Talking about elections, Maharashtra goes to polls next week, and I am going to miss voting. I think there are two factors that would determine the results of the elections:
1. Infighting within the Congress-NCP
2. Bal Thakarey not campainging because of his ill health

Bal Thakarey is not getting any younger and it is time that the tenth rung of the party (there are no eight rungs in between) rises to the occasion. This election will be their first test.

Another important factor is whether non-Congress "secular" parties informally withdraw from the fray at the last moment and ask their voters to vote for a "secular" party. This has happened frequently in the past and I wonder whether it will happen this time.

gir gayaa to kyaa huaa, pair to upar hai!!

The CIA report released a couple of days back on the investigation of weapons of mass destruction allegedly possesed by Iraq concludes that Iraq did not posses any such weapons when the US invasion began nor did it have any programme to produce such weapons. This is a big smack on the face of those who advocated the war in Iraq. The reaction to the report from those supporting the war including Tony Blair has been that Saddam had "intentions" of making WMD and therefore the war was justified. In Mumbai slang this is termed as, "gir gayaa to kyaa huaa, pair to upar hai!" In plain English, it means stubbornly refusing to accept the plain and simple facts.

I hate war mongers. And I would love to see Bush and Blair defeated in their respective elections.