Not unexpectedly, the BJP national executive turned out to be much ado about nothing. The embattled president Rajnath Singh alone took responsibility for the electoral defeat; the master strategist Arun Jaitley enjoyed the European summer; and the sulking wannabe PM clung gracelessly, but tenaciously, to power. The rot in the … Read More
The pansy juice wore off a long time ago; the beloved hero turned out to be, well, an anti-climax. Yet so great is the hangover of electoral defeat that the BJP cannot even begin to get its act together. One thing is clear – the dead weight of L K … Read More
Commenting on the total disarray in the BJP following its second successive electoral defeat under the uninspiring leadership of L K Advani, a party leader said one calamity did not mean defeat in war. Recalling the near-death of Laxman in the Ramayana war, he said Hanuman found the sanjivini herb … Read More
In the name of a strange religious diplomacy called inter-faith dialogue, Swami Jayendra Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Matham, will today meet Cardinal Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and other religious leaders, in Mumbai. The catholic delegation will include native Catholics like Cardinal … Read More
Little lion-hearted Lanka leads by example once again. It was the first nation in the post-Second World War era to elect a woman prime minister; then it became the first nation to spurn ineffective external intermediaries in a fratricidal war and launch a concerted armed effort to end violent secessionism … Read More
Far from examining the causes of its second electoral debacle at the national level, the BJP seems determined to go the Congress way, further consolidating power in the hands of the one man who led it to ignominy and opprobrium. Little wonder that L.K. Advani advised the faithful not to … Read More
Given the alacrity with which President Obama has called for “immediate and unconditional” release of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who became controversial when an American army veteran (read CIA agent) infiltrated her house detention from 3-5 May, it may be appropriate for the West to relieve the … Read More
When Mr. S.M. Krishna lost the Karnataka elections in 2004, the media naturally asked him what factors he held responsible for Congress’ defeat. He raised his right hand to stop speculation and said as leader he took full responsibility; there was no need for scapegoats. In 2009, Mr. L.K. Advani … Read More
As the Gujarat BJP increased its Lok Sabha tally from 14 in 2004 to 15 in 2009, it is pertinent to ponder why this maintenance of status quo-plus was unanimously perceived as a failure of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, across the political spectrum. Why is this, along with the under-performance … Read More
It took just 46 days for my warning to the BJP leadership to undertake an urgent course correction or face electoral rout to come true: “Something is gravely amiss in the BJP. It has lost its character and sense of direction. Unless the party quickly takes the right turn, Mr. … Read More
