The elections are over
The elections are over. As we wait for May 16, when the votes will be counted, we can sit back and ask ourselves: What about these elections do we remember the most? Here's a random list.
Butterflies: No one knows who's going with whom, who's flitting in which direction. Our leaders and parties have switched friends with ease, turned enemies into allies, and generally put the punters on tenterhooks. That's a good thing, even if ideological infidelity isn't. Karunanidhi, who was pro-Lankan Tamils, hemmed and hawed about his position on the LTTE's terrorist ways. He couldn't make up his mind about whether LTTE boss Prabhakaran was a friend or a foe. Finally, he hugged the Congress and jumped into a surprise alliance with Sonia, whose husband Rajiv Gandhi was killed by the LTTE.
Varun Gandhi: He wore side burns just like his dad Sanjay, and launched his campaign by talking about chopping off people's hands. He landed in jail, came out acting like a hero, and started talking again, this time about sterilization and conscription. All this dialoguebaazi suddenly made him hotter than his more famous cousin Rahul. Whatever else he may not know, Varun certainly knows more about branding than most people in politics, and most people in the brand business.
Youth power: Bangalore has 70 per cent young voters, and people spent a lot of money on ad campaigns telling them to vote. But many first time voters got confused about the campaign, and went and drank some tea instead. Finally, the voting percentage in this young city was a piddly 46 per cent. In Mumbai, which prides itself on its role models, only 44 per cent went out to the polling booths. Who knows? College kids probably thought Jaago Re meant 'Go jogging'.
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