[The essential point that remains is whether a "Mahagathbandhan" possible? And, if it at all materialises, will it produce the (arithmetically) anticipated outcome?]
Kamal Chenoy ยท When in Doubt Attack AAP The fact that the BJP got only 36.1% of the votes polled in the MCD polls, has been conveniently sidelined by the sangh parivar and the media. Yes it got 181 seats out of 270. But in the 2014 elections with only 31% of votes for the BJP plus 4% from allies it got a large majority in the Lok Sabha with just 35% votes. This is their "famous" victory with a little over 1/3rd of the total vote! The first past the post system (FPTP) has been replaced in several countries especially in Europe, because it rewards the leading party but punishes those below. AAP got 26.2% of the vote in the MCD in its first attempt in such an election, only 9.9% less than the BJP but only 48 seats. Similarly, the Congress got 21.1% of the votes but just 30 seats. Taken together the AAP+Congress got 26.2+21.1= 47.3% of the vote share, substantially larger than the BJP's win of just of 36.1% vote share. Then it is stated that the Congress did better than before. Yes, good! But it did worse in earlier MCD elections despite Sheila Dixit's victories in the Delhi Assembly elections. But in the case of AAP, the MCD vote is being compared with the Assembly vote. However, the uproar in most of the media, electronic and print, is the steep decline in AAP. Seems to me that there has been an increase in money power and political influence in the media. But there is no watch dog for the electronic media unlike the Press Commission for the print media. So the slanging match will go on, and AK and AAP will be attacked, often for the same non-offence repeatedly. The media will milk this mythic story for months, but the facts on the ground will not change. The imperative for the broadest possible secular alliances has become even more compelling. AAP which had alliances in Punjab and Manipur must accept this reality if the rampant BJP is to be defeated. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
