responsibilities and tasks and NOT a seat of power and pelf.  And please do not use identity management to distract us from any non-performance."

AAP supporters are celebrating the victory in traditional ways.  They will do well to keep celebrations at a minimum and get down to brass tacks. AAP must not forget the warning very clearly implicit in this victory.  Deliver or perish!

Mesmerized By A Father Figure (AAP vs Baap?)

All of us grownups have a child within that likes to frolic and have fun.  There is another child within all of us that looks for a fatherly figure that can protect him from the world at large.  The more masculine a look that this father figure wears, the more booming his voice, the more decisive his pronouncements, the more authoritative his approach the better.  For such a father seems capable of squarely meeting and repelling threats.

This is why people with such attributes are easily accepted as leaders, corporate, political or otherwise.  Though, it is doubtful if these qualities have a correlation with the kind of leader that a person will make.  After all just repelling threats is not the whole job of a leader in today's civilized world.  Yet, mild mannered introverts do not inspire enough confidence in the child inside others to accept them as leaders even though many of them are likely to make a far better leader.  Another problem with the milder variety is that they will not go ahead and grab the position while the other category is just too eager to do that.

These observations are borne out by the fact that the media persons are often not willing to show the same deference to Kejariwal in their interactions as they do to Modi.  They do not feel intimidated by Kejariwal and are loath to accept him as an authority figure and that shows in their approach.

A friend of mine was discussing the current political scenario in Delhi.  He said that while he is all for what Kejariwal stands for but the very sight of Modi so inspires him that he cannot but vote for BJP.

I say ask the child in you to be quiet while the adult in you assesses the scenario, available options and likely outcomes.