tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33693245.post645546430814246923..comments2024-03-04T23:40:58.133+05:30Comments on The Big Picture: Was Manmohan Singh the architect of UPA victory in 2009?The Big Picturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06018983225756352176noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33693245.post-67637613597908903052014-05-13T18:51:54.703+05:302014-05-13T18:51:54.703+05:30I would have to disagree with you. You say the Con...I would have to disagree with you. You say the Congress did badly in Kolkata and Chennai.. but its allies DMK and TMC did well.. so the Congress may not have won but the UPA did!!! And if farmer loan waiver had paid off.. then why did the 214 of the 243 candidates in Bihar lose their deposit. And if the people of UP were so impressed with the welfarism of the Congress in 2009, then why did they not improve their tally in the UP assembly elections in 2012. 2009 was India asserting that they were happy with the past 5 years of the UPA govt (where growth averaged approx. 8%)this is not simple as rich vs poor or urban vs rural, victory is about understanding India's electorate's aspirational ambitions. Under extreme left leanings of the NAC, Sonia Gandhi impressed on this govt to turn to welfarism. Sadly, India's electorate is telling us that dole outs and freebies are not addressing their aspirations. If poor were really supporting the Congress, why is it a non-entity in Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, west Bengal?? We are misreading the verdicts of the people!! Just as we misread the 2004 verdict as a rejection of India Shining, it was India's voters telling the NDA and its allies that they were not impressed just by growth when it comes at the cost of its secular legacy i.e. the govt's inaction in the wake of Gujarat 2002. scnoreply@blogger.com