Monday, March 16, 2009

Why I will vote for the BJP

Here are 3 reasons why I will vote for the BJP in this coming election

1. Security: It is amazing how the media has pushed the 26/11 attacks to the background. But, let that not distract you, the past 5 years have seen a huge number of terrorist attacks on the population of India. Mumbai was the grand finale, but we had Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bangalore, the list goes on. By taking a soft stand on the security issue, the UPA government has failed in its duty to protect the common man. It is a matter of chance whether you will be a victim of the next attack. Everyone knows the root of the issue, but the BJP seems to be the only party willing to tackle it head on. Is that not reason enough?

2. Economic reforms: There is no debate required on whether reforms are good or not, the evidence of the past 20 years is clear enough. The UPA government lucked out by being in power during a period of unprecedented boom, but did very little to contribute to it. On the contrary, it did all it could to derail the momentum that had been built up during the NDA’s term, the Golden quadrilateral, PSU disinvestment, FRBM, each was chucked by the wayside in their quest to ruin the country.

3. Quality of leadership: In most parties in India, you need the right DNA to get to the top. What that essentially means is that unless you are the son of an important party leader, there is no chance you will be anything more than an ordinary party worker. The only parties where this is not the case are the Left parties and the BJP. Which other party can throw up leaders of the integrity and caliber of Vajpayee, Advani, Modi, Jaitley etc?

I have no doubt that the BJP is not everyone’s cup of tea, and a few things about them may turn off some people from the party. Even to them, I will say that the reality is that no party in India is anywhere close to perfect and we need to make compromises. I feel that for all its faults, the BJP is a lesser evil than a Congress led UPA government or a rag-tag bunch of parties calling themselves the Third Front. Look at what each of them offers and then make your decision on who is the best suited to lead India forward for the next 5 years.