Haath ki Safaai...

Its a bit too late to analyze the results of the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections but what tempts me to write this piece is the extent of excitement and happiness that I felt when I saw the composition of the cabinet this time. Let me declare that I have never been a great supporter of Congress or UPA. Like any other Political Party in India, they have also been into vote bank politics, dynasty politics, caste politics, corruption and every other vice that you would associate a Political Party with. But this time around, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have provided reassurance to the youth of the country that the future of the country is in safe hands at least for the next 5 years. If you are not sure, sample this:

• Our Prime Minister undoubtedly is the most educated Prime Minister in the World. With his expertise of Economy and Finance, he is just what the doctor prescribed in tough times like this!
• Our Finance Minister is another veteran- a leader with a clean image who is going strong in spite of being septugenerian. He has an able assistant in the ministry and with a brainy Planning Commission Deputy Chairman to his aide, I am sure the Union Budget that is going to be out in a few days will have a lot of things for the common man to cheer about
• Look at the young blood that has been infused into the various ministries- Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, Agatha Sangma, Kumari Shelja, Dayanidhi Maran, Napoleon, the list is endless. It helps that none of them are Cabinet Ministers, they are either MoS or ministers with independent charge. A good training ground to take on higher responsibilites next time
• Just take a glance at the mix of youth and experience in the various ministries- SM Krishna- Shashi Tharoor, Pranab Mukherjee- Mullappally Ramachandran, Sharad Pawar- K V Thomas- almost all ministries that matter have been handed over to able duo. This is more than encouraging!
• The share of the supporting parties in the Cabinet have come down. Agreed, the Centre did bow down to a certain extent to the demands of DMK Supremo but if people like Dayanidhi being back in the ministry, I dont think there is any reason to complain
• Purists may scoff at the extent of 2nd generation representation in the Lok Sabha, but I personally feel this is the way since all these young turks not only boast of pedigree, they also boast of good education, modern outlook and most importantly, they need not lay their hands on the Khajaana since all of them have seen money from ever since they can remember
• I personally liked the portfolios handed over to A K Antony, Pranab Mukherjee and S M Krishna- they definitely are the best men for their respective jobs.

On the flip side, you have Deedi not getting along well with her deputies, Veerappa Moily being in the cabinet and playing vote bank, caste and gender politics when it came to electing the Speaker of the house, but when I look at the larger picture, I feel this government is going to stay put for the next 5 years and if they can meet the mighty expectations of a billion people and bring the economy back on track, its going to be "Haath Ki Safaai" in 2014...