The Kejriwal phenomenon - A Tale of Two Caps.

            The die is cast. India Against Corruption ( IAC)  led by Arvind Kejriwal has taken a plunge in the whirlpool of murky Indian  politics and decided to form a political party. This is  news .And very good news for his political detractors who must be chortling in delight on his joining their ranks, rather echoing the words of the immortal  ' Gabbar Singh' from the Hindi classic film 'Sholay'( 1975), -- "Ab aayega maza khel ka ". At the best of times, a politician does not enjoy a good reputation. But in the present atmosphere of scams, scandals and stings it would require a brave soul to leave the safe bastion of a moralistic civil society and enter into the notoriously dark caves of politics.  No wonder, the debut of this nascent outfit has been welcomed with a controversy engulfing its three media-savvy members alleged to be involved in wrong-doings. Baptism by the political fire, one would venture to say.  An IAC-appointed  Ombudsmen ( 3 former judges of High Courts ) will investigate into the allegations against Prashant Bhushan, Mayank Gandhi and Anjali Damaniya.   Instead of questioning others through TV Channels/ press conferences they will be replying to the queries from the judges.  It may not be an ominous start but far from an auspicious beginning. A gratuitous pincer attack from an erstwhile  fellow traveller has  further confounded the well-wishers of this organisation. It is going to be a long season of attacks, barbs, defamation suits, innuendos, counter-attacks and unpleasant situations.

         

           Till yesterday the IAC team were protected by the Anna shield. Anna's simplicity, modesty, honesty and steely determination to fight corruption had created a halo around him when he led the Lok Pal bill movement in the early 2011. His aura had inspired millions in this country to hit the streets on the issue of Jan Lok Pal bill. Fight against rampant corruption became top social priority for people from different segment of society and the media had a field day. The embers will keep burning, at least, till the next General elections.  Kejriwal and his colleagues, with their apparent dedication, motivation and fighting spirit did a tremendous job in transforming Anna's vision into a near- reality. Their contribution in making Anna a household name can neither be overlooked nor underestimated. Sadly, it is a distant past now. After parting company with Anna and his cap he is donning a new cap of mango people. Very soon he will have the company of the very people he denounces. What a quirk of fate. The mutation of a popular civil society activist into a budding politician is baffling.  

                

                Though his fledgling party would require considerable time, efforts and resources to make its presence felt, Kejriwal seems to be a man in tearing hurry. He will realize soon enough that politics is a different proposition altogether.The word politics is derived from the word ‘poly’ meaning 'many' and the word 'tics' meaning'blood-sucking parasites'(Larry Hardiman).Since he has dubbed all political parties as corrupt and in cahoots with each other, it is presumed he will not go for an alliance with two main parties and most of the remaining parties whose leaders are facing corruption charges. Going alone in Assembly or Lok Sabha elections will be suicidal for his party. As it is, his influence is confined to some parts of Haryana, Delhi and West UP, courtesy Anna movement. In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009 the two main parties (Congress and BJP) won 322 seats with nearly 48% votes. Further, the two alliances led by them, UPA (Congress and 10 other parties) and NDA (BJP and 7 other parties) captured 421 seats (four-fifth of the total seats with nearly 62% votes) taking the lion's share of the political space. It may not be comforting for Kejriwal and his friends to know that  most of these parties have a cadre, abundance of resources( read money-power and muscle-power) accumulated over the last many years, and a gang of  seasoned campaigners well-versed in the art and craft of  electoral politics. These parties are familiar with the permutation and combination of caste, religion, local issues and right slogans. So in a political Mahabharat his position will be much worse than that of Abhimanyu in the Chakravyuh.

            Corruption is a major issue today as it was 25 years ago. VP Singh who had been UP Chief Minister and India's Finance and Defence Minister left Congress in 1987 to form Jan Morcha party. His party's first foray in the UP assembly election drew a blank winning just 1 seat out of 118 contested. Subsequently he had to merge his party with Lok Dal, Janata Party and Congress(S) to cobble together a disparate Janata Dal. In the 9th Lok Sabha elections in 1989, when the Bofors scandal was at its nadir and VP Singh's popularity at its peak the  Janata Dal could get only 143 seats and had to secure help of both leftist and rightist parties to form a government which lasted barely 11 months.In terms of fame and reputation, VP Singh of pre-1989 days was miles ahead  of Kejriwal of 2012 but disappeared into the political  oblivion very soon.The grim lesson for Kejriwal is that it would be impudent as well as  imprudent to go for a  head-on confrontation with all parties simultaneously. A less unwise step would have been to stay away from the real politics for a few years, maintain pressure on the corrupt politicians/corporates/bureaucrats troika and continue the fight for the electoral and other reforms including Lok Pal and create a broad-based  party cadre before testing your strength in an electoral battle. But since he has crossed the Rubicon, the second option is to go for an alliance of like-minded organisations that may be keen to test electoral waters and, perhaps, less-tainted political parties. Because a few good and reasonably honest politicians would be available in most of the parties in India even if their numbers have been dwindling over the years, just as the numbers of dishonest and ugly politicians have been swelling.

                If the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was alive today,his word of advice to Kejriwal may have been :   

         "Ye Siyasat nahin aasaan bas itna samajh lijiye,

          Ek aag ka dariya hai aur doob kar jaanaa hai".

              But the manner in which Kejriwal has rattled some well- known people linked with politics and  politicians  by serial expose of their misdeeds in the last fortnight is truly striking. Some have been put on the defensive.Some are running for the cover. Some have gone into the hiding and the rest are having anxious moments. This is no mean achievement and should make his supporters happy and fence-sitters hopeful.

FURY OF A HUMBLE MAN

                  Fury of a humble man

       Beware the fury of a patient man, said John Dryden in the 17th century. You replace ' patient' by 'humble' but the devastating effect of  fury remains  same. FDI onslaught may have come a little late in the day but once the Govt has decided to ' bite the bullet'', it is assumed there would not be any roll-back on this and other overdue reforms. Even if Mamta does not show any mamta and some others who have come to its rescue in the past have new ideas this Govt will survive. Somehow. Thanks to a plethora of ongoing anti-corruption agitations, the atmospherics for politicians in India is so hostile at the moment that very few will itch for early elections. 

       For a giant country like India with a humongous and mostly young  population of over 1.2 billion - one sixth of humanity with nearly 300 million living in the sub-human conditions, it is a stupendous task for any government  -left, right or centre -  to do everything for everybody. But the unbridled corruption on a mega scale, sky-rocketing prices of daily necessities, high inflation and massive unemployment have been extremely difficult and depressing for millions in this country for quite some time. And above all, the palpable helplessness of the top man have disappointed his admirers and enraged the masses. His position has become somewhat similar to stalwarts like Bhishma and Dronacharya during the shameful Draupadi cheerharan in Mahabharata.

       In the present context, it is the wanton pillage of  country's precious and  limited natural resources. The roles of Duryodhana, Dushasana and other participants being gleefully enacted by a handful of crony capitalists, sleazy politicians and greedy bureaucrats.  No wonder people are aghast, distraught and angry. The despair laced with ire has turned people in a rebellious mood against the government.

       However, this entire bleak scenario can change in less than two years if this Govt finally decides to take a few firm measures without worrying for the consequences. Because whatever his critics may say the PM's old image of   ' personally honest' is still intact. He has been rightly accused of 'policy paralysis' and 'Under-achievement' and given many unflattering epithets. But just remember he is the same person who till the other day was the darling of the middle class. They trusted his judgement on India's economy and were impressed by his personal qualities of honesty, humility and humaneness rarely seen in the cut-throat world of Indian politics. But what went terribly wrong in the last couple of years. We may hold different views, but there would be unanimity on one word - Corruption.

      Corruption is neither new (a former PM is credited of calling it 'a global phenomenon' in the 1970s) nor confined to a single political party. But what the country has witnessed in the last 3 years from 2G scam to Coalgate is pure loot and plunders on a monstrous scale. The bold talk of reviving the animal spirits in economy is all very fine but if the government really wants to generate trust of common man in this country it would not be enough. If the elections are held in a few months time Congress will be lucky to reach even a pathetic figure of a hundred seats in the Lok Sabha, so low is its stock in public's perception. Unless it takes a huge gamble to revive its electoral fortunes, the downhill journey will continue. That gamble would be a ruthless crackdown on corruption in the coming months.  If the illegitimate beneficiaries who have made "Mota Maal" in the scams of recent vintages can be brought to justice on a war footing, the blue devils will disappear from the depressed public mind.

       For this to happen and soon, the government will have to have   powerful high-level fast- track courts to handle such cases. They will require scores of fearless, competent and honest bureaucrats. These are hard times and it is difficult to get an honest, fearless and competent person in India. But there are plenty of them around. They have to be singled out, assigned and empowered. All the premier investigating agencies should be given a free hand and tasked to assist the fast track courts in order to get concrete results within a time-frame of 6 to 12 months.  Lokpal/Lokayktas, RTI activists, civil society members (without political agenda), Whistle blowers, CAG/CVC, judiciary and media should be natural allies of an honest government in fighting the menace of corruption.

       So while his finance minister takes a shot at reviving the economy with a slew of reforms, Dr Singh personally comes down with a heavy hand on corruption on a scale not seen in this country before. Nothing will please the people particularly the middle class across the country more than watching these crooks being paraded to jails, their ill-gotten wealth confiscated and punishment meted out to them in a transparent manner. Such drastic actions will change the present mood of apprehension and despondency into expectation and hope. For the sake of increase in their TRP ratings, our 24x7 TV channels will ensure it happens.

     In his 1992 budget speech as Finance Minister, Dr Man Mohan Singh quoted Victor Hugo "All the forces in the world are not as powerful as an idea whose time has come".  Hugo is still relevant to our present-day situation. The time to tackle corruption in India has come. Only he can make it possible for the simple reason that people still believe he is personally not corrupt.  We should not forget that   for every corrupt person in this country there are hundreds of honest people. The silent majority should not be let down time and again by well-meaning leaders.  PM will be celebrating his 80th birthday (he shares his birthday with evergreen Dev Anand - a man of action) next week. Such a long and eventful journey, with more than 8 years on the country's hot seat. It would be great to see him in action. A firm resolve to fight corruption will be the icing on the cake of economic reforms.

 FDI in Retail in India --- Incredible Myth or Plausible Reality

  

FDI in retail (100% in multi-brands) is our current national obsession. To some (read middlemen/ traders lobby) it would be a calamity, will create massive unemployment, increase inflation, bring misery to the millions, mostly poor, in this country and, therefore, totally unwelcome. To many (the much-harassed consumers, high-end farmers and corporates) it would be a much-needed revolutionary step in the right direction, just a trifle short of panacea. But first the facts and the ground-realities.

India has nearly 600 million farmers, 1200 million consumers and 5 million traders. In a written reply to the Parliament in April, 2012, it has been stated by the Government that India is now World's 2nd largest producer of Vegetables and Fruits after China with a total production of 77.52 million tons of fruits and 149.61 million tons of vegetables in 2011-12. During 2010-11, we also exported vegetables and fruits to many countries to the tune of Rs. 3856 crores (US $ 760 million). However, if we care to read a report of Central Institute for Post Harvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana published in 2010 it says that nearly 18% of our vegetables and fruits production worth Rs.44000 crores (US$ 8 billion)are wasted annually due to lack of cold storage facilities and other factors. For such a huge country like India there are only 5400 cold storages with nearly half of them in UP, Punjab and W. Bengal. 4875 of these belong to the private sector, 400 run by the co-operatives and only 125 by the public sector units. As stated by the union Minister of state for Food and Agriculture only 2% of the total horticulture production in the country is being processed now as compared to 15% in China and 8% in the Asia-Pacific countries. For a country with over 300 million people below poverty line this loss is colossal and avoidable. The absence of a farm to fork retail policy compels the consumers to pay a heavy premium for shortages and wastages.

The stranglehold of middlemen and greedy traders is at the root of rural poverty and a major cause for the pathetic condition of the farmers all over India. Fruits and vegetables which are perishable commodities pass through 5 to 6 layers of middlemen and due to addition of margin at every stage there is a huge difference in the farm gate, wholesale and retail price. So a humble potato for which a humbler farmer has to console himself with a price of Rs 2 a Kilogram will cost the consumer ,the last link of this complex  chain, anything between Rs 10 to 12. A cool profit of 600% to the dreaded middlemen blessed with a Midas touch. The middlemen and some traders are responsible for hoarding and black marketeering to a great extent.

 Indian farmer who has earned a good name for his innovative skills, fortitude and immense capacity to work hard in adverse conditions not only in his own country but over a dozen countries in the Asia, Africa, Caribbean and North America fails to get a fair price for his toils and sustained labour at home even after 65 years of Independence. Every year they are fleeced by the unscrupulous middlemen and traders as neither the farmers/producers nor various government agencies are in a position to ensure proper marketing of products. The only practical solution to mitigate their plight is direct and bulk purchase by the large retailers.

 This is why we need 100% FDI in multi-brand food-based retail. Contrary to what the skeptics may say even they know within their hearts that the foreign retailers would bring back-end infrastructure via: - cold chains, refrigeration, packaging, storage, transportation and introduce much-needed efficiency and modern practices in the supply and distribution chain. They will procure in bulk and sell at competitive price. Their entry will promote agricultural growth by increasing farmers income, creating efficient  Small and Medium Industries, providing several million jobs in the small and medium industries as well as logistics sectors for both the skilled and unskilled unemployed, enhance manpower and skill development, bring additional revenue to the exchequer, save massive wastage which would become available for domestic use/exports. Surely, the big MNC giants like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour and others are not coming to India for charity. They too will make profit but not even remotely comparable to what the Indian middlemen/traders are making. Further, they would not dare to sell the consumer sub-standard or adulterated foodstuff or pesticide-ridden fruits and vegetables. The unhygienic conditions of the shops and problem of under-weighing would also disappear. All these benefits will accrue to the consumers.

Some of the countries who have benefited by allowing 100% FDI in retail include China, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina. However, before taking a plunge the government will have to  evolve clear-cut policies that provides a level-playing field to foreign and Indian big players and protect small retailers by having a legal framework that prohibits retail giants, both Indian and foreign, to indulge in predatory pricing and other unethical practices. Since the predominant retail (up to 98%) is in the unorganized sector and consists of Mom and Pop shops, convenience (Kirana) stores, street hawkers, peddlers on the wheels and pavements, village markets, it is imperative that  an enforcement mechanism is in  place  to ensure that small retailers are not dislocated by unfair means by the large ones. In particular, the foreign investors should be asked to make a real contribution to the development of infrastructure, logistics and agro-processing units. Then, it would be a win-win situation for everyone except the middlemen. The farmer gets a better price for his labour, consumers pay lesser price for a quality product with more variety to choose from. For the Small retailer it would be business as usual with a smaller margin but higher productivity and better services. The government earns more revenue and the nation and its people get world-class infrastructure.

FDI in multi-brand retail which could be one of the sunrise sectors for the Indian economy is a political hot potato right now and major opposition parties would love to upset Congress's apple cart if it finally decides to go ahead. It would be a tad difficult to evolve a political consensus and get all political parties on board. But for the ruling party suffering from the ill-effects of one scam after another in the last 3 years, election reverses in several states,  acquiring dubious tags of '' policy  paralysis'',  ''direction-less'', ''underachiever''  and the next general election looming large,  it would be a good idea to  bite the bullet on this thorny issue. They should engage with every party and try to get this through by consensus, if possible. Who knows they might repeat their performance of July 2008 on Indo-US Nuclear deal. If their pull, pressure and persuasion work with the usual suspects, they will triumph and the win would energise their demoralised cadre. The main opposition party should handle this issue with gravitas. Any faux pax and they would be reduced to calling the clinched FDI deal as sour grapes. In the bargain, they would also lose a large chunk of their main supporters - urban middle class.

Dawn of a New Era: MYANMAR REVISITED

          Much water has flowed down the Irrawaddy since March 2, 1962 when Burma's Parliamentary democracy came to an end. The last 50 years have been locust-eaten. Well almost. Repression, decay and isolation have been the order of the day. However, the last 5 months have brought a sudden halt to its downhill journey into the oblivion. Like a Tsunami, the waves of DEMOCRACY seemed to have swept the shores of Myanmar.

          Pundits, Mandarins, uninitiated and ignorant alike are busy fathoming its effect on how far it has affected the fortunes of erstwhile junta. It's both audible and visible. There is chaos on the roads, confusion in minds, hope in hearts, exuberance of youth, cynicism of old and guarded optimism of seasoned Burma- watchers. But feelings of despair and helplessness of olden days are somewhat missing. Amidst all this kerfuffle of contrasting views and interests, there is the towering personality of Nobel Laureate Daw Aung Saan Suu Kyi.  A cult-figure, she enjoys tremendous popularity among local masses. In her sixties, she seems to be more pragmatic now.

          All this has been made possible by the retirement of former junta strongman Than Shwe and many other senior army officers. There is no way of knowing how much power he still wields, safely ensconced in the picturesque Nay Pyi Taw ( Abode of Kings ), the new capital of Myanmar since 2005. But many in this country believe that Than Shwe may have retired but not faded away completely and is still pulling the strings of power from behind. In fact, the incumbent President owes his present position to Than Shwe.

          Thein Sein, a former Prime Minister, is an ex-general and member of Junta. He became President in March, 2011 launching a nominally civilian government after the controversial elections of November, 2010 from which Suu Kyi was excluded. His government has released hundreds of political prisoners, signed cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, enhanced media freedom and relaxed censorship laws. He presents a kind and gentle face of the ruling military regime in civilian attire. He had a detailed meeting with Suu Kyi in August, 2011 setting the reform process in motion. In his approach there is frankness for discussion to build ways of including groups that have been in armed conflict with the political process and expedite the reforms initiated by his government.

          But the process of rebuilding defunct civilian institutions, viz: a robust media, active judiciary and functioning financial system is rather long and difficult. The road of true democracy is full of pitfalls and potholes and its restoration in Myanmar would depend on the mutual trust between various stakeholders, their sagacity and resilience in the spirit of give and take for the greater good of its 51 million people. It cannot be denied that due to its over five decades rule, Tatmadaw ( armed forces) is the only organised institution left in the country and unless they are fully on board the train of democracy  will not move. The best scenario would be a civilian government headed by Suu Kyi with the full backing of the army. Once a parliamentary democracy is securely established the army may return honourably to the barracks handing over the reins of power to the elected representative. For the moment it looks like wishful thinking but quite possible in distant future. There is no shortage of ‘spoilers’ though; for example the beneficiary of 2010 elections (USDP) and ‘corrupt’ elements in the army. But they may not be able to rock the boat in view of vastly changed international landscape since the ‘Jasmine’ revolution in Tunisia.

          As of now, the single most important task before the incumbent government in Myanmar is the revival of its frail economy which after decades of stagnation, mismanagement and isolation is in a pathetic shape. Luckily, in a positive development the World Bank has agreed to support the reforms and

help analyze the country’s economic infrastructure and banking and finance

sector crucial for attracting investments. According to a report of IMF, Myanmar is going to be new economic frontier of Asia but as things stand today, it looks like a pipe-dream. This country requires massive investment for building its infrastructure: roads, hotels, schools, technical institutions, hospitals etc. No investor will come for charity. They will need to be reassured about safety of their investment and profits which they hope to make. And for this to happen, a transparent financial system fully backed by laws conforming to International standard should be in place.

          Right now there is eager wait for April 1, 2012 by elections which is likely to elect Suu Kyi and her NLD members to the Parliament.  There are not many seats to win, just 40 for the lower house of the Parliament less than 10% of the total strength. But it would send a strong message down the line, if NLD makes a clean sweep of these seats. The rulers may have to work-out an out of the box solution to earmark a stellar role for Suu Kyi in the governance of Myanmar in

the post – April, 2012 dispensation. The real game will commence only after the conclusion of the forthcoming by elections. Let us hope that no one gets befooled in Myanmar this year on April 1, the day of by elections and a day celebrated all over the world as All Fools’ Day.

Mission 2014 - Rahul Bhai Lage Raho

          So finally it is over. That is, the elections to UP and 4 other states touted by many as semi-final before the final is played in 2014 or even before if  it's convenient to the title holders.

          Like the IPL Cricket it gave livelihood to plenty, sound bytes to many, spread falsehood of some congenital liars, accorded knighthood on none and stardom to one. The star being Akhilesh Yadav, the new kid on the block. Matches are over, results are known and it is time for the post-mortem, better known as Chintan, Manthan or simple introspection.

          Of the 5 states, UP with 403 Assembly seats and 80 Parliamentary seats attracted maximum attention. Rightly so! This is the state which has provided maximum Kings or King-makers to the Republic of India during last 64 years and may do so in the near future.

         

          It was clear at the very early stage of electioneering that Mayawati afflicted by statue-mania, brazen corruption and Lucknow/Noida fixation will suffer huge loss. But it was not clear as to who will emerge victorious. The one-man army of Rahul Gandhi, the crown prince or Akhilesh a new face of refreshing innocence, assiduously mentored by the old warhorse Mulayam Yadav. He must have learnt some tricks of trade from the estranged uncle Amar Singh as well. While the former was handicapped by his deputies who were with him on the dais either for photo-ops, or for making shrill, sensational and desperate statements, the latter had the clear advantage of an active party cadre, a manifesto promising moon to everyone in the state and solid backing of a major chunk of Yadav and Muslim supporters.
An all-out attack on BSP's corruption led by Rahul Gandhi, BJP and others made things easier for his party. The near absence of organizational structure of Congress at the grass-root level to convert Rahul's hard work into votes and lack-lustre campaigning by local BJP leaders, smarting under the discomfiture, if not humiliation, caused to them by the import of Uma Bharti also helped SP as the non-committed voters who could have to gone either to Congress or BJP were driven in its welcoming arms.

         

          One vital difference between the campaigning styles of Rahul and Akhilesh was their body-language. While Akhilesh Bhaiya, to a typical youth from UP struck as a friendly guy, like someone from their own stock and developed an  instant rapport with them, Rahul Bhai appeared distant and somewhat on the glamour side. He was seen, heard but did not touch their hearts. His speeches highlighting Mayawati's corruption drew rapturous applauses only because he was stating a fact known to the audience. But when he wanted the crown of UP for his party they didn't oblige him. They knew very well that he is not interested in CM's chair and will not leave Delhi for Lucknow (the results of Amethi, Raebareli and Azamgarh are clear indicators). In these circumstances, Akhilesh appeared a safer bet to replace Mayawati.

          But all is not lost  for Rahul. Akhilesh may be the flavour of the season but it would be a tad difficult for him to sustain this phase for the next 2 years. UP is such a vast state with numerous intractable problems that once the dust of euphoria settles down, he will be fully bogged down tackling those (problems). Law and order will be his first big test. A majority of law- breakers (many of them now law-makers) also form his core support base and it may not be easy to convert them into non-violent monks overnight. There will be far too many expectations from him which he will find increasingly difficult to fulfill. Besides, people have a very short memory and tendency to get disenchanted very quickly is not unusual. Today's hero becomes villain in no time. Ask the Indian cricketers if there is any doubt. And it has been proven time and again on the Indian political landscape. Just remember the massive verdicts in 1971, 1977 and 1984 and what happened a few years after each of these. In UP itself the same people who put Mayawati on the throne 5 years ago by removing SP have brought them back to power in spite of her good record on law and order. The stink of corruption during her regime simply put them off.
The final in 2014 would be a different ball game altogether. Though many regional chieftains are smelling blood after Congress flop show, the prospects of a non-BJP and non-Congress government in Delhi are not very bright at the moment. Rahul Gandhi enjoys a distinct advantage over Akhilesh and many local satraps ruling in major states. Unlike many of them, he has a pan India image, is still young and has relatively unsullied image. What is missing in him is accessibility and humility, qualities so important for a politician to strike a chord with people. The bashful reluctance to open his mouth on major national issues is rather inexplicable. Instead of taking a firm stand on major issues either he keeps mum or proffers utopian solutions. This gives him an image of someone who is neither secure nor sincere. He has to make people trust him as a leader by reaching out to them not from the rostrum but face to face. Has to work really hard to enter the heart of the common man and earn their goodwill and affection. For this he will have to spend more time with the grass root workers from whom he can learn a lot about the ground realities. After all seeing is being different than being told. There is nothing wrong with Laptop; I-pad but there is no substitute to personal interactions with the party workers, because it is they who will fight the real battle. His party is full of leaders but they lack the mass-appeal at the national level. Some of them may manage to win on their own but they may not bring any substantial number of seats to the party kitty. This is something Rahul will have to do.

          There are still 2 years left and if within the next six months he is able to pick up and short-list about 300 good candidates who are bright, honest, hard-working and mostly from the local ranks, he would have done 25% of his job. The remaining seats he can leave to the party high command. The putative candidates can be asked to go in the field and work for the next 12 months in the respective areas. Six months before the elections their inputs will provide the agenda for the party manifesto. But before all that he has to show his bona fides and what better way than to get some of the things agitating the minds of average Indian sorted out. Lokpal Bill, Black Money, Women's Reservation bill, FDI in retails with necessary safeguards, infra-structure projects etc. are such issues which will be the real game changers. Policies which promise to ameliorate the pathetic conditions of farmers/lower and middle classes across the board need to be framed and implemented. If you work for the people, the party benefits. More than anything else your Neeyat (intention) will be under public gaze. And it is high time, that Dr. Manmohan Singh is given a free hand to tackle these matters. Do not forget he still carries the image of an honest and competent person and given full authority can repair his bruised reputation in next 2 years provided he does not have to carry an albatross of inertia around his neck. Between them, he and Pranab Mukherjee can persuade a good chunk of the opposition members to co-operate on the matter of national importance. Even if only some of these issues get resolved in the next 2 years the party will earn sufficient goodwill and garner enough votes.

          Also do not ignore the likes of Anna, Ramdev and other activists. Because if you follow people-friendly policies, they can cross-over to your side and become a valuable asset. Remember, tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today. You have to fight the forthcoming battle on your own with the help of a new team without the encumbrance of old mentors. What better way to humble the opposition except hard work, sincerity, good intention and humility rather than resorting to short-lived chicanery, street smartness and one-upmanship. So the chips may be down for you at the moment in the backdrop of last month's dismal performance in UP, but ignore the slings and arrows in the media because the journey to 2014 is still very long.  Get ready to take the first small step of spring-cleaning in the party by infusion of new blood. You can do it.