India Presidential Election 2012 - Why no one is correct

2012 Presidential election showed us some high level of drama in which everybody played a role. After following the drama so closely and knowing India's political history to an extent; I belive no player was right in his/her position. Let me explain you why -

Congress - National interest clearly comes last for the corruption charges laden party as they never push and fight their allies (e.g. - FDI in retail, Pension Bill etc) but the moment it came to power sharing (in this case president post) they did not waste any time showing Mamta her limits. Entire Congress party was united rebutting Mamta B.

Sonia Gandhi - A mysterious lady and an autocrat with no accountability and entitled to take almost all decisions, never announced any candidate for the post. Everybody kept guessing two names - Pranab as first candidate and Hamid Ansari as second. Let me draw your attention to the level of humiliation to these senior politician. Choice 1- Pranab Mukharjee, must have felt humiliated because when it came to choose PM and president, SG never had choices. MMS and Pratibha Patil were single choice for the respective post. So why a candidate like Pranab with so much of experience was considered with an option? Choice2 - Hamid Ansari. When his names came as a "second" option; this itself was a humiliation. He never even came infront of camera to speak anything about it. More so keeping him with Pranab itself was a denial, one wonders why his name unnecessarily kept running around.

Sonia Gandhi's Political Advisers - Mostly it is Ahmad Patel, who almost kept SG in dark and the result was the public humiliation of the entire party by Mamta and Mulayam duo. When Mamta met SG, at least they could have asked her not to reveal any name on Congress's behalf! Congress took almost 24 hours to recover and revitalize the strategy that too after multilevel meetings with top leaders. Missing of plan B? Continuously ringing cell phones of top congress leader where never answered.

Pranab Mukharjee - The incumbent Finance Minister who is also heading more than 45 sensitive and empowered GoMs killed the entire growth story of Indian Economy. Promoting a person with such a bad CV who messed up the entire economy is never seen before in any system. More so when he could actually have taken up responsibilities and done some reforms; he is leaving a mess behind. Additionally, Mamta is like her "sister" when it comes to personal ambitions but not for national interests.

Digvijay Singh - The first one to react after Congress received Mamta&Mulayam shock. Nobody knows how he gets his facts and who asks him to react when mostly the Congress party distances itself from his statements. Today Congress issued a statement that "Digvijay is not authorized to speak on behalf of Congress Party". But "foot in mouth" yoga is loved by almost all Congis.

Manmohan Singh - A mock prone and good for nothing economist (who let the vibrant India die), did not know what to do when two allies of his own coalition publicly declared him unfit for the prime minister position. The statement that he made was "I-am-happy-where-I-am" as if he had a choice! What he could have done is resign from the post and then bargain a better power and free hand from Sonia Gandhi. But he did what he was good at - "Nothing".

Media - Oh! These jellies faced morons! They kept floating names without any substance. People were busy guessing and discussing the wisdoms of the names running. They did not stop there. They started asking question from their viewers - "Is Pranab going to be the next president?" "Will APJK agree to contest election?" If I knew the answer of these questions, why on earth would I watch news channels? They spoke nonsense on behalf of some unidentified "sources" who we could never found out. They reported that Advani is sulking from the presidential post discussion but we saw all meetings happening at Advani’s residence.

Mamta Banarjee - In a multi party democratic system, she took it almost on it own and went on naming people of her choice for the post, that too in order of choice! The word consensus never came into the picture. Her intentions were pure but the lady lost it all and is now living in isolation.

Mulayam Singh Yadav - The kingmaker, as it turned out, one could never trust him. Not known for any contribution to the state in his political stint. God knows what deal he struck with SG and backed off from a position he took just 24 hours before in broad daylight.

NDA Combine - The group of political party, led by BJP, never showed any maturity even when the ruling party was in a complete mess. They never took advantage of being in opposition. They did not have any plan in place about the president election that too when the contest was almost even. They were not sure even at the last hour.

JDU - The party which came to limelight after a resurgent victory in Bihar; off late lost its character and started behaving like an opportunistic party. On every big political decision of national interest, they look for deals.

Other Regional Parties - When India is standing on a cross-road and uncertain about her way forward; its power is now centralizing towards regional parties. They play big roles in larger national decision and their say is mostly driven by the petty benefits they can possibly make, mostly - position and money. Looser, in the game, are the common masses as a whole.

PA Sangma - A self declared contestant for the president post is going doors to doors and begging the support, as if he is contesting a local election. His own party colleagues never supported his candidature! What a loss of honor to the highest constitutional post!

APJ Abdul Kalam – Whom every Indian love beyond boundaries, kept everybody guessing. His name was running round and round for three weeks and he never stopped it. Finally the statement- "My conscience does not allow me to contest!" What took his conscience so long to answer? There were reports in the media that he would contest only when the victory is assured! Why did you want a cake walk instead of contesting the position?

Common people – Oh! Poor people! Who cares about you! While all surveys showed that people of India want Kalam as president but that has nothing to do with it. We are never going to complain! Let it be.

Disclaimer- the views expressed are personal.

After Thought : Why companies fail - Story change with changing time

I did some readings on the failure stories of many companies which were once very successful and were leading the markets. The summary -


Starting with Nokia - the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world which started in 1865 as a groundwood pulp mill. It gradually became an industrial conglomerate and, among other things, produced paper products, tyres, footwear, communication cables and consumer electronics. In the early 1990s the company realised that its story had to change and decided to concentrate on the telecommunication business. It gradually sold out a host of its other businesses. The change of story helped the company become the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. But the company missed out on the smartphone revolution completely. By the time it changed its story and started concentrating on smart phones, other companies had already moved in and captured the market. A host of smaller companies from Micromax to Karbon Mobiles and many more are giving Nokia a run for its money in the Indian market. Why did this happen? For the simple reason, the company remained attached to its earlier story.


There are other such examples as well. When it came to reliable, trustworthy news, there wasn’t a bigger brand than the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC). The company did not see the story changing and the rise of 24-hour news channels. CNN grabbed the opportunity and broadcast the Gulf War live into homes.


Sony is another great example. The company changed the entire music business with the launch of the Walkman. But failed to see the story changing and handed over the mp three-player market to the likes of Apple on a platter.


Bharti Beetel, which revolutionised land line phones in India by launching push button phones, failed to see the story changing and remained stuck to selling push-button phones, when more and more consumers were moving to mobile phones. Ironically, its sister company Airtel became the biggest mobile phone company in India. The company has recently started selling mobile phones. Now imagine, during the days when Airtel was a growing company, Bharti could have sold its own mobile phones (under the Beetel brand) to consumers who bought an Airtel connection and thus could have been one of the biggest mobile phone companies in India.


Those who do see the story changing and change their stories accordingly benefit from it. An often-quoted example is that of Nirma and Wheel. The Nirma detergent started selling at Rs 3.50 per kg at a time when Hindustan Lever’s (now Hindustan Unilever) Surf used to sell for around Rs 15 per kg. The low price of Nirma made it accessible to consumers, who till then really couldn’t afford the luxury of washing clothes using a detergent and had to use soap instead. To Hindustan Lever’s credit they did not remain stuck in their past. They realised that the story had to change, and thus went ahead and launched their Nirma killer “Wheel” detergent, which eventually beat the sales of Nirma.


The take away from all these examples, from Surf to Nokia to Sony to Bharti, is simple. At times in the lives of individuals as well as companies the story that had worked previously, needs to be dumped. Story must change with the changing time.

Looking back-

अभी अलविदा मत कहो दोस्‍तों ना जाने कहाँ फिर मुलाकात हो
ना जाने कहाँ फिर मुलाक़ात हो क्योंकि
बीते हुए लम्हो की कसक साथ तो होगी
बीते हुए लम्हो की कसक साथ तो होगी
ख्वाबों ही मे हो चाहे मुलाकात तो होगी
बीते हुए लम्हो की कसक साथ तो होगी
ख्वाबों ही मे हो चाहे मुलाकात तो होगी
बीते हुए लम्हो की कसक साथ तो होगी
ये प्यार मे डूबी हुई रंगीन फजाएँ
ये प्यार मे डूबी हुई रंगीन फजाएँ
ये चेहरे, ये नज़रें, ये जवान रुत, ये हवाएँ
हम जाएँ कहीं इनकी महक साथ तो होगी
हम जाएँ कहीं इनकी महक साथ तो होगी!
बीते हुए लम्हो की कसक साथ तो होगी
ख्वाबों ही मे हो चाहे मुलाक़ात तो होगी!
फूलों की तरह दिल मे बसाए हुए रखना
फूलों की तरह दिल मे बसाए हुए रखना
यादों के चरगों को जलाई हुए रखना
लंबा है सफ़र इसमे कहीं रत तो होगी!
लंबा है सफ़र इसमे कहीं रत तो होगी!
ख्वाबों ही मे हो चाहे मुलाक़ात तो होगी!
बीते हुए लम्हो की कसक साथ तो होगी!