View Articles

Weather-wise, May-June makes life little pleasant in India with heat waves sizzling most of its parts. Educational institutions, judiciary and even parliament observe summer vacation or recess during this period. Rich Indians and business leaders organize holidays and business meets in climate-friendly Europe partly to beat the heat. Ministers, top government officials and legislators too look for opportunities to stay out of the country as long as possible. The less fortunate ones look for a break in the cooler chimes of local hill resorts like Darjeeling, Shillong, Gangtok, in the north-east, Srinagar, Shimla, Mussourie, Dharmashala, Nainital and Manali in the north and Ooty, Kodaikanal, Coonnoor and Munnar in the south. Few business satraps and political heavyweights from western countries and Japan ever come to India during this season. If the summer of 2016, which has already recorded the highest temperature in memory topping 51 Degree C in parts of North India, is making an exception for the likes of Apple’s head honcho Tim Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to visit the country, it has to be on the most important business call that can’t wait until the winter.

While domestic investors are sulking, foreign investors are upbeat. During the second year of Modi government, domestic investment plummeted. New investment dropped sharply from Rs 10.4 trillion in 2014-15 to Rs 8 trillion in 2015-16, according to CMIE. But, this could not dismay the foreign investors. Despite global crisis, foreign investors continued to be euphoric to invest in India, reposing confidence in Modi’s charismatic image of investment friendly leader.

Elections results of five state assembly elections are on expected lines. It was known that the Congress was on weak wicket in Assam, having been ruled by Tarun Gogoi for 15 years continuously. There is bound to be heavy anti-incumbency. Also Gogoi went to poll without any ally. Chief Minister’s right hand man Hemant Biswa Sarma left the Congress to join the BJP and no attempt was made to prevent him. He would have been a great asset to the party. Gogoi had opportunity to forge alliance with the AGP and other regional party but he was so confident of victory that he decided to go alone and paid the price.

The Red Star shone brightly and luminously in Kerala’s political sky as the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) staged a spectacular comeback to power, inflicting a debilitating defeat on the Corruption-tainted and controversy-ridden United Democratic Front(UDF) Government.

In contrast with the electoral performance of the Congress in neighbouring West Bengal, the party has come a cropper in Assam. The main reason for this is said to be the inability of the aging leadership of the Assam Congress to keep in touch with the hopes and aspirations of the younger generation. They want job, they want better education facilities, including technical education. The Congress got alienated from the youth who believed, even after seeing two years of the BJP rule at the Centre, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be able to deliver. This shows the extent of disillusionment of the youth with the Congress.

Defying a combined opposition onslaught on her allegedly corrupt rule, the 68-year old AIDMK Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,Ms. Jayalalithaa historically sailed into a second successive term, turning on its head the exit polls projecting her political exit with a triumphant return of arch-rival, 93-year old Mr Karunanidhi, at the head of DMK-Congress alliance.

The BJP’s success in Assam, though expected, represents the breakthrough for which the party has been waiting for quite some time. It had been kept at bay by outgoing chief minister Tarun Gogoi for the last 15 years till he mishandled the Himanta Biswa Sarma affair. The inability of Gogoi and the Congress high command to assess how Sarma might accentuate the anti-incumbency swing against the state government by switching sides is largely responsible for the Congress’s defeat. Had the party been more sensitive to the demands of the ambitious young man, it might have survived. But reports that Rahul Gandhi refused to listen to Sarma’s grievances till he resigned and decided to join the BJP show how the party can be hurt by its tendency to be aloof.

There are many assessments – some flattering and some not so flattering -about Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing two years in office next week. While his supporters admire him, his critics and the opposition bash him for not fulfilling his poll promises. His voters are waiting patiently for the “ achche din” he had promised during the campaign, but the problem confronting the prime minister is how to deliver his promises. Nobody knows this better than Modi himself that the election rhetoric cannot be delivered in five years.

BHOPAL: Realising the gravity of the massive protest, bordering mass frenzy, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced change in the location of smart city project in Bhopal.

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said in an interview to a financial daily in the capital that he had a meeting with the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on the need to plan ahead on expenditure. He said pointblank that the Finance Ministry will be willing to give the Railways more money so that “the whole plan of redevelopment of 400 railway stations, track modernization, the setting up of locomotive factories, a cleaner and globally comparable railway system could all be carried out”.