tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post4054136899855383100..comments2023-09-21T16:17:51.838+05:30Comments on Law and Other Things: More interesting comments on Verdict 2009Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09348738084817273397noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-86642959246599418512009-05-28T21:48:45.398+05:302009-05-28T21:48:45.398+05:30Well, before the results were announced, nobody sa...Well, before the results were announced, nobody said NREGA will give Congress the numbers it eventually took. Not even Congress seemed to be so optimistic about the NREGA. Now that the numbers are out, I am sure, scholars must invent some factor to avoid an inevitable conclusion - Indian elections are least understood so far and predictability is simply out of question. Why cannot scholars, for once, accept that they just do not know what works and what doesn't in the elections in this country? Too radical a suggestion? I would think, given the uncritical masses that make up the audience for these scholars, they can easily afford to simply continue with stories for more time to come.K.V.DHANANJAYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05545845529229026684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-25322729446515734482009-05-28T12:37:52.365+05:302009-05-28T12:37:52.365+05:30I think there is the one step that is being missed...I think there is the one step that is being missed, which is the scheme boosted cash-inflow into the rural sector, where the corruption inflitrates deeper downwards. And although the intended benefactors of the schemes dont see all of the money, they BENEFIT from the corruption indirectly, i.e., when the corrupt official expend their ill-gotten gains. Basically whether the money comes directly or indirectly, the poor - who vote most - see some of the benefits of the NREGA.And hence, voted for the party they thought was responsible for their development (whats unsettling about this theory to me personally - also for the proliferation of corruption deeper down the food-chain of bureaucratic heirarchy in rural India). <br />Whats truly bothersome is that by this logic, in the worst case scenario for schemes such as NREGA come without sufficient mechanisms of transperancy and accountability, policy makers neednt worry too much. They will anyway reap voting dividends since the money finds its way into the rural economy anyway.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579388546811343122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-22541015473129492322009-05-28T11:49:00.200+05:302009-05-28T11:49:00.200+05:30This is a response to pchirmar's comments. Nandy's...This is a response to pchirmar's comments. Nandy's conclusion is not that corruption boosts voting in rural India- he is saying that in spite of corruption, NREGA has benefited the rural populace. And in spite of corruption the rural populace continue to vote and that is the best checkmate to arrogance.BN Harishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18160720822823761611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-54016604857849041672009-05-28T01:00:52.802+05:302009-05-28T01:00:52.802+05:30another interesting piece: http://yaleglobal.yale....another interesting piece: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=12386Madhav Khoslahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12474183345632762071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-66493847932672402592009-05-27T15:25:52.881+05:302009-05-27T15:25:52.881+05:30It is no accident that the real factor that won th...It is no accident that the real factor that won the UPA this election is its NREGA scheme and loan waiver for farmers. Even if 90 percent of this money is pilfered, it permeates into the countryside. Not all of the corruption is in Delhi and Bhubaneswar. A lot of the siphoning happens lower down the chain. Even those who rob, must spend. This boosts the local economy. This pays electoral dividends. India’s poor always vote. That is India’s best checkmate for arrogance.<br /><br />This is the penultimate para from Ashish Nandy's article on the Election Results of 2009, in Tehelka (which I read on your reco). Something about it sits too uneasy for me to accept. Corruption boosts voting in rural India??!! I know that is an over-simplification of the analysis but still, am I totally off?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14579388546811343122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15602189.post-6029899747428988922009-05-27T15:15:42.702+05:302009-05-27T15:15:42.702+05:30In this context, readers may also be interested in...In this context, readers may also be interested in Sevati Ninon's piece in Hindu - "Getting it wrong"<br /><br />http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/05/24/stories/2009052450130300.htm<br /><br />The blurb reads as - <br /><br />"If reporters talk to candidates more than voters, how can they get their predictions right?<br /><br />They are good at being wise after the event, and they are very good at being prescriptive."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11233421339431263870noreply@blogger.com