It's depressing reading what's going on from abroad. And yet, when Mr. 56 inch travels west he bloviates about India being the "mother of all democracies". My head explodes when I talk to fellow expatriates - the diaspora could care less about this type of naked pandering and desperate fear mongering. Maybe next time around BJP could change the election act to make it possible for the blathering NRI OCIs to vote, could well make a difference in a number of seats.
When you don't have to live with the consequences, it is easy enough to cheer Modi and his cohort, no? Fun stat: 1734 Indian companies relocated abroad till 2022 (that number has only grown since). No one asks why people are in such a hurry to get away from Ram Rajya. And then these people, having got safely out of the way, sit abroad in comfort and cheer for Modi.
Very true but I also suspect there's another angle here. Many of these affluent NRI bhakts are hardcore islamophobes so it doesn't really matter to these people that this megalomaniac, narcissistic charlatan and his cronies are systematically destroying all the core institutions as long as the Muslims are being "put in their place".
Of course. Much of it comes from their upbringing right here at home, and it only grows in the fertile soil of the West. (I know this to my cost, because my extended family is studded with such examples).
The problem with nihilism is this: Your focus is on destroying what exists, but you have no plan or idea of what you will replace it with.
It's funny how commentators and analysts are waking up to the Opposition strategy only now, and only partly. The whole point is that Modi needs a one on one contest -- him versus someone else. He can then go on the attack, and his base has a talking point: "Modi versus XYZ? Hahahaha" -- that kind of thing. Insert say Rahul Gandhi instead of XYZ and you will know what I mean.
When it is a straight contest, it becomes about personalities. Here the problem for Modi is, there is no straight contest. He is forced to confront different leaders in different states, and those leaders are driving the narrative using local issues, which he is clueless about. And, worse, the BJP base is not able to stick to a unified message -- they try Ram temple, for instance, and people start talking of unemployment, or gas prices, whatever.
It is the single biggest problem confronting the BJP. Modi is trying to overcome it by making it about the Congress, every place he goes to, but on the ground people are asking, Why is he talking about the Congress, what about employment/farmers/prices...
Very interesting observation on one-on-one contest. Will be interesting to see who the straw man will be once Congress becomes ineffective over the next few phases.
It's depressing reading what's going on from abroad. And yet, when Mr. 56 inch travels west he bloviates about India being the "mother of all democracies". My head explodes when I talk to fellow expatriates - the diaspora could care less about this type of naked pandering and desperate fear mongering. Maybe next time around BJP could change the election act to make it possible for the blathering NRI OCIs to vote, could well make a difference in a number of seats.
When you don't have to live with the consequences, it is easy enough to cheer Modi and his cohort, no? Fun stat: 1734 Indian companies relocated abroad till 2022 (that number has only grown since). No one asks why people are in such a hurry to get away from Ram Rajya. And then these people, having got safely out of the way, sit abroad in comfort and cheer for Modi.
Very true but I also suspect there's another angle here. Many of these affluent NRI bhakts are hardcore islamophobes so it doesn't really matter to these people that this megalomaniac, narcissistic charlatan and his cronies are systematically destroying all the core institutions as long as the Muslims are being "put in their place".
Of course. Much of it comes from their upbringing right here at home, and it only grows in the fertile soil of the West. (I know this to my cost, because my extended family is studded with such examples).
The problem with nihilism is this: Your focus is on destroying what exists, but you have no plan or idea of what you will replace it with.
Hi Prem, what do you think of this:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/voters-silence-bjp-lok-sabha-polls-9286294/
It's funny how commentators and analysts are waking up to the Opposition strategy only now, and only partly. The whole point is that Modi needs a one on one contest -- him versus someone else. He can then go on the attack, and his base has a talking point: "Modi versus XYZ? Hahahaha" -- that kind of thing. Insert say Rahul Gandhi instead of XYZ and you will know what I mean.
When it is a straight contest, it becomes about personalities. Here the problem for Modi is, there is no straight contest. He is forced to confront different leaders in different states, and those leaders are driving the narrative using local issues, which he is clueless about. And, worse, the BJP base is not able to stick to a unified message -- they try Ram temple, for instance, and people start talking of unemployment, or gas prices, whatever.
It is the single biggest problem confronting the BJP. Modi is trying to overcome it by making it about the Congress, every place he goes to, but on the ground people are asking, Why is he talking about the Congress, what about employment/farmers/prices...
Very interesting observation on one-on-one contest. Will be interesting to see who the straw man will be once Congress becomes ineffective over the next few phases.