Friday, May 24th 07:34 PM IST
 

Advani is right; the next PM won’t be from Congress or BJP

Arun George

Given the current position of the NDA, where it is merely contradicting the Congress and has no national leaders that are acceptable to the country at large, Advani may be right. The UPA is already on the ropes and unless it pulls a political rabbit out of the hat it will also be struggling in the 2014 polls. However, regional leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh are looking to the next national elections to stamp their authority and maybe even dictate who the next Prime Minister will be. And with Team Anna also in the political play, acting as potential spoilers to the big national parties, there is a possibility the next Prime Minister may be from a regional party and not from the Congress or BJP.read less read more

Venky Vembu

If the BJP is willing to address the potential of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate they might still have a shot. It isn’t hard to conceive of scenarios where,, for all his reputation as a polarising politician, Modi might, if he is projected as Prime Minister, be able to channel the popular backlash against the UPA to such an extent that the BJP is less dependent on political blackmailers — and able to better dictate the terms on which it can head a government at the Centre.read less read more