Letters to the Editor

Delhi elections

Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man's Party, leader Arvind Kejriwal addresses the crowd after taking oath as Chief Minister of Delhi in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. The AAP, headed by the former tax official who had remade himself into a champion for clean government, won 67 of the 70 seats in recent elections. Kejriwal and the party he created routed the country's best-funded and best-organized political machine and dealt an embarrassing blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

THE Aam Aadmi Party’s famous victory not only exemplifies people’s role in a democracy where corruption, lawlessness and misuse of power are rampant but also symbolises the end of politics based on dynasty, religion and muscle power (Cover Story, March 6). The younger generation cannot be brainwashed. To them, today’s mainstream politicians have little time to devote to the common man. The AAP leadership has been able to present itself as an alternative.

It is interesting that the so-called theory of vote-bank politics, according to which people are said to vote for those who share their caste, creed or religion, has been debunked.

Uttam K. Bhowmik

Tamluk, West Bengal

THE AAP’s victory was truly spectacular. Finally, the Modi juggernaut has been temporarily halted by the Kejri“wall”. However, given the fact that the BJP’s vote share is more or less intact and that it has had recent impressive performances in the Assembly elections in other States, it would be premature to script its epitaph. The BJP has time and again staged a remarkable recovery.

For a party that is still struggling to recuperate from the drubbing it received during the 2014 general elections, the Congress’ wipeout only added insult to injury and yet again underlined the fact that it adamantly refuses to learn from history. One hopes that Kejriwal will rise to Delhiites’ expectations.

B. Suresh Kumar

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

THE AAP’s sensational win is incredible. While its campaign was innovative and focussed on corruption in the public space, the BJP ran a personalised and negative campaign against Kejriwal. This strategy; the induction of Kiran Bedi, a political novice, into the party, and internal squabbles in the BJP’s ranks made it an easy victory for the AAP as did the Congress’ lacklustre campaign.

N.C. Sreedharan

Kannur, Kerala

IT is not in every election that a party wins 94 per cent of the seats. The AAP’s landslide victory proves that the BJP did not read the mood of the voters. The AAP, whose victory Kejriwal admitted was scary, will have to make more than a Herculean effort to walk the talk because of the responsibility voters have given it. Kejriwal’s not taking any portfolio so that he can remain a watchdog makes for a refreshing change in Indian politics.

Bal Govind

Noida, Uttar Pradesh

THE resounding mandate the AAP has received can only be described as a political tsunami. Non-fulfilment of election promises, making a novice like Kiran Bedi the chief ministerial candidate, ignoring its cadre, and the growing religious intolerance in the country were the main factors responsible for the BJP’s rout. Kejriwal’s decision not to keep any portfolio for himself is commendable.

K.P. Rajan

Mumbai

THERE is no doubt that the people voted for change. People voted for the BJP in the general election believing that Modi would bring in reforms. But the BJP government has not met the people’s expectations. Now, the AAP has come to power in Delhi. It has made a lot of promises to the people, many of which require huge funds for implementation. Kejriwal should stand by his promises.

N.R. Ramachandran

Chennai

ALTHOUGH the BJP proclaimed that the Delhi elections were just a preparation for the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for later this year, its ignominious defeat at the hands of the AAP is a grim reminder to both Narendra Modi and the BJP that voters cannot be taken for granted. The BJP could only win three seats because it overlooked Harsh Vardhan, a popular party leader in Delhi, and picked Kiran Bedi, a rank outsider, as its chief ministerial candidate and because Modi underestimated the mood of Delhi voters. It is high time the BJP did some serious introspection on its faults and rectified them before any further damage is inflicted on the party.

K.R. Srinivasan

Secunderabad, Telangana

THE AAP has received an overwhelming mandate in Delhi, but it would be facile and presumptuous to say that this was a negative vote for the BJP. Votes that would have gone to the Congress went to the AAP and therefore it overtook the BJP. The BJP’s vote share has not dropped much.

People saw a new, vibrant and viable alternative in the AAP.

Anoop Suri

New Delhi

Yoga

THE article “Yoga & Health” (March 6) made for interesting reading. If every school and college in India had a compulsory half an hour yoga class five days a week, it would go a long way towards making citizens disease-free.

C. Santhana Gopala Krishnan

Chennai

Water resources

IN Telangana, there is no village/town without tanks (“Grand revival”, March 6). This was part of the planning of the Kakatiya kings in the medieval period to ensure sufficient water for agricultural needs and reflects their foresight and their concern for the welfare of their subjects. Under modern governments, such tanks have become dry ditches. Most of the State’s fertile land and natural tanks have become concrete jungles because of the action of realtor mafias.

Governments have been silent spectators and failed to take serious measures to check the trend. The present State government has committed itself to restoring these tanks to their former glory under the project “Mission Kakatiya”.

Y. Abhimanyu

Nalrekal, Telangana