“There is always something to smile about in Indian politics”
“My God, this guy Vijay has taken Tamil Nadu (TN) by storm! He is a real superstar.”
“More of a political tsunami, it seems. But his victory was a foregone conclusion.”
“How can you say that?
“Elementary, my dear Watson. His name is Vijay, right? That stands for victory, so it had to be him only.”
“That is a very outlandish logic dear.”
“Illogical it may sound, but his female fan club just adores him, many of them secretly. They are the hidden force behind his phenomenal success. Very smartly, he had organized a special Women’s day to woo them. Plus, he is so handsome.”
“That’s ok, but what have his looks got to do with politics?”
“Oh, they certainly have in TN. They know that nothing earth-shattering is going to change at the ground level. So, the least one can do is to select a face which looks attractive on those massive cut-outs.”
“I get that. However, I am still wondering whether they voted in his favour, or it was just an anti-incumbency wave?”
“That is a good question to ask whenever a ‘new kid on the block’ arrives. In this case, I presume people got fed up of pronouncing the earlier tongue-twisters, ‘All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’ and its country cousin, DMK. On the contrary, TVK sounds so cool, isn’t it?”
“It sure does dear. Plus, he has promised enormous number of freebies, especially for his female vote bank. If all these welfare guarantees were to come true, no one would need to work in TN.”
“I say, that is so futuristic as AI is already taking away the jobs. But where is he going to get the money to fulfil his promises?”
“Good question. I think the Punjab CM is best qualified to advise him on that. As it is, public memory is very short-lived as most of us are inherently gullible. Important thing is to come to power. Rest everything can always be sorted out eventually.”
“I am sure it can be, but something continues to intrigue me. They say there are rumours of his pending divorce with his wife of 26 years and of an extra-marital affair with an actress. I am surprised that the spotlight on his personal affairs did not dent his image.”
“You are so innocent dear. It is to the contrary. The rumours have in fact boosted his macho image and popularity amongst the opposite gender. There are probably quite a few out there swooning and dreaming that they still have a chance.”
“Ah, I get it. Remember the incident where a girl threw a garland of flowers on him during the campaign trail and he ran away scared? I think he was ghosted that it was a ‘Varmala’*.
“Well now that he has won, every other party is ghosted that he is an MGR reincarnate. Likely to become impossible to dislodge once he ascends to the throne. He has set the cat amongst the pigeons. I am not at all surprised at the permutations that are being debated.”
“Yeah, too many variables. Although his party has the maximum seats, the Governor has still not invited him to form the Govt.”
“Aw, don’t worry on that count. A Kollywood script has to have its twists and turns, but eventually the hero has to win.”
“You are right. He has created a Catch-22 situation in TN. Everyone senses that he is a real disrupter. By supporting him, they will lose their already dwindling voter base. By preventing him, there is risk of him coming back as a bigger Frankenstein’s monster in a re-poll.”
“Looks like, “Heads he wins, tails they lose. They must be extremely frustrated and exploring an ‘out of the box’ solution to keep him away?”
“Like literally crawling and entreating his wife to withdraw the divorce petition?”
“I didn’t quite get that.”
“Simple dear. That would enrage half his devoted voter base as they would feel universally cheated. And you know what ‘a single woman scorned’ can do. And here they would be in thousands.”
“You are absolutely brilliant darling, the next Prashant Kishor in the making.”
“Thank you dear, but please never underestimate us. We can put you on the perch and bring you down as well. Man Smart, Woman Smarter, remember?”
“How can I forget? Victorious always indeed!”
Much the wiser,
Horax (Casper)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Air Vice Marshal Rajeev Hora is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with over 3800 flying hours on multiple types of aircraft. His last appointment was as AOC HQ MAO at Mumbai. Previously held appointments are AOC Adv HQ WAC (Jaipur), Comdt Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), Deputy Comdt AFA, AOC AFS Bidar and Deputy Technical Manager (Air) in the Acquisition Wing of MoD. He has earlier commanded a Jaguar squadron and was also the Team Leader of the IAF’s Hawk Aircraft Project Team in the UK.
