Congress had an emphatic victory in 2009 Lok Sabha
elections. UPA-2 started on a high by winning almost full majority on
its own. However, their second term has been marred with controversies
and corruption allegations. Starting with Commonwealth Games scam, every
few months saw a new scam coming out like Adarsh Society scam and the
biggest of all, the 2G scam. Fuel and commodity prices have risen
sharply in the past few years adding to the woes of common man. Crusade
against black money and corruption by Anna Hazare and to some extent
baba Ramdev has only added to the woes of Congress. But Congress is
shrewd and knows politics quite well. They know that offense is the best
way to defend. For every scam or corruption news that comes out, they
bounce back with equally controversial news against rival parties. Their
projection of Rahul Gandhi, who has not yet proved any political sense,
as a Prime Ministerial candidate may help them in their campaign build
up to 2014 polls.
Bhartiya Janata Party was left down and out after the
2009 polls. BJP's arch enemy is not Congress but BJP itself. It's
leaders have failed to capitalize on core issues of price rise and
corruption against the Congress. They should have learned from how
Congress and some smaller parties have been able to successfully use the
anti-minority tag against the BJP for over two decades now. BJP has
also lost a lot of mass appeal leaders over the years. Most popular
elader in india Atal Behari Vajpayee has now retired from active
politics. Charasmatic leader and face of modern India, Pramod Mahajan
was killed in a tragic incident. Stalwarts like Govindacharya and
Jaswant Singh were thrown out. Prime Ministerial candidate Murli Manohar
Joshi has been made to sit on the sidelines with no influence on
national level politics. L K Advani is close to retirement years and
firebrand Sushma Swaraj hasn't proved to be a winner yet. That leaves
the party with only one leader of mass appeal, Narendra Modi, who may
not yet be ready to leave Gujarat and join National level politics.
Besides, everyone knows Congress will play the anti-minority tag aginst
him quite well. BJP has also destroyed its chances by not forming
strategic alliances with other parties in states. It used to ahve an
allaince with AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Mamata Banerjee's TMC in West Bengal
and BJD in Orissa, but they have all left BJP group now. BJP's loss has
been Congress's gain.
Third Front parties have been reduced to play a
minority role at the center over the past few years. Leaders like Lalu
Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Jayalalitha, Mayawati are no longer king
makers. Most of them have been left with no option then to support the
ruling Govt, in this case the Congress. Left Front has already become
non-existent after the debacle in 2011 Assembly elections and it'd be
highly unlikely that they'd make any comeback by 2014. FOr the past few
years, most third Front allies have been hob-nobbing with the Congress,
which raises doubts on their very existence. Third Front was formed to
combat BJP as well as Congress, but if you are going to chose Congress
after the polls every time, then won't it better for people to vote for
Congress directly? Third Front needs to get its priorities right and
decide on thei future survival options, because as of now their future
looks bleak.
The Contenders for India Elections 2014:
Though Congress may not admit it yet, but Manmohan Singh
may be shown the door out, and Congress may prefer to field Rahul
Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate in 2014. it may be too
ealryfor Rahul to lead the nation as he has not proven his political
accumen yet, but after the negative reviews UPA-2 is gathering, Congress
amy want to chnage Manmohan Singh. As for BJP, the choice may be
between one last try for L K Advani and popular leader Narendra Modi.
The Prime Ministerial Candidates:
1. UPA: Rahul Gandhi or Dr. Manmohan Singh
2. NDA: MR. L. K. Advani or Narendra Modi
3. Third Front: Depends on which party wins the most seats
