India Behind The Lens (News Centre)

The decks are getting cleared for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections which will decide the future course of our nation. The poll process will in all probability commence next month.

Will the Indian people continue to suffer unwarranted inflation, corruption and bad governance? Or, will they find an end to their pain after the Lok Sabha polls? The answers to these questions will depend on the outcome of the polls. Without doubt, the Lok Sabha polls will be historic and will usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and progress.

हिंदी में पढ़ें : सुनहरे भारत का निर्माण करेंगे आने वाले लोक सभा चुनाव

The BJP, which is seen by most analysts in India and abroad, as the party which will come into government after the Lok Sabha polls, put forth Mr. Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate some time ago. Mr. Modi has already struck a chord with the people, as is evidenced in the huge attendance in his rallies across the length and breadth of the country and the way the people vibe with what he speaks. Without doubt, there is a Modi-wave sweeping across our nation, and all forces opposed to the BJP are now joining hands with the single point agenda of keeping BJP out of governance. That makes the 2014 Lok Sabha polls very simple, it is Modi versus the rest.

As Swami Ramdev said the other day, any vote for any party which has given support to Congress or taken support from Congress amounts to voting for the corrupt and inefficient Congress Party.

Why do people and analysts trust Mr. Modi? The core reason is that Mr. Modi's excellent track record speaks louder than words. When he assures that he will take a certain step on the national scale, people believe him since he has implemented the same programs in Gujarat.

People trust that based on what he has done in Gujarat, Mr. Modi will bring high economic growth to the country, jobs will be created for the youth, the present pessimism will make way for optimism and investments will pour in. The lackluster stock markets will see new life, the loot of the public exchequer will end and governance will once again be in the service of the nation and the people.

In the recent past, the Congress Party, which has suffered humiliating defeats in assembly polls, is preparing itself apparently to name Mr. Rahul Gandhi as its choice for Prime Minister. To this end, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has publicly opted out of the reckoning. But, the voter and analysts are perplexed as to what are Rahul Gandhi's credentials to apply for the top job in the country except for the fact that he was born in a certain family? When the entire nation is rebelling against the ruin in the country due to this kind of politics, dynasty is hardly any qualification. The coming days will indicate whether Rahul-as-PM will disintegrate the UPA, Sharad Pawar of the NCP having already announced that he will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The better-than-expected showing of the Aam Aadmi Party in the recent Delhi assembly elections has enthused some commentators to assume that this party might play a major role in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This line of thinking does not consider the fact that thus far the AAP has only made assurances and is finding it difficult to fulfill those assurances. It does not possess the track record of good governance that the BJP possesses, nor the vision that the BJP offers. The fact that Mr. Prashant Bhushan, a senior leader of the AAP, has repeatedly demanded plebiscite and referendum in Kashmir, disqualifies this party from being given any national role by the electorate. It is because of the lack of confidence in AAP as far as national governance is concerned, that many AAP voters told pollsters before the Delhi assembly polls that they would vote for Modi in the Lok Sabha elections.

Those against the BJP are clutching at straws and hope that the so-called Third Front will get sufficient Lok Sabha seats to join hands with the Congress Party after the polls to keep the BJP out. It may be noted that the concern of these parties and their backers in the intellectual space is not with what positive agenda they have for the nation, but a single point obsession to keep the BJP out. This common thread in their DNA lumps all these parties together in public imagination. It is this common anti-BJP stand of these all pro-Congress forces that has helped to clear the decks for the polls as Modi-versus-the-rest. This is why it is eminently possible that the BJP-plus-allies will romp home in the Lok Sabha polls with a comfortable majority.

The choice before the nation is clear. We have suffered enough. It is now time for the shackles to be broken and a new India to arise -- an India where every citizen has the opportunity to realize his or her full potential and contribute to the glory of our Motherland.

The upcoming Lok Sabha polls offer us the historic opportunity to use our vote as a weapon to vote in those who will bring back India's glory and to vote out those who have debilitated the country. Let us together resolve to do our bit to realize all our shared dreams, and also the dreams that motivated the lakhs who laid down their lives to attain freedom for our beloved country.

India First | MaheishGirri | Follow twitter.com/MaheishGirii