Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made his debut among the world’s most powerful people, ranked 15th on the Forbes list topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin who pipped his US counterpart Barack Obama for a second year in a row.
The list of 72 most powerful people in the world also included the names of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at 36th, Arcelo rMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal at 57th and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella at 64th spot.
On Modi, Forbes said “India’s newest rock star doesn’t hail from Bollywood. He is the newly elected Prime Minister who sailed into office in May with a landslide victory, ushering the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power after decades of control by the Gandhi dynasty.”
Forbes described him as a “Hindu nationalist” and referred to the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the state’s chief minister.
This year there are 12 newcomers on the list, including Modi and Egypt President Abdel el-Sisi.
Alibiba founder and China’s richest man — Jack Ma also makes a first appearance on the list, as does terror group Islamic State’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
This is the second year in a row that Putin carries the crown
Delhi elections: AAP can't bank on the masses blindly anymore-FirstPost
New Delhi: Auto-rickshaw driver Santosh Kumar, who hails from Darbhanga in Bihar, landed himself in confusion after reaching his usual auto-rickshaw stand at Nehru Place on Tuesday morning. The debate among his peer group, a strong community in Delhi, revolved around supporting the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming elections. The opinion was divided. This was not the case during the last assembly election in November 2013.
“That time almost all of us had voted for the AAP, rather we had campaigned for the party much ahead of the election. But, since Arvind Kejriwal quit the government after 49 days and the promises made to us remained unfulfilled, we’re again facing all those old problems,” Santosh shared with the Firstpost.
“This has divided the camp. Now a large section doesn't want to vote for AAP as they have lost faith in Kejriwal and they want to try out BJP. However, there are a few who want to remain loyal to the AAP thinking that if it comes to power gaining majority, our problems would be taken care of,” he added.
The most pertinent question is whether AAP would gain majority this time or it would again come second like last time? If AAP supremo Kejriwal or his trusted lieutenant Manish Sisodia is to be believed, AAP will get an astounding majority. They have reiterated this time and again till the decision for a fresh election was communicated to the political parties by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
“The people of Delhi have witnessed that even during our short 49-day stint, we had delivered on our promises to provide cheap electricity and free water. There was a decline in corruption. Since, we didn’t have the majority, we couldn’t function as we wanted to; but now we’re hopeful of coming back to power with a majority,” a senior AAP member said.
But auto-rickshawallahs like Santosh are not convinced by this logic. During the previous Delhi poll, nearly 90 percent of the total 80,000 autowallahs in the City supported Kejriwal, out of which 70 percent of them carried posters on the back of their three-wheelers. But, today the situation sounds different.
“It’s true that when AAP was in power, there was no unnecessary police harassment, which is now again the case. It’s not necessary that other people will again vote for AAP as they have got frustrated due to Kejriwal’s exit. Now, what is the guarantee that AAP would be able to make it this time?” questioned another auto-rickshaw driver at the stand.
The decision of having a fresh poll has rejuvenated AAP and Arvind Kejriwal will continue to be the party’s chief ministerial candidate. While, the party has decided to continue with its previous poll plank – cheaper electricity, free water, end of corruption etc, it would also add new dimension to its campaign. But, one thing is clear. AAP is likely to engage into communication rather than going for agitation style politics during campaigning.
“In various localities across Delhi, we’re beginning interaction sessions with the youth, women, senior citizens and with various other segments on civic amenities and issues of concern through a new initiative called Delhi Dialogue. Our focus will be to address all kinds of queries and doubts voters have in mind, so that they can take a concrete decision rather than being in a dilemma,” AAP member added.
Though the BJP hasn’t officially announced its CM candidate, in all likelihood it would be Jagdish Mukhi. But, the party’s unique selling proposition (USP) is ‘Brand Modi’, which the state BJP wants to project in a big way and use it to their advantage.
“It’s only due to the image and credibility of Narendra Modi that we could win in the recent state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, and BJP will form government in Delhi too,” a state BJP spokesperson said.
“AAP and Arvind Kejriwal have been accusing us of horse-trading and also that we had been trying to buy their MLAs. Our stand was clear as we never wanted to indulge in any manipulation. Now, we’ll contest a fresh election and prove,” state BJP president Satish Upadhyay said.
Though AAP had been demanding a fresh election, the BJP had remained ambivalent. “The central leadership didn’t want the BJP to form government without majority, whereas, the state unit wanted to do so. There was a major divide in decision making, but now we all are ready for a fresh poll,” a BJP insider said.
But since Kejriwal quit Delhi government, perception and equations have changed over the months. Can Kejriwal again rely on its vote bank to deliver like last year when it had given him 28 seats?
“The forthcoming election would clearly be between the BJP and the AAP, with no space for the Congress. But, there’s no question of AAP getting a majority. Due to his own decisions and with the quitting of several party members at the top-level, AAP’s popularity amongst a large chunk of middle-class and upper middle-class voters in Delhi has drastically declined. Even a large section of youth has shifted its base from AAP to BJP. The over-whelming support Kejriwal enjoyed in the first phase is no more there. On the other hand, the BJP by projecting Modi and party’s recent successes will make it a tough fight,” said political commentator Jagdish Upasane.
In a bid to win back voters’ confidence, the AAP is likely to replace some of its candidates who contested in the last poll. “The party may even replace some of the sitting MLAs, besides other candidates on the basis of their credentials, or those candidates who were in touch with the BJP,” a source said.
“AAP’s disadvantage is now BJP’s advantage. The middle-class voters will shift to BJP; whereas AAP may gain from Muslim areas, but in many slums and resettlement areas, the voters have questioned AAP and the decisions Kejriwal took as a CM then. So, getting a majority for AAP seems quite difficult,” remarked avid political blogger Surajit Dasgupta.
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/delhi-elections-aap-cant-bank-on-the-masses-blindly-anymore-1788411.html
No comments:
Post a Comment