I do hope the NDA doesn't get that "stable". I am hoping and expecting around 320 for NDA and around 200 for the BJP which should keep them in power for at least for two years.
I would lower the tally by about 30 for the NDA, and by about 20 for the BJP. That would bring the situation back to what it was after the previous elections. A tally of 290 seats for the NDA sans Jayalalitha might look good right now, but if the BJP supporters think that Jayalalitha is the only unprincipled politician that they befriended, well, they are going to learn a thing or two in the coming months!
Rajiv, on the other hand, back-stabbed democracy with the anti-defection act, and most people still think it was a good thing.
In fact, many people now want the anti-defection act extended beyond parties to alliances too. And some people think that there should be a limit on the number of parties. If you don't allow people to express their dissent in an institutional context, then the only alternative for them is to take to arms.
In my opinion, the anti defection act is one of the reasons for the proliferation of political parties. Each and every small leader need not start their own party when they are free to express their views and vote their conscience while remaining within a larger party.
I agree with that. And I think your analysis on this is very insightful.
The law commission's recommendation to bar independent candidates from contesting elections to the state and central legislatures is yet another misguided attempt to stabilize the political scene, at the expense of the soul of democracy.
Agreed. It is yet another case of treating the symptoms rather than the disease. About the only thing that would make sense is the establishment of a mechanism by which people can recall their representatives, and yet, such a recommendation is glaringly conspicuous by its absence. |
