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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Oommen Chandy Government is known for rushing headlong into taking decisions and courting controversies. But when the occasion demands, the Government is equally adept at deferring decisions on sensitive issues!

Outcome of elections has its lessons for the vanquished and the victor. It enjoins on the vanquished to introspect, realistically identify its shortcomings and take corrective steps for regaining the lost ground. The victor has to avoid committing mistakes which had contributed to its opponent’s downfall. It is also imperative for it to consolidate its electoral gains through effective measures in political and governance arenas.

The United Progressive Alliance government is launching a massive project to transfer cash to people in lieu of public services, based on the Aadhaar unique identity (UID). It’s rushing to introduce the project on New Year’s Day in 51 districts across India in respect of 34 schemes like old-age and widow pensions, maternity benefits and scholarships—as a step towards extending Aadhaar-Enabled Cash Transfers (AECT) to all social schemes like the Public Distribution System (PDS) for food, healthcare provision, and fuel and fertiliser subsidies.

For all the emphasis on how Gujarat’s economic development is behind Narendra Modi’s hat-trick of successes, the basic reason is that he can still be said to be riding on the communal wave created by the 2002 riots. Hence, his reluctance to apologize for them.

Has Narendra Modi won the Gujarat election or was he a loser at the battle of hasting? This question was posed in political circles as the poll results came in. He has won, having ramped home for the third time in row, even though two short of 117, the number he secured in the last Assembly poll.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is coming to Delhi on a one day official visit on December 24. There are many economic irritants in the bilateral relationship between the two countries at the moment but the extent of political understanding on the global issues and the nature of long standing friendship of the two countries can act as a good facilitator in removing the irritants at this summit and set the stage for a higher relationship.

The sweeping victory of the Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the third time in the state assembly elections in Gujarat and the possibility of his emergence as the potential Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 have led the Left parties to take a fresh appraisal at its poll strategy for the coming general elections. There is a distinct possibility of the BJP creating a hype over Modi as the harbinger of a new India with full backing of some of the leading Indian business groups.