OUR HERITAGE, OUR PRIDE

JAITLEY'S FUNDS TO PROTECT OUR MONUMENTS IS A WELCOME MOVE

In December 2013, I visited Strasbourg while on a business trip to Germany. Located in the Alsace region of France, it is the seat of the European Parliament and is renowned for its 15^th century cathedral built in classical Gothic style. After getting down at the gare (railway station), we asked some locals directions to the cathedral. Since most of them only spoke French, possibly due to the hatred of their 'friends' across the English Channel and their language, they directed us to the Tourist Information Center next to the main entrance to the railway station. As we entered the place, we were greeted by a graceful lady who spoke English with a heavy French accent; she gave us a map with all the six metro routes that criss-cross the island town and also helped us with the way to the cathedral. In fact, at every other place we visited during our short trip, be it Heidelberg or Basel, I was extremely happy to notice that there were offices and bureaus to help visitors. More importantly, the monuments and heritage buildings that dotted these cities were maintained properly; those which had worn out due to wars or various forces of nature were duly restored to their former glory. As someone who loves history, it was indeed a pleasure to walk past buildings and streets that had not changed much for decades, or in some cases, even centuries.

Back home though, the situation seems to be diametrically opposite. We as Indians are inheritors of a rich history spanning across several millennia, unlike most other nations in the West. Besides, we must consider ourselves lucky that in spite of being overrun by invading armies so many times in the past, we still have lakhs of monuments spread across various parts of the country. The national capital itself has more than 1,500 monuments of historical importance as per the ASI. However, the problem is that we do not know how to take care of these 'jewels' from our history. Just a fraction of these have been protected and promoted as tourist destinations. Most of our monuments are in a dilapidated state, some are used as dump yards, some have been encroached upon whereas others have become the addas of all sorts of anti-social activities.

Last week as I was listening to the Budget Speech by Finance Minister, I was pleasantly surprised when Arun Jaitley announced funds for 'landscape restoration, signage and interpretation centres, parking, access for the differently-abled, visitor's amenities, including securities and toilets, illumination and plans for benefiting communities' for 10 out of the 28 UNESCO World Heritage sites located in the country. I mean, for a nation that has never cared for its history, setting aside money for the protection of our legacy and heritage is something completely unheard of, isn't it? Of course there are cynics who will point out that the government's initiative is too little and there is a greater need to protect those monuments that are outside the gambit of the UNESCO programme. However, the move shows that the government's intentions are at least noble. At a time when budgets have been reduced to exercises used to score political brownie points or win important regional allies, Modi sarkaar has shown that it is ready to focus on areas like heritage that generally don't win you votes in our country. While the Central government has shown its intentions, the big question is whether the ordinary Indian follow. That would ultimately decide the fate of our priceless historical heritage.

CROSSING THE HURDLES

THE FIVE BIG CHALLENGES THAT THE BJP OVERCAME TO WIN 2014

Original: IBN Live/Reuters

It has been about a month since the BJP created history by becoming the first political party in nearly three decades to win a simple majority on its own. Of course, we all were expecting the saffron outfit to do well and finish as the single largest party in the 16 ^th Lok Sabha. Even some of the leaders in the UPA including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had said this. However, except perhaps for the team at Today's Chanakya, I don't think that any of us had thought that the results of the General Elections would be so one sided in the favor of the BJP. While the numbers may suggest that it was a cake walk for Modi & Co., those of us who followed the entire campaign will know that it was anything but that. Here are the five big hurdles that the saffronists faced and overcame in its successful quest for power after warming the Opposition benches for ten years.

(5) Controversial Entries: With the UPA battling anti-incumbency and the NaMo fever sweeping the country, leaders from many political parties and organizations flocked to the saffron camp, hoping to finish on the winning side. The BJP courted a massive controversy when Pramod Muthalik, the head of the notorious Sri Rama Sena - a right wing group, infamous for attacking women in the port city of Mangalore for going to pubs. The move did not go well as the party came under attack from the media as well as women's right groups. Even Goa CM Manohar Parrikar made his displeasure clear to the central leadership, aware that the Hindutva leader's entry could hamper the party's support amongst the Christians in Goa. As PM nominee Narendra Modi intervened, the right wing leader was shown the door, barely 5 hours after joining the BJP. A teary eyed Muthalik swore revenge and contested the elections against BJP state president Prahlad Joshi who eventually emerged as the winner with a margin of over 1 lakh votes. Similarly, the induction of former JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sabir Ali raised a storm with minority leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slamming his party for welcoming 'terrorist Bhatkal's friend'. While he was shunted out, Ali filed a defamation case against Naqvi. However, the two made up and according to reports, the party has decided to support Ali's candidature to the Upper House of the Parliament from Bihar as an independent candidate. And lastly, how can we forget the home-coming of former Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa and his colleague Sriramalu into the BJP. Although both had cases of corruption against them, the BJP welcomed them with open arms in spite of repeated attacks from the Congress. The move proved to be a political master stroke; the BJP won 17 seats in the southern state just a year after being routed in the 2013 state polls (Link).

(4) Coalition troubles: Many will remember the manner in which the JD(U) walked out of the NDA, following the announcement of Narendra Modi as the PM nominee of the BJP-led coalition. We shall discus that sometime later. Meanwhile, this was not the only problem the saffron outfit had, at least in regards to its coalition partners prior to the polls. To prevent the split in the anti-UPA votes, the BJP tried to do, what many believe is next to impossible - get the Shiv Sena (SS) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) together as a part of the 'Mahayuti' (Link). As Nitin Gadkari opened channels of negotiations with Raj, his cousin Uddhav was furious, accusing the national party of violating the coalition dharma. Finally, the BJP relented; president Rajnath Singh making it clear that the party had nothing to do with MNS. A few days before the state went to the polls, there was turbulence in Andhra too. Having joined the NDA after ten long years, the TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu was furious at his coalition partner for fielding 'weak' candidates in the assembly polls held simultaneously with the 2014 General Elections. The BJP sent its spokesperson Prakash Javdekar who succeeded in placating the former AP CM. Even Punjab CM and Akali chief Prakash Singh Badal gave the BJP some headache when he introduced Arun Jaitley as the future Home or Finance Minister in an election rally in Amritsar. This was not taken lightly by some in the saffron camp. But as they say, 'alls well that ends well'. The BJP-SS combine swept Maharashtra whereas the BJP-TDP alliance pipped the YSRCP in the southern state. And, Badal's prophecy did come true.

(3) The war of succession: I remember an article in a reputed magazine in 2005 about the war of succession amongst the second generation leaders in the BJP. It had been an year since the NDA suffered a shock defeat and the Atal-Advani era was coming to an end. Questions were being raised as to who would lead the saffron camp in the absence of these stalwarts. The names doing the rounds back then included the late Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Uma Bharati. Many believed that the party would implode, much like the Janata Party did in the eighties. With the BJP failing to come to power in 2009, the situation deteriorated further. Now, I believe in may ways, it is ironical that it was Modi who took the party to its best ever performance. Ironical, because in my opinion, the stigma of the Godhra riots was one of the biggest reasons that the Vajpayee government was voted out a decade ago. The former Gujarat CM was first appointed as the head of the BJP's election campaign. A few weeks later, the party made the big decision at a convention in Goa. In spite of opposition from all corners, including some senior leaders and pressure from the JD(U), Rajnath Singh went ahead and declared Modi as the NDA's official PM candidate (Link). He did not have any choice. The cadre wanted Modi, the RSS wanted Modi and as the results have shown, the entire nation wanted Modi to undo all the harm that the two terms of UPA had done to the country.

(2) Sulking Seniors: Probably, the biggest critic of the party and its new leadership was Bhishma Pitama - Lal Krishna Advani. The former Home Minister who was the saffron outfit's PM nominee in 2009. As the party anointed Modi as its PM candidate, the veteran leader decided to stay away from the function, giving the media and the Congress much needed ammunition to target the BJP. In the run up to the 2014 polls, there were reports that the convener of the NDA wanted to shift his constituency from Gandhinagar to Bhopal, preferring to work with Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chauhan than under Narendra Modi. After hectic negotiations, Advani was somehow convinced to contest from his constituency in Gujarat. However, his confidante Haren Patak was dropped in favor of Modi's close aide film actor Paresh Rawal - a clear signal that the time had come for the old guard to exit, 'gracefully'. Another senior leader who was not in favor of Modi assuming the charge was former president Murali Manohar Joshi. Joshi who represented Varansi in 2009 was upset on being asked to shift his seat to Kanpur in favor of Modi. Another veteran Sushma Swaraj was reported not very happy with the rise of Modi. In fact, she had hit out at the party and its policies via twitter. After that unprecedented victory though and that splendid mandate, these things seem to be a thing of the past. Sushma has been given the charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Joshi is a front runner to the post of the Defence Minister. Advani, meanwhile, is still sulking!

(1) The ghost of the 2002 riots: Having come to power after riding high on the Hindutva sentiments following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the BJP is considered by its opponents and the so-called 'intellectuals' to be a 'communal' party. With Modi at the helm of affairs, the problem compounded further. In fact, the elevation of the former Gujarat CM within the saffron ranks made 'Secularism' one of the most important issue ahead of the 2014 General Elections. To be frank, this was the ploy used by the likes of the Congress and its allies to divert the attention of the public away from the numerous failures of the UPA regime. In fact, many believed that the candidature of Modi whose role in the 2002 Godhra riots is still under the scanner would lead to consolidation of minority votes in favor of the Congress and thus hamper the BJP's prospects. Besides, a large number of 'intellectuals' and 'scholars' came out in the open and criticized the saffron camp for promoting the then Gujarat CM and endangering the so-called 'idea of India'. Probably the biggest blow came when the JD(U), the second largest party in the NDA walked out of the 17 year long alliance. Also, many were of the opinion that the anti-minority image of the BJP would keep many prospective allies at bay. However, both Narendra Modi and the BJP did work hard for an image makeover. Modi made 'development for all' his plank during the campaign. At the same time, while the PM nominee was on a whirlwind tour across the nation, president Rajnath Singh worked overtime to stitch together a formidable alliance to fight take on a weak UPA. The return of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan to the NDA sent out a strong signal because the former Railway Minister was the first to exit the Vajpayee government after the 2002 riots. It was a clear indication that the Godhra was a thing of the past; an indication that politicians across the political spectrum were ready to do business with Modi. A clear and resounding mandate to Modi's BJP and the decimation of the Congress, the JD(U), the RJD and others has shown that the people of the world's largest democracy have moved on since 2002.

IMAGES

(1) Original: IBN Live/Reuters

PUNJAB & LOK SABHA 2014

THE BATTLE FOR PUNJAB

One of the states that will see a close contest between the two major coalitions in the country is the Land of Five Rivers - Punjab. If you see the electoral history in the last few years you will be surprised by the way, people here have voted. In 2009, the projection of Manmohan Singh as the party's PM candidate worked here as the INC grabbed an astounding 8 of the 13 seats. Three years down the line though as Punjab went to the state polls (Link), the tables were turned upside down (Link). The Akali-BJP combine created history as it beat anti-incumbency to return back to power in spite of doing badly in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Ahead of the upcoming General Elections, there are mixed signals coming out of the state. While there is support for Modi, the anti-incumbency against state regime too is pretty strong. That is precisely the reason that I believe this state is going to see a keenly fought battle.

ISSUES

(1) A tale of two anti-incumbencies: The people of Punjab have to choose between two evils in this elections, having seen the 'failures' of both, the UPA and the NDA governments in their successive terms at the Centre and the state respectively. The one thing that the Congress led coalition regime in New Delhi will be known for are the myriad scams that have come to light in the last three years, each of it running into hundreds of crores of rupees. Besides, the Singh government's 'mis-handling' of the economy has dented the 'India Growth Story'. Moreover, price-rise and high inflation have taken their toll on the common man.

Unfortunately for the NDA, simmering anti-incumbency against its state regime is likely to dent its prospects in 2014. In fact, some analysts believe that this is precisely the reason that Punjab may go in favor of the UPA this time around. No substantial development has happened under the Badals, the infrastructure continues to remain poor whereas the debt to the state exchequer has touched new heights. Another problem is the drug trade which is threatening to destroy a complete generation of Punjabi youth. Also, the Dera Saccha Sauda which has a large following in some parts of the state is likely to support the Congress too due to its differences with the Akalis.

(2) 1984 Anti-Sikh riots: This is one weapon in their arsenal that the SAD-BJP will use to counter the charge of the Congress against its state government. Ever since the elevation of Narendra Modi to the post of BJP's PM nominee, the INC had tried to rake up the issue of 'Secularism', claiming that the 2014 election are a fight to protect the plurality of the country. However, Punjab is one place where this move could possibly backfire. In an interview to Times Now Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, Rahul Gandhi accepted that some of his party men could have played a role in the massacre of Sikhs following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Moreover, the allegations of Margaret Thatcer regime's involvement in the controversial 'Operation Bluestar' has re-ignited the whole debate and has put the grand old party on the defensive.

CONTENDERS

(1) National Democratic Alliance (NDA): Leading the NDA's charge here is the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led by the octogenarian CM Prakash Singh Badal. One of the steady fast ally of the BJP, the regional party fared rather badly in the last Union polls. However, it did win a spectacular victory in the assembly polls where its tally grew by 10 odd seats. In fact, the party came within striking distance of crossing the half way mark on its own. However, anti-incumbency against the state government is a big factor in the elections and that is hurting the prospects of the BJP led alliance. According to the pre-poll accord with the saffron outfit, the party has put up ten candidates including Sukbir's wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal (Bathinda), incumbent - Paramjit Kaur Gulshan (Faridkot), Deepinder Singh Dhillon (Patiala) and Pawan Tinu (Jalandhar).

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is banking on the Modi wave to see it through in the three seats it is contesting in alliance with the Akalis. What should worry the BJP, apart from anti-incumbency is the fact that in 2012 the party dropped 7 seats even as the SAD's tally went northwards. Remember, in 2007 state polls, the party had won 19 out of the 23 seats it contested and helped the Badals return to power after a five year hiatus. The BJP's candidates are Leader of Opposition in the present Lok Sabha - Arun Jaitley (Amritsar) and actor Vinod Khanna (Gurudaspur) who had lost elections last time.

(2) Congress: While it did exceedingly well in 2009, the grand old party is fighting a tough battle to even come close to its previous tally. Nonetheless, it did score a small victory when it managed to get Akali rebel Manpreet Badal of the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) to contest as a Congress candidate. Aware of the Central regime's shortcomings, the party is concentrating on the anti-incumbency against the state government to do well. Congress heavyweights include former CM Amarinder Singh (Amritsar), former Union Minister Ambika Soni (Anandpur Sahib), incumbent MPs Vijay Inder Singla (Sangrur), Mohinder Singh Kaypee (Hoshiarpur) and in true Congress tradition also offered a ticket to Parneet Kaur - the wife of Captain from Patiala.

Others: The Aam Admi Party (AAP) too is making its maiden entry into electoral fray from here. It has given a tickets to prominent Punjabis including comedian Bhagwant Mann (Sangrur) who was earlier with the PPP, artist Jasraj Singh Longia (Bathinda), cardiologist Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi (Patiala) and eye surgeon Dr. Daljit Singh (Amritsar).

PAST PERFORMANCES

In 2009, if there was a state in which Manmohan Singh's magic worked, it was in his home state where the Congress beat the NDA 8-5. Five years ago, it was the SAD-BJP combine that had swept Punjab, finishing with a tally of 11. However, in 1999, the state stood with the INC even as the nation voted the saffron outfit to power. In 1998 and 1996 though, the Akalis were the dominant force, bagging eight seats each time.

Political Party	2009	2004	1999	1998	1996
NDA (SAD+BJP)	5 (4+1)	11 (8+3)	3 (2+1)	11 (8+3)	8 (8+0)
Congress	8	2	8	-	2
Others (BSP/SAD-M/CPI)	-	-	2	2	3

MY PREDICTIONS

I expect the battle for Punjab to be a close race. The anti-incumbency against the Akali regime in the state is hitting the SAD whereas the Congress is also facing the heat for its failure to do well at the Centre.

	Political Party	Expected Seats
1	NDA (SAD+BJP)	6-8
2	Congress	5-6

WATCH OUT

(1) The Battle for Amritsar: BJP's Navjot Singh Sidhu won the Amritsar parliamentary seat here in 2004 and 2009. This time around, the BJP has fielded one of its heavyweights - Arun Jaitley from here. Although he has been in politics for nearly four decades now, this is the first time that the senior leader will be fighting elections. It is believed that the INC has fielded former state CM Captain Amarinder Singh at the behest of Sonia Gandhi. This is one of the most high profile contest in the 2014 General Elections.

(2) Badal versus Badal: The city of Bhatinda is going to see another tough fight between two members of Punjab's first political family. After breaking away from the Akali Dal and forming the People's Party of Punjab in March 2011, the former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal drew a blank winning no seat in the state elections held the very next year. However, this time around, he has entered the electoral fray as a Congress candidate from Bhatinda. Standing against him is Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the daughter-in-law of incumbent CM Parkash Singh Badal who had won from here in 2009 by a margin of over 1 lakh votes. This is one fight to watch out for.

Other posts in this series:
(1) Karnataka & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(2) Rajasthan & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(3) Maharashtra & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(4) Goa & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(5) Kerala & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(6) Assam & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(7) Tripura & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(8) Haryana & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(9) Chhattisgarh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(10) Jammu Kashmir & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(11) Madhya Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(12) Telangana & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(13) Bihar & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(14) Jharkhand & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(15) Sikkim & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(16) Arunachal Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(17) Nagaland & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(18) Manipur & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(19) Meghalaya & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(20) Mizoram & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(21) Delhi & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(22) Gujarat & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(23) Himachal Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(24) Uttarakhand & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(25) Bengal & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(26) Odisha & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(27) Tamil Nadu & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(28) Andhra & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)
(29) Uttar Pradesh & Lok Sabha 2014 (Link)