There are two national obsessions in India: cricket and politics. And at the moment
we are getting plenty of both. The World Cup is a fortnight away and this week we continue
our comprehensive coverage with a detailed story on 'Who Will Win The Cup'. But that's not
all. Also available now on the newsstands is our 144-page comprehensive guide to the
world's biggest cricket tournament. Titled Philips India Today World Cup '99 Collector's
Edition (Rs 25), it contains articles by some of the world's leading writers on cricket,
profiles of the teams and statistics for those numerically inclined. Meanwhile, politics has been hotting up too. Although we delayed our issue
last week, we could not keep up with the frenetic last-minute deal-making that occurred.
Despite what eventually happened, several unanswered questions remain. Why couldn't Sonia
Gandhi find the numbers she required, why did Mulayam Yadav refuse to support the
Congress, why did Atal Bihari Vajpayee not make a second attempt at keeping his government
together? All this we reveal in this week's cover story.
It is essential to reconstruct the inside story of the past
fortnight for it has a direct bearing on the future. The chaotic switching of allegiances
in the past week could be a vital pointer to what may happen when parties ready for the
polls. What is equally important is whether India is heading for a two-party system, where
personalities -- in this case Sonia and Vajpayee -- and not issues could be the key
factors. If indeed personalities hold sway, it would be a considerable shift from the
past.
The election dates are still to be announced, yet it is
certain that we are about to have our third election in as many years. Not so good for the
country, but not so bad for our line of work.
(Aroon Purie) |
