The cabs are standing in a line, the usual honks are
missing, people seem to be calm and there’s a nice little nip in the air. This
is a very refreshing scene at the IGI airport Delhi at around 11pm a few days
ago. I’m in Delhi on a short visit from Boston and I’m pleasantly surprised.
The next morning I wake up early (badly jet-lagged!) and step
into a nearby park for a walk. It’s a misty morning but coming from Boston I
can’t complain about the weather in Delhi at this time of the year. The birds are chirping, I can see the crimson
red color in the sky; the sun is about to rise. Ignore the haze and the
pollution around; this is as good as it gets in Delhi. A number of people are
already in the park going about their chores. Some are just strolling around
probably half awake, some are jogging around and others are doing the famous
Baba Ram Dev laughter exercise.
I overhear a conversation regarding IT folks. Two senior
citizens discussing about inflation and the contribution of IT folks towards
increase in inflation. One comment that attracted my attention is the
discussion regarding salary of engineers in IT sector. One of them was saying
that IT engineers are getting salary in lacs per month – I kept reassuring
myself that despite a lackluster Indian economy over the past few years “all is
well”.
During the course of the day I interact with a few
shopkeepers, cab driver, my colleagues and friends & family. I cannot help
miss the buzz around the elections as most conversations do directly or
indirectly veer towards the current political scenario in India and more
specifically towards Delhi. Here are a few things that strike me during my
political conversations:
AAP
A new political formation carved out from Anna’s “India
against corruption” (IAC) is riding on the public outrage against corruption,
inflation and anti-incumbency. While most people seem to be impressed with the
AAP showing one striking comment that I heard was that “Jo Anna ka na ho saka
voh kisi aur ka kya hoga”. Certainly a section of the people seem to realize
that AAP is using IAC movement as a ladder for political gains. Time will tell
the truth but I wish AAP comes to power soon so that we could see them perform
in governance.
BJP
Looks like this is the party with the momentum. The NaMo
wave is slowly building up. The assembly election results are a big positive.
Their posture of not grabbing power in Delhi is also a good strategy – I don’t
know if this is an AAP effect or not but this is a welcome change perhaps not
seen before. In a typical scenario like this we are used to seeing MPs/MLAs
hounded into undisclosed locations for fear of horse trading. The big question
still remains how will BJP manage to get the right numbers in April/May? I
believe the key is the Hindi heartland of UP & Bihar and creating allies in
Southern states.
Congress
The Grand Old Party is in dire straits and it really needs
to re-imagine itself. This is easier said than done with only 4 months
remaining for elections. The human nature is such that anything that congress
does now shall be viewed with cynicism. Even if they name someone outside of
Gandhi family for prime ministerial candidate that shall be viewed as another
proxy PM. So how can Congress re-imagine and re-invent themselves? Perhaps,
this might be a time to unveil Priyanka Gandhi.
As my day comes to an end I stop by a famous Kebab joint.
Ah, the delicious kebabs of Delhi on a winter evening – a perfect end to my
first day in the city. As I reflect on the day I wonder we talk about first
impressions, first day in a school/college etc. What about first 24 hours in a
city? What does that tell you? From my above experience a lot.
For a change Cricket and Bollywood was on a back burner,
politics took centre stage. Certainly there’s a craving for better
leadership, effective governance and honest politics. The crux of the perceptible change in Delhi (that can be
extrapolated to India) is that honesty
is back in vogue!
My first 24 hours tell me that we’re headed for a new
unimagined India where you & I will make a difference!
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