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Unfortunately or fortunately (for some) most of the voters have no access to the cyber world. The visual and print media, especially of the regional languages hold sway on the people and are the real opinion makers. We have seen that most of them are controlled by forces who are sure to put to shame even Goebbels.
Polls amongst audiences that already think along similar lines are pointless. So websites such as this one see the NDA winning, a few others see the UPA leading and yet others have an audience hoping for the third front to get a chance. Utterly pointless.
Shantanu, with all due respects , your website is more “right” leaning and most of its readers and followers are…. So the poll on your blog might not be a very good indication 🙂
Would like to see an NDTV poll come out with similar results.
NDTV will tell you rahul baba’s dog is going to win a landslide victory in nariman point, so that’s not ‘objective’ either.
in any case, polls in india are generally meaningless — they throw up purely random results.
After 60 years of voting for bad policy after bad policy, one has to cynically conclude that democracy in india is of the idiots, by the idiots, for the idiots
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4. Who opened the locks at Ram Janmabhoomi?
5. Who was responsible for the Bofors scam?
6. Why was Ottavio Quatrocchi never arrested?
8. Why were intelligence reports regarding Chinese aggression in 1962 ignored by the Congress?
9. Why is the Government silent on recent Chinese incursions into India?
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11. Why did the Congress not try to get Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru released before signing Irwin Pact?
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20. Why is there silence on Netaji’s disappearance?
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@ Charulata: Pl. avoid copy-and-paste comments. Some of these questions are purely the internal matter of Congress party…others are speculation or rhetoric.
Thanks.
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Re. # 46: I am not sure whether Rahul Gandhi was arrested or not…But I do wish we know the truth.
@ KSV: Yes, the media does influence public opinion but my sense is that the vernacular press is far more vibrant and “independent” than MSM..
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@ Sabari: “Polls amongst audiences that already think along similar lines are pointless”…Good point! So can you please share with us some polls that show the UPA/Third Front leading? Thanks.
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@ borneveryday/AG: You are right..the poll is obviously skewed…but the purpose was to provoke a discussion and supplement the survey with your own (independent) observations…
On TV these days, it looks like all the news channels have joined hands and started an anti-BJP, pro-UPA compaign.
Got really frustrated hearing the Varun Gandhi eposide day-in and out..
Can’t they have some constructive debates around the election manifestos and the stand of the political parties on vairous issues of “national interst”?
Initially, I though TOI was playing a good role by with its LEAD INDIA 2009 campign..
I don’t know much about what’s going on but Shantanu if you have time why don’t you write a post on “What should be the role of the media at the time of elections?”
While I agree that media bias does exist all over the world, am sure there are ways to do it a little more responsibly.
Thanks,
Look which leftie, bleeding heart liberal is standing from Gandhinagar
Friends For Democracy: Mallika Sarabhai for Lok Sabha
Global
Basic Info
Type: Organizations – Political Organizations
Description: As a representative of Friends For Democracy, I, Mallika Sarabhai have decided to stand as a candidate from the Gandhinagar Constituency.
I stand as a Gujarati and a patriotic Indian to reclaim politics back from politicians. I am not a third force but I have an alternative view of politics which wants to claim democracy back for the people.
I am standing from Gandhinagar but I think I also represent the women of Mangalore, the peasants of Nandigram, the farmers of Yavatmal, the victims of Khandamal.
You might ask why now. My answer is that it is already getting late and politicians are stealing our parties from us.
I am a local person and I am here to fight local problems. I am grounded. I want to return to my constituency the gift of identity and community it has given me.
I am appealing to everyone who is against the politics of hatred, divisiveness and exclusion to join me – people, groups and parties.
In solidarity and in peace,
Mallika Sarabhai
Nishka: Mallika has not uttered any word against the Kashmiri Pandits who were driven out from Kashmir Valley ? Clearly shows to whom she has addressed her appeal !!!
Selective hatred,selective divisiveness and selective exclusion and selective secularism too; that is the order of the day.
While I agree with ‘borneveryday’ and ‘AG’, after seeing rediff message board recently and comparing it with 1-2 years back scene, I also feel that the people’s patience with UPA is diminishing rapidly…
Today, I am very angry! One with Mallika and another with Nandita Das. Their kind of gullible and naivete talk have hurt and divided the society in bigger way. Now see the above statements of Mallika. And Nandita on other side says there is no other side of the story Firraq a suffering of only one community. I want to ask her what she knows about Gujarat? I am short of many things other wise I would
have made Gujaratis stand up against her and ask her to prove each and everything she is showing in the movie.(I have not seen the movie but appears from her interview and trailer thats she has no guts to show the suffering of both sides). The numbers she gives and the rape she shows are fictious than why do you make a film on it, only to ignite hatred?
They are the one who keeps the flame of animosity alive and open. One side we talk about forgeting history and the otherside this five star activists use it for the political and money gain.
Muslims in Gujarat are going healthy and strong, asking everyone to stop maligning the situation. But who cares to listen!
This may be the off topic comment, but I was prompted by mallika’s topic above and filming of this movie is also during election time so I think right place to comment. She showed this movie to Rahul Gandhi, that shows her connection and loyality.
Jai Hind!
A few BJP related site.
BJP’s newly lunched site: http://www.bjp.org/
LK Advani site: http://www.lkadvani.in/
Friends of BJP: http://friendsofbjp.org/
Gujarat BJP: http://www.bjpguj.org/
Karnataka BJP: http://bjpkarnataka.org/
Shantanu:
http://www.sonyvellayani.com/2009/03/lok-sabha-elections-2009-advantage-upa.html and http://savekerala.blogspot.com/ have polls up that are leaning UPA now.
You’ll notice that my assessment has a strong Kerala bias, and hence is equally unrepresentative in the larger picture. There are loads of Malayalam blogs that also slant towards the UPA, and many more that prefer CPM, which I shan’t link to as they’re unlikely to be of use here.
Thanks Sabari…very interesting!
I would rather consider ChangeIndia’s poll as something which brings out our desire rather than our predictability, as opposed to other polls like the one in this blog and the kerala sites refered by Sabari.
For instance, a person might vote for NDA in changeindia and still vote for UPA in the other sites.
With the LS elections due soon, both the socalled secular parties and out-financed 24×7 news media have moved to lowest common denominator in their professional conduct. Being secular should mean demeaning Bharat as a country of Hinduism compirising 80 per cent population of Hindus, their lives and disrespecting its ancient wisdom (e.g.Bhagavad Gita). All these is to please the Muslims and with their votes, divide the country on religion-cum-caste basis, ruin this country further and satisfy their (politocos) greed for power and pelf.
Unless, this spread of politico-social-cancer is stopped, the “secularists” will help turn the south of India as Jesus land, north becoming Jihadi-stan and the middle managed by comically idiotic Khaki-Pink jeddiwallahs.
The real Sanata Dharma will only be found in the librarires of Havard, California and other western universities to be read and admired by those who value human evolution based on caring and sharing, mutual respect and tolerence, and a real understanding of the creator and the nature of his/her creation manifest everywhere.
http://election.rediff.com/report/2009/apr/13/loksabhapoll-sonia-must-apologise-advani.htm
My take—Desperate attempt to win the election and family politics.
http://yourvoice2009.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Check this. As per TOI poll, LKA leads in ‘who should be next PM’ poll. I am sure noone will object this as a pro-bjp site..lol
Excerpts from Congress deserves to lose India’s elections By Razeen Sally
…A word about India hype. It highlights high-end services, and now manufacturing sectors, with their globalising, world-beating companies. But it overlooks reform deficits in agriculture, services and manufacturing.
…Not least, it glosses over the record of the present Congress-led government.
There have been practically no market reforms since 2004, save for the opening of domestic civil aviation. Nothing has moved on privatisation, the reduction of government equity in banks and insurance companies, pensions, competition regulation or the administration of subsidies. Industrial tariffs have come down, but otherwise external protection has not been reduced. India remains the most protectionist large emerging market.
Worse, there has been reform backsliding and reversal. Fiscal restraint, written into law in 2003, has been thrown to the winds. Now, with an economic downturn, the consolidated government deficit is projected to rise above 10 per cent of gross domestic product. Funding for much-needed infrastructure projects will suffer. Controlled pricing of petroleum products was reintroduced in 2008. Off-budget expenditure has increased significantly, especially through populist measures to support rural employment and the energy sector.
The government’s response to the present global economic crisis was to introduce further market-distorting restrictions, including higher tariffs, anti-dumping duties and assorted non-tariff import barriers.
…The government has squandered the boom years, left the country more vulnerable to malign global economic conditions and compromised prospects for a healthy recovery. But Manmohan Singh and his “dream team†have been given an easy ride: they have escaped blame, especially outside India. The conventional excuse is that their hands are tied by Sonia Gandhi and her Congress coterie, and by coalition politics.
This explanation just does not wash. Mr Singh has impeccable academic credentials and is by all accounts incorruptible. He deserves credit for his performance as finance minister in the 1990s – although credit should also go to Narasimha Rao, then prime minister, who took the tough decisions.
But Mr Singh has proved a hopeless decision-maker as prime minister. Sadly, he proves the rule that academics should generally be “on tap†but not “on topâ€.