The BJP has found its confidence as well as smile. After Gujarat, the lotus has bloomed in Himachal Pradesh as well. If there was some doubt about its victory in Gujarat, there was none in the hill state. Truthfully, the era of the aging Virbhadra Singh is gone and Congress must look for a younger and fresher face though the former Chief Minister might believe that it was anti-incumbency factor that did him in. Like in creative artists, so in public life, there is a period of creativity in which the person contributes the most. Virbhadra Singh is past his best years and it would do him and the party a world of good if he preferred to act as the elder statesman who sits back and encourages the younger leadership to have the courage of their convictions and act for the public good.

The Dragon Hisses!

It is difficult to say why we as a nation remain obsessed with the threat from the north-west and not the north. The fact as it is now there for everyone to see is that the Chinese have surrounded India in every part of the northern borders with a network of roads and communications. If in 1962 the Chinese called for a unilateral ceasefire after having achieved their political objective of showing India in poor light, today it can, if it so desires, to pursue its territorial ambitions without the fear of weak logistics. The rail heads and roads have sprung right up to the Indian borders while we continue to struggle to reach our border posts even today. The poor infrastructure on our side is in stark contrast. It is time to pay equal attention to region on the China border lest the residents begun looking with envy at their counterparts on the other side of the frontier.

It is Modi Again!

The pollsters have been baffled again and one more time they have had to bite the dust. Understandably Narendra Modi is gloating at the discomfiture of the experts. But in proving the media and the pollsters Modi has also made the Sangh bosses to eat the humble pie. It is very obvious that everyone was worried as Modi was growing bigger than the party and the Parivar and after the elections he continues to be so. However, his victory might just force the benign leaders in the BJP to re-draw their strategy, give up their moderate stance and go the whole hog to advocate the divisive politics and win at the national level. It would require a cool head to resist the temptation and one seriously doubts the ability or the inclination of Prime Ministerial candidate L.K. Advani to do so.

The Enigma of Yuvraj

He is considered as the future mainstay of the Indian batting and has repeatedly demonstrated his worth in the one day matches. However, Yuvraj Singh has not been able to demonstrate his strength in the Test matches. The chances that he was given were not availed and yet experts were demanding that he be somehow be given berth even if it meant dropping Laxman. In the final Test against Pakistan he had demonstrated his prowess and on that basis Rahul Dravid, struggling at that time was made to struggle more when he was asked to open the innings. Yuvraj though had by then developed a befuddled mind. Anyone young heart would develop the same symptom given the fact that he was getting too cosy to Deepika Padukone. Too cosy indeed for his own good as his performance in Australia shows.