The best way to know the self is feeling oneself at the moments of reckoning. The feeling of being alone, just with your senses, may lead you to think more consciously. More and more of such moments may sensitize ‘you towards you’, towards others. We become regular with introspection and retrospection. We get ‘the’ gradual connect to the higher self we may name Spirituality or God or just a Humane Conscious. We tend to get a rhythm again in life. We need to learn the art of being lonely in crowd while being part of the crowd. A multitude of loneliness in mosaic of relations! One needs to feel it severally, with conscience, before making it a way of life. One needs to live several such lonely moments. One needs to live severallyalone.

Friday 15 June 2012

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND THE POLITICIANS - THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

Continued from: THE RAISINA HILL POLITICS - THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

Mamata’s revenge – Mulayam’s game: UPA cannot see its candidate win easily without Mamata and Mulayam’s support. Both need funds from the Centre for their ailing states. The initial thought was - now with a joint front, they could have extracted even bigger cherry than what they had been demanding for in the past. Poor UPA strategy-making again! Although, yesterday's developments have almost closed the doors for Mamata, Mulayam's deliberate flip-flop has left him in the race.

Also, even if this move delays Pranab’s candidature or gets him sweating while contesting the poll against a candidate like Kalam, that will be a topping for Didi, because Pranab’s humiliation will let Didi feel like having a sweet revenge given the long history of differences between Pranab and Mamata. According to reports, Pranab and Mamata have not spoken to each other since past many months.

Mulayam’s prime-ministerial ambition and the ramshackle third front: UPA-2 has been a nightmare and Dr. Manmohan Singh has washed away all he had earned during UPA-1 days. 2014 looks gloomy for UPA-2. Mulayam might look at working with other parties to form a third front. Okay, there will be many prime-ministers-in-waiting then but that can be worked out. No one can stop Muluyam from having ambition to inhabit the
7-Racecourse Road
. The ramshackle third front formed in this case would certainly look for the General Elections as soon as possible.

The country has already seen the bane of V P Singh/Chandrashekhar/Deve Gowda/Gujaral days. Are we ready for yet another round especially when the economy is going through a tough phase?

A ploy to install Rahul Gandhi in the PM’s chair: Politically 8-year old Rahul Gandhi has failed to deliver so far. Congress’ rout in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has broken the myth and charisma with which Rahul Gandhi was launched at the national political scene. The current generation of Ganhdhis is the weakest one in terms of political branding and outreach and no more enjoys a numero-uno status in India’s politics now.  The PM’s chair looks a distant dream for Rahul Gandhi, even after a decade from now.

What is the solution then?

Make Rahul PM now – as Mulayam’s party said on June 13. There have been many in Congress demanding it for ages.

Removing Manmohan Singh from the office for it would deliver the wrong message. Rahul and the Gandhi family would be seen as too power hungry; opposite to what Sonia Gandhi has been trying to project ever since she joined the politics 'reluctantly'. Also Manmohan has been a family loyalist always toeing the Madam’s line, come what may.

So there has to be a way to find an honourable exit and what could be better than gifting him the highest decorative office of the country for his unblemished and committed service to the family.

But even openly doing this is bound to send wrong signals. It is needed to be done clandestinely. So, rope-in the seasoned friend Mulayam (though occasionally wavering, as is the case now with changing stands in past two days) and the mercurial Mamata to fire shots in disguise in order to call names!

Remove Pranab honourably ploy: Speculations are rife and reports are quoting sources saying Manmohan Singh is not happy with Pranab’s performance as Finance Minister and wants to take over the ministry to work on the slowing economy. Now given Pranab’s stature, he cannot be said openly to walkout or leave the portfolio. But this being the last stint in politics, Manmohan would never want to demit the office as a bad prime minister and poor economy manager. Also, the Congress party cannot afford to fight the 2014 General Elections midst the doom that has started its build-up already. But Pranab is one adamant name. So what is the way out?

Install Pranab on the Raisina Hill. Pranab has already said he is playing his last political innings. So he would love to get the farewell to the Raisina Hill as already evident by his eagerness. He has even spoken to the Left for support as Biman Bose said yesterday.

Mulayam’s big game – Mamata may be the scapegoat: Mulayam-Mamata bond looked to get broken yesterday with the Samajwadi Party saying it had not rejected Pranab’s name and Mulayam was slated to meet Sonia Gandhi. What does that mean? Mulayam’s party can easily help the UPA sail in Mamata’s absence. And if Mamata does go out, UPA’s dependence on the Samajwadi Party would be a delicate balance giving Mulayam more chances to bargain. For the moment, after derailed Sonia-Mulayam meeting today, as quoted by some sources, Mulayam-Mamata bonhomie continues. But there can be change of mind given Mulayam’s flip-flops. Reports say Sonia is to speak to Mulayam and Mayawati before announcing Pranab’s name as UPA’s presidential candidate tomorrow.

These options may look natural, dramatic, contradictory or unsubstantiated but certainly not outrageous the way Indian politicians have behaved in the last 48 hours. Outrageous – what else we can say after the petty politics on display reduces the country’s highest office to mere a seat of partisan politics where no ethics but the political survival becomes the ultimate aim at the cost of democratic values.

This political theatre is getting absurd with each passing hour. The drama is so intense and high-pitched that the airwaves are going live. They are getting rich fodder good enough to make hourly timeline of the events.

Let’s see what the coming hours throw in this theatre of the political absurdity.

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/