BJP & Congress

The two national political parties are now in deep embarrassment over the activities of their party men in the two states in the South, their political strongholds. They are in this unenviable situation for very different reasons. 

The BJP is in a bind in Karnataka: the man they had championed to lead the state had turned out to be tainted over the same reason that they had been bashing the Congress with: corruption. Now, to add insult to injury, the same man is threatening to overthrow a legitimate government with a handful of MLAs in his favor.

The Congress in Andhra Pradesh is saddled with the Telangana agitation (the T'angle of Andhra politics) which has succeeded in at least driving a wedge within the party's rank and file. The T Congress MLAs refusing to kowtow to the party line are taking up the cudgels with fire and brimstone. This has led the BJP, which has little say in the state politics, to bash the Congress no less than the myriad JAC groups clamoring for a division of the state. From within the Congress another section arose to stem the tide of division, a motley group of MLAs with high stakes (read heavy investment) in Hyderabad, clamoring to retain a united state. And then there are those who is watching from the fence, unable to make up their minds, fueling both sides to make the spectacle worth the watch. 

There is also a tenuous but visible thread connecting these two parties in the two states: the man who roused the masses on a sympathy wave and is spearheading a backlash for both. 

It is interesting to see the outcome in the coming Elections 2014. Are the people tired of the lies, the endless squabbling, the limitless greed and all this with no let up in rising prices in sight?