If somebody wants to do an instant noodle study on contemporary Indian politics, Shobhaji's book, Battlefield India - 25 years of Politricks and Economix, is the one to look into, applauds M R Venkatesh, the well-known economic and political commentator.
'The main problem the country faces is not low GDP growth, but low employment growth.'
Jayaprakash Narayan was called the 'Second Mahatma'. He issued the clarion call against government corruption in June 1974 that ignited a fierce student movement that shook the Indira Gandhi government from the foundation to the rafters. His modest home in Patna is almost forgotten, only remembered on special anniversaries.
'It's very important for India to retain its sovereignty. India should not sign any agreement which compromises its sovereignty.'
'We thought everything will be back to normal within one month. Now it's four months and still a final solution is miles away.'
'The real shock is going to be from a deficient monsoon.'
'It will take a long time to recover from the impact of this war.'
'You will have the President's rule for 7 to 8 months, And Annamalai will be the hero in those 7 months.'
'They talked bad about our leaders. They said India was a dead economy. They were not sensitive to the Indian psyche.'
'It all depends on how Shivakumar uses him and treats him.'
'The generational shift belongs to Vijay, Udhayanidhi and Annamalai.' 'The BJP cannot fit into the shift.' 'So they threw Annamalai into the situation where he is comparable with Vijay and Udhayanidhi.'
'You have seen the retrenchments by big corporates in the IT industry because they are not getting enough offers.' 'MSMEs in the manufacturing sector are really struggling. They do not know what to do. They are not able to predict what will happen tomorrow.'
'In the (election) affidavit, he had declared Rs 1,400 crores as his assets. He has educational institutions, real estate, malls, etc.'
'Unfortunately, today most ministers are busy with either election duty or praising duty. They are not interested in serving duty.' 'Ministers have become relaxed like retired people still holding onto jobs.' 'Look at how the NEET paper leaked. But there is no accountability.' 'After 12 years, they have become saturated. They are short of ideas.'
'Can you believe there are over 26,500 deaths linked to heatwave-driven ozone in 2024?'
'If Congress had aligned with the TVK before the election, we would have won almost a two-thirds majority.'
'On the day of the results itself, Vijay personally requested Rahul Gandhi for support from the Congress.'
'Once the numbers come out, they fear that the OBCs would start to demand, and articulate what they are lacking, why they are lacking and what should be done to go forward.'
'Unfortunately the treasury is empty, in zero. So we have to first make money for the development activities of the state, and also to continue the welfare measures.'
'There is not a single job role that doesn't require upskilling these days as technology is changing rapidly.'
'Look at the way SIR that was implemented in Bengal. They wanted to entirely curate the voter list in order to suit their purposes and victory.' 'Look at the targeted deletions and the targeted voting list.' 'The difference between the TMC and the BJP was only about 4% but that 4% vote was done so selectively that the difference ultimately showed up as 100 seats!'
'The AIADMK will lose a lot of votes simply because it is aligned with the BJP.'
'98 lakhs in Bengal, 97 lakhs in Tamil Nadu, 2.83 crores in Uttar Pradesh.'
'We should expect extreme heat, extreme rains, floods, landslides and maybe cyclones. Not just this year, in the coming year as well.'
'The most enduring part of Satheesan's personality is he is good at heart. That is the reason why everybody, from the old to small children, get attracted to him.'
'Even if they align with the TVK now, I don't think the AIADMK leadership will completely surrender to the dominance of Vijay.'
'...the enormous responsibility and faith the youth has put on his shoulders, that he is going to solve their problems.'
'If you read the TVK manifesto, it is doles and much more doles. But the state has been habituated to this.' 'In no way is he distinct or different from the DMK regime.'
'Even if the war ends tomorrow, which is unlikely, and we go back to the pre-war status quo, the world will still need some time to get over the sudden shock of oil price increases.'
'It is going to be a negative vote against the government rather than a positive vote for the UDF.'
'Among the leaders whose names are going around, V D Satheesan is the leader who will fit this kind of situation.'
'The BJP and its allies can decide the fate of many candidates.'
'Remember Vijay had never spoke of himself as a Christian when he was a film star.' 'The BJP strategy is they want the Christian minority constituency to move away from the DMK.' 'That is what the BJP wants so that it will be very easy to mobilise Hindu votes.' 'This strategy is to weaken the Dravidian ideology and bring in religion based politics into Tamil Nadu.'
'It was diminishing even before Trump came to power.' 'The US was at the centre of the global economy. That position is going to become less and less important and less central.'
'They will have to adjust themselves to the new reality. Because if they don't understand this changed political perception, their future will be difficult.'
'Why can't we work towards a dignified end of the person when a cure is not possible and the end is inevitable?'
'The BJP is projected as a party that follows Hindu politics, talking about religion, gods and goddess all the time.'
'People of Tamil Nadu are not bothered about religion in politics.' 'That is why Tamil Nadu people do not encourage the BJP.'
'The AIADMK front comes second, and then the TVK.'
'When Narendra Modi was here, he spoke only about development and what the BJP wanted to do in Kerala. That kind of sober rhetoric or argument is acceptable to the people here.'
'Secularism or social development or social justice is no longer part of development, according to the youth in Kerala.' 'They are concerned about material wellbeing and material welfare, and they believe that Narendra Modi is capable to giving them that kind of development.' 'So, they don't have any ideological hesitation in voting for him.'
