Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Need to introspect

The Congress is no longer finding support for its nationalistic cause. After Independence, the party and the state worked in close partnership with industrial monopolies to usher in a new industrial age. However, the Congress never worked to get rid of feudal landlords except for a brief period when Indira Gandhi was in power. With the rise of the BJP, the feudal forces are trying to come together, marginalising the Congress. However, the BJP will find it difficult to replicate the Gujarat victory elsewhere across the nation. Narendra Modi has a strong Gujarati identity within the BJP, not unlike Bal Thackeray’s identity in Maharashtra.

S.K. Venkatesan,

Chennai

The Congress, through its “reactive” campaign against Mr. Modi and his arrogant style of governance as well as his sustained projection of a communally divisive agenda, allowed a great opportunity to slip through its fingers. The party allowed Mr. Modi to set the “terms” for the electoral battle. One hopes that at least now, the Congress and the other secular parties, including those in the Left Front, will introspect deeply and close ranks to meet this communal challenge head-on.

Shahabuddin Nadeem,

Bangalore

The Congress while adducing several reasons for the debacle in Gujarat has not highlighted the main one — its over-reliance on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. This election has shown that they are appendages rather than assets to the party.

Mr. Modi’s success was in no small measure due to the efforts of the Congress leaders. Having run out of ideas, they stuck to the stale method of branding Mr. Modi and his party as communal.

V. Kameswaran,

Chennai

The Gujarat election results have convinced the people of Gujarat and India that the Congress was not as tough a competitor as projected by sections of the media. Mr. Modi’s biggest foe in the run-up to the polls was the English language media that widely scrutinised and criticised his each and every step.

Arijit Ghose,

Chennai

The Congress has once again been left licking its wounds and forced to swallow its own words. This election also marks the second instance in the recent past of a single party getting an overwhelming endorsement from the electorate, the first being the BSP in Uttar Pradesh, which is a healthy sign for Indian politics. This will discourage unholy alliances and horse-trading.

C.M. Umanath,

Kozhikode

The Congress’ many mistakes helped the BJP sweep the elections. The first was not being able to field a charismatic leader against Mr. Modi. The second was that the Congress’ survival dilemma at the Centre and the loss of credibility as a result of the Left parties’ threat to withdraw support vis-À-vis the nuclear deal with the U.S. made the party approach the Gujarat election tentatively. The third was the party’s poll strategy — it focussed only on the minority votes.

L.V.B. Selvaraj,

Chennai

Some of the adverse comments against Mr. Modi’s meritorious victory by some of our senior politicians are surprising. Are they insulting Indian democracy or the Gujarat voters? I only wish Mr. Modi ignores these comments and carries on the good work.

H. Nagesh Bhandarkar,

Chennai

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