Lok Sabha elections 2019: One who beats boredom may win.

India is, arguably, a most lucrative market for tools addressing boredom. A large chunk of population essentially looks bored. Technological advancement added with increased mobility appears to have made the populace more prone to boredom. Irony of the day is the pervasive boredom amongst children; they seem bored even of their parents, teachers and friends. The political space in no way can remain immune to such an all embracing boredom.

SPARKS continue to fly in the last leg of five and a half weeks long elections for the 17th Lok Sabha. Longevity of electioneering has sapped principal generals of political outfits eying seat of power in New Delhi. Boredom has struck poll watchers too. Cues of trends from any source command premiums. With few fence sitters, polarized populace has only scales to climb. That May 23 isn't far away is a relief. Yet, an imminent verdict on perceptions -- held and formed -- could well be pounding millions of hearts.

History at times appears repeating. The 2014 Lok Sabha elections were held five years ago. But it has more immediacy than five years of the BJP led NDA governance. A little attempt to refresh memory of last general elections could well just demonstrate the stark similarities. 

A bus driver flips through phone to catch news.

Principal theme of 2014 polls was Narendra Modi bashing. Principal theme of 2019 elections remains Narendra Modi bashing. Intensity of Modi bashing was electrifying in 2014. In 2019, it's no less intense. The theme, indeed, shaped political vision and philosophy of BJP baiters of a multitude of political outfits. The Congress, principal foe of the BJP, wore the blanket of Modi hatred before the people. The cloak remains unchanged. 

The BJP yearned to fight elections around Modi. The Opposition obliged. So, the central narrative of 2019 Lok Sabha elections is the choice before the people -- Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi or someone from amongst regional satraps. Size of an opponent does make one grander. Modi, thus, delights in rivalry with the Congress. 

RAHUL Gandhi has given a full account of his world views in past one and a half decades. From a reluctant politician, Gandhi has graduated to a combative politician, clutching onto an issue and sticking with it to fan out noise. He appears more confident than earlier. That he's interacting with media more often is a sign worth noting. 

That politics is an art, however, hasn't struck Gandhi in last 15 years. He's largely a boring politician. That he would appeal to an audience, which is already in a firm grip of boredom, is a hope, which leans heavily on the wall of improbable. His father, Rajiv Gandhi, was an equally boring person thrust onto the political upheaval board by chance. He could win popular endorsement once was for an overwhelming sympathy vote for her mother who had fallen to bullets of terrorists. 

Modi in a stark contrast is an entertainer. He's an artist. He entertains. He can force subjects of entertainments by the drop of hat. His entertainment bouquet is deep and rich. And, he has perfected the art of political entertainments in a state where it's daunting to engage people in public meetings. People in Gujarat largely don't have contempt for time. 

Entertainment demands full scripts. Story in parts don't appeal to the mass. Issues in elections are indeed multi-layered scripts. Largely, they're academic, and they gain popular acceptance when people have immediacy with them. Also, people in India are largely fearful -- of fate. They would shudder at smallest signs of fear. That political outfits continue to rile them by stoking bogey of "reservation in danger" is a case worth noting. Rumour mongering by the WhatsApp factory too scares people easily.

But people do connect with issues when presented in their entireties. Agrarian distress, specter of unemployment and social discords are indeed issues of grave nature. A layman too can decipher major issues affecting the masses. A few who hammer out solutions are hailed as leaders. Gandhi hasn't yet crossed that bridge. 

All that Gandhi could think of was another dole -- Rs 72,000 annual to about five crore poorest of the poor. His prescription to issues of serious discourses betrayed bankruptcy of ideas. This robs him off desired credibility to occupy the high office.

Rahul Gandhi doesn't yet have scripts to win elections. He can't entertain either. His sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, however, has shown hints that she could be an entertainer, while requiring a rigorous training in coming years. But she has the potential to take the stage. 

India is also much changed from times of 1990s. Demographic

Mohan Balmiki in Rampur said, he'll vote for Modi

changes coupled with mitigated electoral thuggery have largely turned regional caste and identity satraps into political pygmies in national elections. People since 1998 have gradually been converging for a coherent mandate to back stable government at the Centre. For about 21 years, people of India have pushed likes of HD Deve Gowdas to the margins of national politics. 

Entertaining tribe amongst regional satraps is also fast becoming extinct. They have been robbed off entertainers like -- M Karunanidhi, J Jayalalitha, Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Bal Thackerey and Devi Lal. Their successors are plastic imitations. Mamata Banerjee is an exception.    

There's only one entertainer. He's Narendra Modi. On May 23, people would deliver verdict whether he could go on with his show for another five years. The showman has script and measure of doses to release on times to help people battle their boredom.  

Minimum Income Guarantee: Plot to handcuff India

A fortnight ahead of first ballots to be cast, Congress president Rahul Gandhi unveiled script to thrust his party at the centerstage of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. With promise of Rs 12,000 a month for five crore poor, 20 per cent of the total poverty stricken households, Gandhi ushered in a Rs 3.60 lakh crore annual package to blunt the march of BJP's mascot Narendra Modi. In the absence of repackaging of subsidy programmes, currently implemented worth  Rs 7 lakh crore, Gandhi is arguably calling for freezing nearly 40 per cent of India's total annual Budget to stay politically relevant. 

ONLY a few days ago, Congress' poll wizardry in unleashing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrapped up her Ganga yatra. Ensconced in a customized boat with necessary comforts, she sought to rekindle the old touch of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But crowd hungry television crews struggled to find thronging mass of people during the course of yatra. The political voyage was scratchy and revealing. The verdict within the Congress was evident, that the magical touch of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is suspect. 

The Opposition grand alliances in parts of the country have shown contempt for the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, holding the turf of Uttar Pradesh, found no merit in giving lease of life to the Congress in the state where the grand old party is in prolonged vegetative state. Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) would not yield an inch to the Congress, which is gasping for breath in the state. The Congress remains a baggage on the back of Lalu Prasad's heirs in Bihar. Regional satraps' shunning Congress robbed the main Opposition party of the political depth to claim the status of a challenger of the ruling BJP.

Former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian in the 'Economic Survey (2016-17)' floated the idea of universal basic income. Early this year, he followed his idea with a book -- Of Counsel: The challenges of the Modi-Jaitely economy -- publicly lobbied for political acceptance of the idea of universal basic income (UBI). 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemingly has no appetite for doles of universal nature. His statecraft is embedded in targeted welfarism. That he shunned the proposal for a universal farmer income support for small and marginal farmers with an annual cost of Rs 75000 crore is a definitive illustration. So, Modi didn't fall for Subramanian's welfarism prescription, which in some forms are being implemented in China, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom and elsewhere. 

THE Congress has principally been slammed by party sympathisers for failure to come out with a narrative to counter Modi. The Congress stayed the course of Modi the person bashing all five years. Sympathisers were rightly alarmed, for knowing well that Modi thrives on negativism. And, consequently, Rahul Gandhi clutched on the Subramanian straw to stay relevant in the elections.

Union Minister Arun Jaitely has said that the NDA government currently is running subsidy programmes worth Rs 7 lakh crores. The annual Budget size of India is about Rs 24 lakh crore. So, Rahul Gandhi's dole could take the subsidy burden to about Rs 11 lakh crore, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the national resources. That the question on how would additional Rs 3.60 lakh crore be mobilized was left unanswered by Gandhi on expected line. That the inflationary impact and the consequent mortal blows to economy weren't worth shedding light by the Congress leadership was also on predictable line. Answers to details would rob the magic of Congress' political art of revisiting 'Garibi Hatao' slogan.

Former vice chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagaria, the only economist worth mentioning in the Modi dispensation for first three years, has reasoned that universal basic income or its any variant would only mean that there would be no incentive for work. All those earning less than Rs 12,000 a month would find incentivized to stay home. The government will pay for their leisure. Agriculture could be denied farm labour. The informal sector's labour cost could go up punitively. That the Congress is brewing a recipe to make India more lazy arguably isn't an outlandish claim.         

One doesn't need to be an economist to know that there's no scope for India to expand its resources by additional Rs 3.60 lakh crore imminently. That makes it incumbent that the resources being earmarked for infrastructure upgrade -- rail, road and port -- would face the axe. The spiral effect of mortally wounding developmental resources would unleash wave of employment for the educated youth. 

INDIA evidently can ill afford the political expediency of a political outfit scrounging for survival tricks. Economists must come out of their closets to unequivocally condemn Congress' recipe for economic disaster.    

           

Lok Sabha elections: Wilting caste factor

BETWEEN cheerleaders and naysayers of Indian airstrike against Pakistani terror bases following Pulwama attack lies firming up of electoral narrative, that nationalism is pushing casteism to the margins. With two surgical strikes in BJP's arsenals, the Opposition undeniably has an uphill task to steer public discourse back to issues affecting the masses. Lok Sabha elections, beginning 40 days from now, is pregnant with possibilities to change the future course of Indian politics.

CASTE swept through the political narrative in 1990s. Social justice juggernaut, with firm grip by 1980s, succumbed to mutation within a decade. Personal aspirations of regional political satraps took higher flights on deepening of caste faultlines. The Congress, indeed, commanded caste rainbows in its belt for long, but with a pan-India appeal. The Congress yielded space in state after state to caste leaders soon after the VP Singh led Janata Dal imploded with the might of inner contradictions. Narendra Modi led BJP delivered first mortal blows to caste satraps in 2014 by riding on aspirational plank. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections promises to show if the caste satraps could clutch on to prevailing arithmetic to live another day in Indian politics.

Demography is fast changing. A vast chunk of Indian youth have few recollections of contemporary political history. Growing expanse of education and access to climb social and economic ladders deny alibi to lament lack of opportunity. Nearly 25 crore of Indian electorate are said to be in age group of 18-25. This chunk rubs shoulders in educational and professional institutions with peers of a cross-section of castes. That may be blunting caste consciousness as well. Besides, shrinking of employment opportunities along with a largescale expansion of access to educational institutions are taking the shine out of charm of reservation bogey. The principal anchor of caste satraps could possibly be adrift on high sea. Additionally, family proprietorship of caste based political outfits also ensured that they remained stuck in the narrative of 1990s. 

THREE decades are too long a period to milk the same plank. Satraps aged and passed batons to their offspring. Original proponents toiled hard amidst the masses. Their offspring grew up in comforts. Satraps were grounded. Offspring show up at stages. Satraps lorded over a large base of peers. Offspring have few.

Messrs Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad, Om Prakash Choutala, Kansi Ram, Ram Vilas Paswan, and others have faded. They indeed passed batons to their respective heirs. Likes of Akhilesh Yadav, Tejaswi Yadav, Ajay Choutala, Mayawati have reaped gains of last gust of legacies of satraps. They stuck to old plank, and refused to evolve with times. Consequently, they were struck with full might of fast changing demographic profile. Paswan, indeed, survived, but only for reason that he he read the changing weather well to clutch onto season's flavor.       

A few other remnants of 1990s, which include the likes of H D Kumaraswamy, stay alive with the power of arithmetic in Indian politics.

Yet, a few of social justice campaigners who branched out of caste satraps remain potent till days by perfecting social welfarism. Navin Patnaik and Nitish Kumar aren't caste satraps, but couched in all pervasive welfarism suited to their turfs abundant with poverty.  

Electoral rise of the BJP and Congress would undeniably shrink spaces for casteist political outfits. Not that the BJP and Congress aren't embedded in caste arithmetic, but they stitch broader equations with national narratives. People haven't also shunned casteism in their preferences. Socially caste is arguably more explicit. But political import of caste identities in electoral politics is evidently wilting with emergence of strong leadership at the national level.

That a few of the chief ministers -- Kamal Nath, Devendra Fadanvis, Manohar Lal Khattar, Raghubar Das, Arvind Kejriwal, Vijay Rupani -- come from electorally insignificant caste groups demonstrate that the fast changing demography and their aspirations are guiding Indian politics to an altogether new territory.    

Emergence of nationalism on the back of popular fatigue and angst against terror strikes in the country could possibly deliver the knock out punch to already weakened caste politics. The youth, particularly, has explicit aversion to status quoism. What passed on as fatalistic sense of resignation is not popularly accepted. That India struck against sources of terrorism is an undercurrent sweeping through the youth yearning for a collective catharsis from mortal blows of status quoism. 

RISK takers, indeed, are rewarded. A Modi led BJP has a rare opportunity to push electoral caste into oblivion. Rahul Gandhi led Congress could also draw a sense of relief, that the lost turf to caste satrap is up for grabs sooner. 

Narendra Modi: Saving 'Sultanate' in uncertain times

In another 70 days, Narendra Modi will seek a fresh mandate. Unlike 2013-14, he wouldn't be swimming with anti-Congress tide. That he has kept the people immensely busy with his talks in recent past may make electorate unwilling to look at Congress years before casting votes. And, so, the BJP appears in full grip of doubts at crucial times. 

THE Narendra Modi government would be signing off the final financial year 2018-19 with a total allocation of Rs 61,084 crores for rural employment flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The inaugural financial year of the Modi government had seen an allocation of Rs 32,977 crores. 

Modi's inaugural speech in Lok Sabha in 2014 had seemingly set the agenda of the government that it wouldn't be like the Congress led UPA which even after 70 years of India's Independence had nothing but to make people dig soil for livelihoods in a veiled mocking of MGNREGS. 

Financial allocation for MGNREGS in the last financial year of the UPA government was Rs 33,000 crores. Indeed, wage payouts under MGNREGS were marred with long delays, which are no more the norms in the Modi government on account of the expansion of Jan Dhan coverage (Banking coverage and direct benefit transfer). 

Modi had laid siege to "Delhi Sultanate" from Ahmedabad with contrasting governance template. Not digging soil, but the people would be working in big factories, that India would become if not China than at least Gujarat. 

But last quarter allocation of about Rs 6,000 crores to MGNREGS in the revised Budget for 2018-19 taking the full allocation to the flagship scheme to the whopping Rs 61,084 crores demonstrated that labour is moving to rural areas in search for unskilled works on account of shrinking base of skilled work demands in urban areas. 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may soon have to cut the policy rates. That inflation continues to ebb isn't something to cheer about. Possible collapse of buying appetite of consumers should worry the policy shenanigans. The December inflation at 2.19 per cent is an 18 months' low. 

The record high MGNREGS allocation and ebbing inflation together tell the story of Indian economy -- panting for breath. Reverse migration of labour is evident. Declining rural income is indeed the story of India in recent years, which in turn gives no incentive for the private investment to chase business expansion.

Indian economy's journey on jobless growth path surely isn't a phenomenon of the times of Modi. That India embarked on jobless growth is a 2008 story. Yet, the journey only gained more steam in Modi's times is well illustrated with official statistics on specter of unemployment in the country, which remains at 27 months' high, besides logging 11 million jobless in 2018.

IN the bylanes of suburbs around Agra, Jatav youth had bolted the electoral stereotype in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Much to the anger of their elders, they would openly argue that Behenji (Mayawati, the BSP supremo) wouldn't be becoming Prime Minister, but Modi could create jobs for them. The youth cutting across caste lines believed Modi's words. 

BJP president Amit Shah during a roadshow.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, there would be roughly 250 million youth votes in the age group of 18-25. This segment's immediate worry is employment. They may even be worried of the scale of reverse migration of labour to the rural areas. The urban centres aren't vibrant enough to pull the rural youth with gainful employments. In 2014, such youth had defied the caste pulls. Do they have enough reasons to do same in 2019?  

MODI'S exuberance for his Gujarat model of development had dulled mid-way during the NDA tenure. In the latter half of 2016, Modi was seemingly convinced that his programmes like 'Make in India', "Skill India', etc., were slogans for seminars and Babus to keep them busy in the four walls of New Delhi babudom. He, consequently, had borrowed from Indira Gandhi's electoral book to focus his governance on welfarism. The BJP on purpose, thus, had unveiled the 'Garib kalyan agenda' in 2016. 

After wards, Modi government and the BJP worked in tandem to enlist beneficiaries for a host of welfare schemes. The BJP now has a basket of 22 crore beneficiaries of various welfare schemes to count on for votes in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. That the 2014 mandate wasn't for doles and welfarism is well forgotten within the saffron outfit.   

Indian jobless growth journey by all accounts is for the reason that the private investment remains elusive in the country. The UPA-II failed to revive the private investment. By the time Modi assumed power, Indian private sector was largely in the bad books of the banks. The public sector banks (PSUs), principal carrier of the private investment fuel, are faced with existential crisis. Modi inherited the economic template with missing private investment.

Not an economist and not even blessed with ears for those with expertise, Modi took a flight for flamboyance. Demonetisation of high value currencies along with unleashing of 'tax terrorism' of greater proportions never seen in the history of Indian economy put the engine of India's economy in deep coma. The windfall gains out of low crude oil helped Modi to enhance public investment in infrastructure. But infrastructure development by nature is of long gestation, yielding benefits in the long run. 

Modi may possibly not inspire the youth who seek income opportunities. Those who have gained from welfare schemes aren't sworn either to loyalty of benefactors, for they know that others too would offer doles, which may even be better. Modi has an uphill task in a few weeks to retain his 'Sultanate'. 

Narendra Modi: Messiah mirage

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is piqued that his government is not yet hailed as messiah of the poor. That the poor have availed benefits of Rs 1400 crores so far from just two schemes of accidental and life insurance should have led to any other government hailed as a messiah, but not his, lamented Modi recently. Exuberant tone and tenor of Modi of the past is indeed betraying whining signs with 2019 date with people approaching quick enough.

INDIAN economy in the last quarter clocked a 6.3 per cent growth. It was on the back of 5.7 per cent shocker of the first quarter of the current fiscal. Within minutes of flash of the number, the Modi Cabinet dawned in full force to force awaken people about the dream run of the economy under the leadership of the Prime Minister.  There is no break from the pattern. 

National gloom arguably in the last years of the Manmohan Singh led government had been also on account of the economy ebbing, with last growth number registering 4.7 per cent. A few months in power, a prescient Modi government had revised the GDP calculation method in the fag end of 2014. That helped the last UPA growth number swell from 4.7 per cent to 6.5 per cent. If we just forget the prescient revision of norms, the last GDP growth number would come to about 4.5 per cent, which would be lower than the worst of the UPA's. About four and a half years ago, the reason for national gloom is now indeed a cause for national celebrations if the spin doctors of the Modi dispensation are to be believed.

"More than 15 crore poor have benefited from just two schemes of the government, which insure life and accident for 90 paisa a day and Rs 1 a month contributions. The poor have benefited with Rs 1400 crores so far. If any other government had done so much, it would have been hailed as a messiah," Modi gushed at the HT Leadership summit recently.

The media certainly seems at fault to have missed out from hailing Modi as a messiah ! This is the way the BJP looks at the media, that it should blow trumpet and sing paean. But that will be too much for asking, as contemporary history bears an undeniable proof.

Modi had cashed in on the aspirational dreams of the poor to break free from their existing conditions. He sought to pursue Make in India and Skill India with vigour. Both have gone adrift on a high sea now. If dream jobs were not created by the industrialists following the command of Modi, he sought to smoke out the rats sitting on mounds of black money. Demonetisation was unveiled. The Modi managers argue that demonetisation helped informal economy become formal. And, thus, all talks of job loss are hogwash.

"I have a report of the CMIE (Centre for monitoring Indian economy). I can bet you on your claims of job loss," PM's Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC) chairman Bibek Debroy had blurted out when asked after the first meeting of the panel on concerns of employment loss in the country due to demonetisation. The CMIE within a month came up with its latest data, stating that 15 lakh people lost jobs in immediate months after demonetisation. The NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) data would come in after a long time to give an actual picture of employment. Since then the PM-EAC has held two more meetings, but Debroy has not yet come out to face the media. He obviously lost the bet hands down.

FORMER Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who is wrecker-in-chief of dream world of Modi

government, argues that the only way to find the extent of damage done to the economy on account of demonetisation is to look at anecdotal data in the absence of NSSO statistics. "Post-demonetisation, the small and medium enterprises in the unorganised sector bore the brunt of demonetisation. Those who lost jobs went back to their villages. That becomes evident from the Modi government making additional provision of Rs 11,000 crore under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Since the MGNREGS is an employment avenue of the last resort, it 's evident that there had been extensive job loss," Sinha told this blogger.

By all accounts, the Modi government in its tenure will not be touching eight per cent GDP growth. Economists agree that India needs to grow at eight per cent growth for 21 years in a row to lift its people out of poverty. By forcing India to a six-seven per cent growth path, Modi has arguably condemned the poor to remain poorer for far long time.   

There's, indeed, reason for Modi not yet been declared a messiah.