Threat to Indian democracy - Part 1

Some facts to consider...

1. Shiela Dixit of Congress has won three successive terms (1998,2003 and 2008) and been ruling the state of Delhi since 1998.
2. Congress, along with NCP, has won three successive terms (1999, 2004 and  2009) and been ruling the state of Maharastra since 1999.
3. Naveen Patnaik of BJD has won three successive terms (2000, 2004 and 2009) and been ruling the state of Orissa since 2000.
4. BJP has been ruling the state of Gujarat since 1995 except for 18 months in between. Narendra Modi has been the chief minister since 2001 and has won two successive terms (2002 and 2007).
5. BJP has won two successive terms (2003 and 2008) and been ruling the state of Madhya Pradesh since 2003.
6. BJP has won two successive terms (2003 and 2008) and been ruling the state of Chattisgarh since 2003.
7. Congress has won two successive terms (2004 and 2009) and been ruling the state of Andhra Pradesh since 2004.
8. Congress, along with allies, has been ruling the nation since 2004 and retained power in the 2009 election with the party itself winning 206 Parliament seats.

Two more facts which are more like exceptions in India.

1. The Left front has won seven successive terms and been ruling the state of West Bengal since 1977.
2. The SDF headed by Pawan Kumar Chamling has won four successive terms and been ruling the state of Sikkim since 1994. In the 2009 election, it has won all the 32 Assembly seats. Imagine an assembly without any presence of the opposition.

Some very well researched predictions...

1. The JD(U) and BJP alliance headed by Nitish Kumar has been ruling the state of Bihar since 2005. It is all set to retain power in the upcoming Assembly elections. Of course, this is not my prediction. Results of the 2009 parliament election in Bihar also indicate so.
2. The DMK under Karunanidi has been ruling the state of  Tamilnadu since 2006. It is all set to retain power in the upcoming Assembly elections. This too is not my prediction. The principal opposition party, AIADMK, has already given up.

Almost every media house in the country is peppering us with the prediction that Congress, along with its allies, would win the 2014 general election and the crown prince, Rahul Gandhi, is all set to become the Prime Minister of India. 2014 is still a long time to go, but the analysts are not afraid to place all their bets on Congress. Have you ever seen this kind of (too early) unanimity in analysts' opinion in the last 20 years?

I would also not be surprised if Narendra Modi retains power in Gujarat in 2012.

History of the last 30 years says the elctorate of our nation generally voted against the incumbents. Now they seem to be voting for the incumbents. Anti-incumbency is out and pro-incumbency is in. I am just wondering what could be the reason behind this. Have all these re-elected incumbents ruled so well to deserve re-election? Have Indian politics changed for better? I don't think so. Something is seriously wrong about this new trend.

To be continued...