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Comment by dagmx | Hacker News Reader

I corrected the means by which the president is chosen (it’s a vote by the electoral college so it wasn’t completely incorrect to say vote though). Thanks for mentioning that.

I don’t think I agree with your other points. But I do hope your optimism pans out because right now things feel bleak.

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I'm sorry, I don't understand why the other commenter thinks they are write and you are wrong? We live in a representative democracy. The Prime Minister is elected by proving a majority in the Lok Sabha, and the President is elected by electoral college, that doesn't mean that the President isn't elected? You are absolutely right to say that the President is elected.

The reality on ground is different from what you read in the press or even online. We see the work being done. When work wasn't being done (recent example of Karnataka), people voted BJP out. The alternative (Congress) came to power promising loads of freebies. Now voters on the ground are pissed off (plenty of videos where people are not willing to pay electricity bills or public transport fares because Congress said it'll make all of that free but never did so till date). So this hyperbole on BJP being "evil" is largely overblown and it is quite persistent in the Hacker News circles. Ultimately the voter decides based on whether the Party in power delivers or not. BJP has been doing great work on the infrastructure/development front as well as attracting investment. That is visible on the ground. What BJP is lacking severely is in State level leadership/politics which needs to be fixed. Congress on the other hand has given up its National ambitions and pursuing weaknesses it sees in BJP's state level politics. This is vibrancy of democracy. Nothing to feel "bleak" about unless you are drowning yourself in anti-India Western media reports and thinking that is the truth. Maybe you need to ask yourself if you are also part of a misinformation bubble yourself without even realizing it?

I absolutely hate the way fellow Indians will just try and deflect negative stories about India as western propaganda.

You do a disservice to your country by following that tired playbook.

Did you ever stop to consider that I am actually well informed and genuinely disappointed with my country.

Criticism of the country and party doesn’t mean I’m simply misinformed. I was critical of things when I lived there, I consume my news directly from Indian news sites.

Maybe you need to ask yourself why you feel the need to assume it’s western propaganda?

Sadly this is the line that the BJP and their followers have taken. Any criticism from outside India is "western propaganda". Any criticism from within India is "anti-nationalism", "pakistani" or "tukde-tukde gang".

Because we see the same actors coming out of the woodworks every time an issue breaks out. I mean, is the Opposition so bereft of people that it has to project the same faces every time? Some of these actors play multiple roles. Sometimes they don the hat of psephologists, sometimes lawyers, sometimes politicians, sometimes journalists and sometimes even give lectures on religion and philosophy. Such multi-talented actors cannot be so easily switched out every time right? Which is why Opposition has such a tough time winning General Elections in India. We see through this BS.

I won't name names but I am pretty sure you have already guessed who I am talking about. Even in these wrestlers protests we clearly see who is the puppet master who is controlling the marionette. The same puppet master active during farmer protests. The same puppet master active during CAA protests. That face is pretty much constant.

Right now let us just accept this basic fact that there is no one, in the Opposition at least, who is a serious contender to Modi at the National Level. Or even Yogi or any of the other BJP leaders. This is sad truth for Opposition parties that it has to accept first before it can work on finding the right candidate for the job. But doing that is easier said than done. When the Opposition is fragmented and bickering amongst itself, there is no way it can put on a United front. It tried it multiple times and failed miserably every single time. And being just anti-Modi/anti-BJP won't win votes. You need to present a viable alternative that is actually capable of taking on not just Modi but also be able to represent India on an International level. I don't find anyone in the Opposition fit enough for that position. Sorry.

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