00:00Now the real story starts in Kerala, the fight for the CM seat, KC Venugopal, Satishan and Ramesh Chanitala.
00:08Okay. So, who do you think has the best of the chances to become the new CM of Kerala?
00:16And then we go to Satishan.
00:18KC Venugopal is very close to the high command.
00:21Yeah, it's a face to recognize there.
00:23Yeah. I mean, he is not so popular in Kerala. That is, I think, Satishan. That is Satishan.
00:31But he is very close to Rahul Gandhi and most of the plannings and everything that is happening around him.
00:39He is a very close to Gandhi family. And it doesn't look like no stone will be unturned for him
00:47to become the chief minister.
00:48He will go all the way out. That's why everybody here says that KC Venugopal is going to go all
00:54out for becoming the chief minister.
00:56Okay. Okay. So, I don't know, sir.
00:59Communities will increase with KC Venugopal coming in.
01:03Right. And Shastri, sir, how do you see, what is your perspective about this election, all these five states, the
01:09results, the way they are coming in?
01:11What is the message for India for 2029? What is going to happen? Of course, delimitation and so many things
01:19are pending.
01:20And Modiji, of course, would want to retain the power. BJP would want to retain the power. How do you
01:26see the elections impacting India?
01:28We have to look at it, unpack it one by one. One is the electoral part of it. Now, if
01:34you look at the electoral part of it, Kerala has been predictable in a large way.
01:38You know, last time was an exception when the Left Democratic Front won a second time. And that might have
01:45been actually because of the campaign against the chief minister, Pindra Yeviji.
01:49And many people outside, even I, was taken up by the campaign of that gold smuggling charges and all those
01:54things. And the general perception was that he would lose.
01:57But apparently, the fact that he needs to be reinforced in office, that feeling was more prevalent among the voters
02:05than that anti-incumbency. So, that is the first thing.
02:09The second thing is that the BJP had a 6% vote share last time. And they are not making
02:15any headway in Kerala. Although they have tried and they, but they are not reconciled to the fact because no
02:22political party will be.
02:23They hope that a gradual increase in their voting percentage, election after election, will lead to something at some point,
02:31maybe 29 or 34, whenever. Just like from the 70s, the BJP used to be saying in Delhi, from the
02:3780s, that we are not looking at 84, but 91.
02:40In 91, they said we are not looking at 91, but 97 and so on. So, I think Kerala is
02:47a predictable outcome. Both LDF and UDF have been competitive in terms of welfare programs and so on.
02:53So, it will not make a big difference in terms of policies. Because in Kerala, actually, development has never been
02:59affected, regardless of which party is in office.
03:01And that is not a critical issue. It has been more a yearning for change and better implementation or better
03:08governance. That has been the issue.
03:11The second thing in Kerala is that the Congress Party, now there is a lot of speculation who will be
03:16the Chief Minister.
03:18So, I mean, KC Vendi Gopal, again, he is a Delhi-based person. He is not perceived, I may be
03:25wrong on this, to have popular kind of support on the grassroots level and so on.
03:31But I guess Kerala, it will be decided by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and Malik Arjun Kharge, who will
03:38be.
03:39Sudhiran is a strong contender for it, the State Congress Chief. So, we will have to see who comes forward.
03:44Why not Shashi Tharoor? He contested to become, you know, the president or party president. He is a famous place.
03:52Shashi Tharoor, by his actions, had made it clear that he would like to remain an MP and would like
03:57to contest from Thiruvananthapuram again.
04:00So, I don't think he wants to, his hat is in the ring. He has long ago made it clear,
04:06even before the elections, that he is not there for the Chief Minister.
04:10He is not in contention for that. Now, coming to Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is, again, I have covered elections
04:16in Tamil Nadu for a long time.
04:17I have seen them from 71.
04:20Right.
04:20Now, the fact of a particular government having provided good governance or development has never been an issue.
04:28Governments have changed regardless of that. When I went in 91, I said, no, the DMK has a good record
04:34of governance.
04:35And if you look at the economic parameters, development parameters, Tamil Nadu is number one in it, you know.
04:41So, that is not going to make a difference to Tamil Nadu. First, because you have a bureaucracy.
04:46Tamil Nadu has had a very good bureaucracy. And I have heard this from many politicians and people,
04:52that very few states have the kind of administrative structure that Tamil Nadu has in terms of delivery of programs.
05:00So, whether it is the DMK or the ADMK, you know, there is not too many bureaucrats that are shuffled.
05:07Maybe the police officials are, but not the IIS officers, because there have been, over the years,
05:13many bureaucrats who have found favor with opposing regimes, both the DMK and the ADMK.
05:18And Vijay would have also done his homework and he will choose wisely, I am sure, if he had this
05:24kind of support.
05:25I am sure he has a lot of resources in terms of resources who can guide him and help him
05:32with how to go about.
05:34Tamil Nadu had an excellent economic advisory council and in terms of welfare measures and so on for all sections
05:41of the people.
05:42I think Tamil Nadu is the most advanced in this country.
05:46Right.
05:47More than 90% health coverage of the population. I don't think any other state has that kind of coverage
05:53of the population.
05:54So, this is Tamil Nadu. Then we come to Puducheri. In a way, it is misleading to say that the
06:00BJP has swept Puducheri.
06:02Because no, it has not. Puducheri, the main winner is the All India and Rangaswami Congress, you know.
06:10With nine seats.
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