Barackface: Rahul Gandhi

Showing posts with label Rahul Gandhi. Show all posts

Monday, May 26, 2014

Smriti Irani In Modi's Cabinet

I noted Irani's inclusion with great interest. I think this is Modi saying he is going to defeat Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 elections. For that he is building up Smriti Irani.

Modi is already thinking 2019. The Congress will stay below 50 in 2019.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Modi Ran An Excellent Campaign

English: nehal,narendra modi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Narendra Modi might or might not become Prime Minister, very likely he will, we will know in a few days, but there is one thing very clear: he ran an excellent campaign. His campaign was unprecedented. Steps he took on his campaign trail will be emulated in democracies like America in a few years.

I never got to follow his work in Gujrat, although all indicators are that the work has been excellent. But I did follow his election campaign. And I must say I am very impressed.

Nothing was left to chance. All details were thought through and taken care of. He was gentle and aggressive at the same time. It was high-tech. And that is one arena where he left everyone else in the dust. He used social media like you would expect Rahul to, considering Rahul is younger and has had western education. But Rahul does not seem to be enamored by social media. And that might be partly elitist. He assumes people know him. Whereas Modi feels like he has work to do before people will know him.

If Modi becomes Prime Minister, he will stay Prime Minister for 10 years. He will do excellent work. And he will get rewarded. In five years he might finally take the BJP to getting a majority on its own. And at that point the BJP will have become the new Congress.

I am not taking May 16 for granted. I will wait for the results. But I wanted to note Modi's excellence on the campaign trail beforehand. Even in India a Modi is possible. He started where he started in life, and look where he is today.

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Rahul Is A Natural

Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Ernakulam, Kerala. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have said Nitish is my first choice for Prime Minister, and Modi is number two. But I do admire Rahul Gandhi a bunch. I think he comes across as a natural. And he has sounded progressive on many social issues, especially those to do with women. I think he would be a great Deputy Prime Minister with Nitish taking the lead.

Monday, April 08, 2013

Hillary 2016, Gay Marriage, And Technology

Hillary Clinton 1 (Photo credit: Angela Radulescu)

I really like the idea of a woman president. That would be my number one reason to support Hillary. But my condition would be her running mate must be a woman, her Secretary of State must be a woman.

And you do want something cutting edge. Gay marriage as a federal proposition would be that cutting edge thing. This issue is more cutting edge than the idea of a woman president. But the two are kind of related. Both gays and women are sexual minorities in terms of how long they have been sidelined. They are but natural allies.

Hillary's weak point is technology. She famously said over a decade ago that she "can not think in front of a computer." Hillary is no Narendra Modi. Modi is tech savvy. But then Bill Clinton is not known for sending out emails, and the dude still presided over the dot com boom. It is because he balanced the budget. That basic arithmetic is still cutting edge politics. It should not be, but it is.

Like Nixon went to China, Hillary went to Burma. I think that is pretty cutting edge.

It is for tech entrepreneurs not the President Of The United States to hog the cutting edge in technology. So Hillary's weak point is not a weak point at all. All she has to do is assemble the right social media team and give them ample power. Old style fundraising and old style connecting and old style canvassing are passe. Obama 2008 is still cutting edge politics. She could simply rehire many of Obama's operatives, like Obama hired many Clintonistas once in power.

One person says Hillary Clinton’s no shoo-in
Chelsea Clinton opens door to run
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at FICCI meet
Nitish Kumar takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi's 'beehive' remark
Rumor Mill: Google’s next big acquisition could be mobile messenger WhatsApp
Liquid Robotics launches new generation of wave glider ocean robots
Imran Khan's 'tsunami' may turn into 'whimper' due to internal rifts in party

Controversy in Wharton over inviting Narendra Modi as speaker
Why this Muslim-majority town in Gujarat voted for Modi's BJP
Rahul's visit: Traffic chaos in Mumbai
Narendra Modi steals the show at BJP's conclave
There's a growing interest in Narendra Modi as BJP's PM candidate, says Arun Jaitley
Amitabh Bachchan recollects old days on Facebook
All eyes on Narendra Modi as BJP National Executive mulls election strategy
Narendra Modi to address meet in US, on video
No visa, no worries: Narendra Modi finds alternative route to US
Finance minister misleading nation: Narendra Modi
Will neither reject nor endorse Narendra Modi: Maulana Mehmood Madani
Paras opens eyes momentarily
Deal on CJ-led govt almost finalized: Parties
Using judges for election does not violate separation of powers

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Rahul, Laloo And Nitish: Having Them All

If it is a choice between Modi and Rahul, I'd opt for Rahul. Modi did not field a single Muslim candidate in Gujrat, that is a major disqualifier in my book. If Modi is the BJP mascot and if Nitish is neither leaving the NDA nor is supporting Modi, that is a weak NDA that will lose. So I think you are looking at a scenario whereby Nitish keeps the NDA intact in Bihar and continues as Chief Minister, but Laloo does much better in Bihar for the national polls and goes on to become Railway Minister again. That would be awesome for Bihar. I like the idea. Nitish perhaps should continue as Chief Minister, which is what he seems to want to do.

New Yorkers can vote for a Republican Mayor and vote overwhelmingly Democratic for the state and national offices. I think Biharis should vote for Nitish and the NDA at the state level, and Laloo for the national level, or at least give him enough seats to matter at the center, something like 15 or 20.