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Adversities teach lessons but only to those willing to learn. Will the BJP/RSS and the Modi government learn any lesson from their Uttarakhand debacle?

LUCKNOW: Fight for backward votes has been intensified with the entry of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who launched campaign for Mission 2017 from Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Another icon is failing. Up until Nitish Kumar’s success as leader of the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar last year, his stars were on the ascendant.

Even 66 years after the Constitution of India opted for a multiparty democratic system and adult franchise, the country is showing practically no sign of turning into a matured democracy offering good governance to its people. Instead, the political parties, run mostly like family-owned business, are turning into more and more power hungry and financially greedy. And, elections – for both assembly and parliament – are exposing the worst of them, before and after the franchise.

With West Bengal Assembly Election results to be announced on May 19, most observers agree that this has been the closest poll battle since 1971.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A sense of robust optimism mingled with excitement over the ‘impending’ change marks the mood in the Kerala CPI(M) camp. The CPI(M), which heads the Left Democratic Front(LDF), is contesting 90 seats this time around.

The BJP must learn a lesson from Uttarakhand debacle. It must not ape the Congress but follow established norms. The aftermath of BJP’s indiscretion in the hill state will be disastrous. In the ongoing elections in the five states, the saffron party has no chance but in the next year’s election in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the Uttarakhand faux pas will have its impact.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the scent of change clearly in the air, the mood in the camp of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala is understandably upbeat. The CPI, which is contesting 27 seats this time as well, is comfortably placed in as many as eight seats. In three constituencies, the party has a 50:50 chance of winning. And, in around six constituencies, it is locked in a neck-and-neck contest.

The continuing AgustaWestland slugfest has exposed both the previous UPA regime and the incumbent Narendra Modi government even as the much-needed arms procurement project suffers.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat is perhaps the only politician who has been in and out of the chief minister’s chair in the last two months since the crisis broke out when nine Congress MLAs turned rebels. Supporting the rebels the BJP wanted to form the government. Both sides had claims and counter claims of majority in the tiny Himalayan state. It was resolved at last on Tuesday when Rawat proved his majority under Supreme Court monitored floor test.