There is no reason for Congress to feel worried about PMK leaving. In any case, for the next few weeks, we will keep hearing these bits of news - XYZ joins AXCS, JHYF and IUY enter seat sharing agreement with TERDG. KJH(T) and KJH(R) come together again in Orissa but decide to contest separately in Nagaland, QWERTY merges with YUIOP, and so on.
Everyone knows that politics (especially electoral politics) has no ethics and rules at all, but Mr. Ambumani Ramadoss has achieved a new low in this matter.
Having enjoyed a ministerial position for five years, thanks to Congress, he decides to leave and join AIADMK just when elections are around the corner! Amazing. What's even more amazing (shameful, according to me. But I have decided to use only one adjective to descibe anything connected with Indian politics - That is, amazing!)
So, even more amazing is that Ramadoss "does not rule out" joining UPA after the elections! Wow - that's convenient.
What I don't understand is - on what basis is the voter supposed to decide? Does a party's manifesto have any sanctity at all? So if I were a voter in Ramadoss' constituency (I am not, thanks!) how would I know if he supports or opposes a policy matter, say the Indo-US nuclear deal? I am sure he will have a ready answer for the sake of TV cameras, but the real answer would be "I will decide everything only after the election results are announced. My policy will be to follow the policy of that party which is going to be in power."
But why am I criticizing only him? They are all the same, under different names. The best, and amazing of course, part would come if AIADMK wins more seats in TN but also decides to join Congress to form the govt. at the center. You might think that Ramadoss would be left with egg on his face, but no. I am sure he would have no qualms in meekly following Amma's footsteps into UPA. What's more, he might even demand that he be made a minister again.
After all, anything is possible in love, war and Indian politics.
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4 comments:
First up: I read through your posts after a LONG time. I mean, i had already read the earlier ones, and i enjoy your style... So you might notice a few comments sprinkled over your last few posts!
As far as your observations go, may i add-
Belonging to a Tamil family, i have traditionally kept an eye (a not so perceptive eye) on tamil politics. So my first observation about that phenomenon- The general Tamil population is highly aware of political happenings, and participates overwhelmingly in State politics.
Overwhelming to the extent- that some of them torch themselves to death, regularly.
Second, (and more relevant to your post)
Keep the national trends aside- The anti incumbency factor is SO high in this state, SO LITERALLY high, that regardless of WHAT the govt. in power does, it invariably falls in the next elections.
With that in mind, the political maneuvering you've mentioned isn't surprising to me at all- cheap, but not a shock.
Sad, no?
Oh, and i chose WordPress after trawling through everything that other sites had to offer- It is a great site! I especially liked them for their attitude, as the service was developed the contributions of many people.
It is a BIT confusing at the beginning - but then again, i'd been told you were a MATHS topper? so that's not a problem! there's great variety in layout, though!
Hi Prem,
I completely agree with your comments about TN politics. It seems all tamilians undergo a 'paradigm change' every five years! Be that as it may, my anger is more about politicians being so brazen about the 'keeping their options open'. It is the politically correct way of saying "i have no opinion of my own. I will tow the line of whichever party gets more seats". Where does that leave the voter?
The way i've come to look at it,
after more than 50 years of democracy, this practice has put us, the Indian voters, in a place which we hitherto avoided:
Participating in Democracy.
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