India does a NAMO NAMAH!!

So we have come to the end of the largest democratic exercise in the history of humanity. With over 800 Mn people exercising their right to vote, these elections have been unmatched in terms of there sheer size and length. Election Commission deserves a standing ovation for conducting these elections smoothly, even though there is huge scope for improvement.

Narendra Modi has emerged victorious from these elections. If we look at the elections in its entirety,many things will emerge. This victory of BJP has been historic for India in many ways.
1. This is the first time ever that a non-Congress party has got a simple majority on its own.
2. The victory has brought back BJP from oblivion. After Vajpayee lost his re-election bid in 2004, BJP was on a downward slope. Modi has re-energized BJP, so much so that he has helped the party get an additional 100 seats over its previous best of 182 seats.  One wonders how much would the party have got, had Advani been the PM candidate.
3. These elections also mark the decimation of the congress party. This is the first time that the party has been restricted to double digit seats in Lok Sabha. The ability of the Gandhi family to garner votes is certainly under question.

While there is constant criticism that the BJP had huge funds to market itself, one should not forget the fact that promotion is secondary to product. If the product is not good, no amount of promotion can salvage it. It is foolish even to compare the two principal products: Modi and Rahul. Modi is a suave politician with tonnes of administrative experience. He has effectively run a successful state government for close to 15 years. On the other hand, Rahul has nothing to show on his CV w.r.t running an administration. He has no experience of running a state government. Nor has he run any ministry at the centre, even though he had ample opportunity to do so in the last 10 years. He appears a reluctant politician on whom the top job is being thrust.

Modi's win needs to be analysed in greater detail. Winning 73 out of 80 seats in UP's fragmented and highly identity based politics is no mean task. This at at time when the BJP organization was in doldrums in the state. Alongwith Amit Shah, he has done the unthinkable. Mayawati winning 0 seats in UP is just unthinkable. The remaining 7 seats that have gone SP and congress's way are just those of high profile people. Bihar similarly has drummed up great support for BJP and relegated the JD(U), RJD and Congress to ignominy. The clean sweep in Rajasthan, Gujarat ,Uttarakhand and near clean sweep in MP,Chattisgarh , Maharashtra are indications of a wave at work. Modi has done the trick which even the most optimistic of BJP managers would not have thought of.

While Modi has put in  a lot of hard work, Thank You cards are also due to the following people:
1. Rahul Gandhi : After Modi, the highest contribution in this win has been done by RaGa. His dilly-dallying on issues, superficial knowledge of issues and repeated gaffes have only helped Modi. Never there was such a mismatch among 2 prime ministerial candidates.
2. Mani Shankar Aiyar : His Chaiwalah remark was intended to offend the BJP's PM candidate. But Modi has converted this into an opportunity. The 'Chai Pe Charcha' became a further hit and helped Modi connect with the masses.
3. Imran Masood's  'Chopping Modi' remark did not help the Congress but help counter polarize the hindu vote in favour of Modi.

All along these elections, Modi has been attacked by leaders of all hues and parties. While none was willing to accept the Modi wave which was at work, all knew the impact that he would have on the electorate.

Many stalwarts have fallen in front of the Modi juggernaut. His development plank has cut across religion, caste , gender which have come to dominate Indian elections over the last 3 decades. This is the first time that people have elected a central government on development plank. Indian democracy  is coming of age.

With such a huge mandate, the pressure to perform would be enormous. While the knives are temporarily sheathed, they would be out at even the slightest hint of trouble. Any sign of a riot and there would be people baying for his blood calling him communal. He would always have to be on guard as people are trying to find Fascist tendencies in him.

Like it or not, but he is the leader India has been waiting for since Vajpayee. This is India's 2nd tryst with destiny. We don't want to miss it, do we?

The absurdities of owning a LPG connection in India

Ours is an amazing country. In India, there are rules, then there are more rules and then more absurd rules. This hold true not just in one walk of life. We Indians are so fond of rules that we fail to find wrongs in them even when they border on the absurd.

I shall narrate a personal incident that i have faced. I have a LPG connection with Bharat Gas for almost 1.5 years. Few months back i came to know that my connection was blocked for not ordering a cylinder in 6 months. I had to fill the KYC form again and resubmit other relevant documents. Though i was a little surprised by such a rule, I vowed to make sure that i order a connection at least once in 6 months. The thought still lingered, what about those who have very limited consumption or who are constantly travelling? Would they have to resubmit the documents as there connections would get blocked invariably?

In mid-feb, i converted my connection to a subsidised one. Now recently when i went to the agency, i came to know that the connection has been blocked again. Reason? I had not ordered a subsidised cylinder after conversion.....ugh!!How am i supposed to know that i have to order a cylinder to keep myself from being blocked? If i don't need a cylinder, why should i order one? I am trying to imagine the kind of person who would have thought of making such crappy rules. What benefit do they derive by blocking connections and then asking people to resubmit documents? Isn't it a waste of time and resources with absolutely no upside to anyone. Such a rule in a country like ours will only cause wastage and profligacy.

but my ordeal was not over. I went over to the Bharat Gas office to enquire about things and get them fixed. To my surprise, i was offered another explanation. The last time i had ordered cylinder, it was cancelled. There were 2 orders, both of which were cancelled. As a matter of fact, i did receive a cylinder in one of these orders. But as per there records, there was no cylinder in my name in last 6 months and hence it was blocked.

I think these guys have done a PHD in harassing the public. I have few grouses against the delivery of such pathetic services:

• The rules are so ridiculous that they could be used in Kapil Sharma's comedy nights.
• The rules are so vague that even there own staff and agency people interpret them differently.
• The rules have been made in such a way that it makes you question the intelligence and competence of the person making them.
• The rules are made without keeping the interests of the consumers in mind. At the end of the day, it is the public which is getting harassed.

To add to the misery the agency person says that these rules have been made by this Congress government and would change again once a new government comes to power. O GOD! another set of stupid rules to deal with in the next few months.....