Friday, March 19, 2010

Gymkhana Elections: Of White Knights, Dark Horses, and the occasional Court Fool

Hmm... Never thought I'll be writing this post...

Anyway, so they're here, the Technology Students' Gymkhana Elections for 2010/11. And can it get any more interesting than this time...

For the highest student post, the Vice-President, we have not just two, as has conventionally been the case, but three candidates this time around. And we have not just one, but TWO of them from outside Kshitij (Our Techno-Management fest) and SpringFest (our Cult Fest) organising teams. If it wasn't enough, there are two of them from the same hall of residence as well. And one of them (obviously) isn't supported by his hall, his former colleagues or anyone who has worked with him. And neither does he have any credentials, or any track record that does not make me not vote for him. But there are people who support him as well... and so much that they'd go any lengths for that.

It's been some hours now since the Soapbox was conducted for the said post. There were the usuals, and the unusuals. Candidates who had actual real responses to the questions asked, plans and proposals to execute, experience to actually execute them (given the opportunity), and then there were those who had great one-liners. Well, not great, per-se, but the crowd loved 'em. And that's all that it takes, right?

Just everyone loves an underdog... who "fought it alone", "stood against the tide"... strangely, one of the comments in his support says, he who "refused proper orientation and guidance." Well, why did he?

I don't really care for the Gymkhana, or those who run it, but they are, no doubt, representatives of the Student Community at IIT-Kgp. I've had the opportunity to know quite a few of them, and they have usually left me in awe. There are those that made lasting changes while they were there, added tremendous value, and continue doing so in the outside world. All of us here who witnessed the events following Rohit's death last year would understand the significance of an able representative of the students, a true leader. And now, when one of my batchmates get their turn to be in the cohort... hmm...

But what really got me to writing this entry, was the way the campaigns are going this year. The candidate in question is attracting a lot of attention, and has endless debates spun around him, none of which is unusual. But what IS unusual, is that some videos containing some of his footage from a cultural event at IIT-Kgp, has actually been censored from the institute LAN.

Yes, BANNED FROM DC++. The same LAN which has never banned anything even with extremely creative permutations and combinations of Men, Women, Animals, Plants, Machines... in it, banned any user sharing some footage of stage performance by this candidate. It's been hours, but even his SOP videos have not been uploaded yet. And as I write this, MainChat has been disabled on DC++, where his candidature was apparently being discussed.

hmm... Well, ban this, will ya?

And I don't get the whole underdog thing. There are many underdogs, who, if they were contesting, would've made great candidates. But is just being an underdog enough? Is that all. While the whole situation is very Obama-esque on the surface, he is what he is independent of his minority status.

Everyone wants change. And we've had quite a lot of it. Not only on the VP nominations side, but the Juniors as well. Saw the G.Sec.(Technology) candidates, and the one who seemed like perhaps the most eligible to hold the post, who actually has plans, those that haven't been handed out to him, and the will to actually put them through, is a resident of a majority PostGraduate Hall. I would really like Tarun Rathi from HJB Hall to win, and if he isn't devoured by the prevailing hall politics, that'll be the change I'd want from this year. But when I say he is a deserving candidate, it's because of his abilities and potential, and not because of his being an underdog.

I'd want a VP who has the necessary "funda" to work with the institute. To get his way with the administration. Who knows how the gymkhana functions. Who knows what the students need, and how to get it. Who is an able representative of us to the administration, and sometimes to outsiders too. To be such a one requires more than just "tempo". More than simply being self-obsessed. A hunger for change, not power. Someone who can improve our conditions, and not just his Curriculum Vitae. What is more striking, is that the majority of the student population has no idea what the post of a VP entails; the amount of power it has in pushing for changes that can benefit the student population.

Think about it. Whom do you want heading your Placement Committee?

Do you also say "Yes, We Can"? Of course we can, but should we?

Perhaps you really liked watching Gunda, it was funny, different, and really entertained you for once. Would you give it an Oscar? Or even want to watch it again, over and over, for a year...

Last of all, don't forget to vote. The candidates for the post of VP are:
Nivesh Pandey, Celestine Joseph and Ankit Singh, in the order as mentioned in the post title.

A good video by IIT-K on the occasion:


Peace...

50 comments:

Shubhanshu Mishra said...

Nice one I should say.

On a personal note: Choose the Best VP. Think and Vote for the Best. All pact and poltu is going to take a swing this time.Who so ever wins the game it would be too awesome but a good change in KGP. People would stop ass licking seniors just to get into important positions and seniors wont treat the juniors as trash cans again. It would... be a change when every student in KGP will feel proud of his own abilities rather than the support.

Shirish Subramanian said...

Nivesh Pandey is probably not your average run-of-the-mill Core Team Guy. I think you raise a couple of very important points here, Shrey, and that is where Nivesh outscores the other two chaps. I believe that he will make probably THE best choice for the Institute.... Not for Kshitij, but for the INSTITUTE... All i cn request KGP Junta to do is.... Look at the larger picture, not what a Bihari / Mallu friend is telling you to do.... Nivesh for VP... A better Insti!!

bibhash k jha said...

let vote decide everything .. but tell me one thing shrey ... why they behaved like this with ankit .
Are they afraid of Ankit ? If Nivesh and celestine are competent enough , they must be able to throw ankit out of scene.. but I could see the tide turning against the poltu .. and many people favoring ankit .. ankit never bribed those people to favor him ... even some people not in pact are supporting ankit .

In short lets votes decide who deserves it ..

Anonymous said...

why are the ppl so afraid of ankit?
why dont they just let him compete and votes decide the VP?whats the need to threaten him??
and the ex VP lost all the respect
he is ntng but a body full of politics

Arindam said...

Interesting to see what's happening in Kgp this time of the year..having been through this phase a few years back and lived the life of a VP,all I can say is do what your conscience says is the right thing to do..As a matter of fact,there has been an occasion in the past when there were 2 candidates from a hall contesting for the GSec Sports position and both ended up winning..one without the support of the hall but with the support of the community!!Students are the main stakeholders of whatever happens in the campus and it is high time you all realized that!Good luck to all the candidates and to the voters!May the best man win..
Arindam(Alooda)
VP(2005-'06)

ShreyGoyal.com said...

Yo Alooda! :)

Bang on the mark!
Students are the main stakeholders of whatever happens in the campus, and thus, in their lives while they're here... high time we realized and respected that!

Abhishek Kumar said...

It's not about being an underdog.

People were there because they wanted to see Ankit fail.
But he didn't.
Infact people went back impressed. Soon people were only interested in Ankit. Not becoz of entertainment but becoz of the way better performance he gave as compared to other 2 contestants when everyone was against him.

He worked his ass off when no one supported him, Defended himself extremely well and held his own.

Its not an underdog being supported.

It is Ankit's hardwork, realistic proposals, his ethics, his moralities and his commitment towards student welfare as the primary objective as reflected in the SOP that is being supported.

Any given day I'll go for "Fearless and Ethical" over "I owe my hall and all that poltu ".

The readers...Plz Vote Responsibly. Dont let anyone force you into doing what you dont want to.
I hope Ankit Singh gets the support he need.

Mainak said...

It was interesting to note how you pointed out that you couldn't vote for a candidate just because he was the underdog. However, I wouldn't vote for a candidate just because he mugged up the right funda just before the elections and successfully reproduced it in the basketball court.

In the end, it all comes down to a mix of luck, perception and poltu. Nonetheless, lets hope that the best (whatever that means) guy wins.

Shirish Subramanian said...

Yo Alooda!

How I wished people saw your comment in the light that you have made it in! Completely true, KGP Junta needs to start thinking for themselves. Some would believe they have started too... Alas, for they do not know WHAT to be thinking...

There has never been a better time to appreciate the relevance of 'Half knowledge is worse than utter ignorance.' Or for that matter, 'Half of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at.'

Lets hope they get the message, is all I can say :)

Anonymous said...

I would have loved to see an independent become the candidate....but apparently all his ardent supporters can tell me about is how he has suffered...that is not why i should be voting for him....if that is his campaign...i might as well vote with my hall pact!!!

Rishabh Poddar said...

:D
I was expecting the DC++ censor issue to be raised by the panel yesterday. Anyway, it is probably unfair and true that Ankit Singh was denied any knowledge/funda, ostracized, threatened, the works. However, this doesn't justify voting for a candidate simply because, well, he comes off as a renegade. We might hope for a non-fest VP, and that the existing norms be challenged, but there has to be an able and deserving (or at the very least, sensible) alternative.
I do not believe, Shrey, that wit, sarcasm and candour are enough to sway the masses. Everyone loves the jester, he deserves a pat on the back; we would still not make him king.

Anonymous said...

Yes... we thought last time also that whom we are heading the place committee and we are seeing the results.

Unknown said...

Shameful that a few Hall seniors can believe that they know what is right and wrong, and can resort to inhuman behavior towards those who don't "follow" their guidance.
Kudos to those who have gone through this shit for the last month or so.

Anonymous said...

Yes we decided last time also that whom we should be heading the placement commeti and finally we have seen the results

Anonymous said...

You know what...
People are not afraid with ankit...they are just being sentimental with ankit...
and thats what ankit singh wanted to capitalise on before standing!!

This is not democracy guys...in democracy you dont let your emotions win over the person's credentials...

what was evident yesterday...was nivesh stood the best at the soapbox and believe me its completely neutral opinion!!!

Anonymous said...

nivesh pandey would be the next shubham matah if elected. he has done nothing outside ktj.
Ankit singh is the best candi out of 3.
also i agree with tarun rathi as a gsec tech.I watched his sop and seriously macha diya.

Anonymous said...

It seems to be more of e-campaigning for nivesh!!!
However I will say "This time Gymkhana Election is seeing a real election rather than selection."
Do you really think electing between two VP candidates was good enough.
The one who started the change and has already lead to Better KGP right from his candidature deserves to be the one...
Coming from Kshitij/ Spring Fest doesnt show the ability we all know whats at the backend..

Abhishek Kumar said...

Lets hope Shrey that you approve my comment if you have the guts.

We’ll know if you have any or not.
It's not about being an underdog.
People were there because they wanted to see Ankit fail.
But he didn't.
Infact people went back impressed. Soon people were interested only in Ankit. Not becoz of entertainment but becoz of the performance he gave with everyone against him.
He worked his ass off when no one supported him, defended himself extremely well and held his own.
Its not an underdog being supported. It is Ankit's hardwork, realistic proposals, his ethics, his moralities and his commitment towards student welfare as the primary objective as reflected in the SOP that is being supported.

Any given day I'll go for "Fearless and Ethical" over "I owe my hall and all that poltu ".
I hope Ankit gets the support he needs.

Anonymous said...

Its not that Ankit has to be voted on the basis of sympathy or whatever.
His credentials were impeccable. His proposals were awesome with a perfect and flawless groundwork and so his SOP. I think these are enough to vote him keeping aside the emotions.

Abhey Kalra said...

now let me make things a bit more clear for everyone out here...i dont say vote for him coz he is an underdog...or he has suffered a lot...if u think that my sm is for getting sympathy for this guy...its not, its just an emotional outburst coz u have no fucking idea wat we have gone through in the past 1 month;u mentioned a point about the significance of an able representative, a true leader; and this true leader showed great sportsmanship by not giving funda to ankit; is sportsmanship not one of the qualities of a true leader; not only him no single person involved with the ktj team or halls gave him funda; now this is not the reason why I want to vote him; Reason: i guess u only listened to his 1 liners but not his proposals; u talk abt having no funda; well answer this how can a proposal be accepted by the director of the institute(he refused to even meet other 2 candidates) and the energy ministry without any funda; why dint u listen to PJ's 1st comment that hats off to ur 15 page solid groundwork; it cannot be done without funda my frnd if u have any funda abt how proposals are worked upon; u mentioned abt banning frm dc; every single person naming ankit is being banned from dc++;dc main chat was blocked; so wat i say is that inspite of all wat happened with him he managed to come out with some brilliant proposals, with extensive groundwork,without the help of any representatives of student community(as u have mentioned),and most of all he has director and energy ministry by his side; now why wud anyone question that?;u mentioned abt hhis involvement in gymkhana; well he has been much more involved than the other 2 candidates; TLS, Debate Club,Athletics secretary,Shaurya;I dont have the power of words to convince anyone like you do; I cannot manipulate anyone's thoughts and I srsly dont want you or anyone to change their vote after reading this; all i m saying is that this guy has done a wonderful job; i have personally seen him suffering and working day and night; if u dont want to appreciate his effort its fine; but atleast dont say illogical things; u have no idea wat this guy has gone thru; so please; and dont take it personally; there were certain facts here which were not true so just to clarify them; gud luck

NPower said...

I only care about the DC++ part, and here is why they were banned.

On the request of Ankit Singh himself, the video of Vortex was banned. On the request of Schols Ave, the Tech SOP videos were banned.

Well, why do I care. Coz, the issue would be taken up with the officials, and any such thing would mean a huge ruckus about the existence of HHFH itself.

Happened once, will happen again. Better be safe than sorry.

Ankur said...

V have seen enough of "Power hungry,self obsessed" people ruining the system,BUT NOT THIS TIME,....AND BEING AN OSCAR LOVER OR FREAK I DEFINITELY WONT LIKE GUNDA TO TAKE D TROPHY HOME!

KGP Well wisher said...

KTJ Core team guys will oviously support Nivesh, as he'll make them proud. But, doest that mean he is the best?
Even Ankit is a core team member (oh 1 of the starting members of Shaurya) plus even was actively involved in getting spons(last yrs VP claimed that he gt so n so spons in KTJ and was widely hailed as hero) and now someone did so much for a new Fest and you guys think he don't have organizational skills. Oh, I forgot he's from Bihar,so some guys are thinking "I don't want a Bihari guy to become a VP" wtf!!! . Also, it is a known fact that Nivesh is one of those candi's from KTJ who doesnt enjoy the support from some KTJ guys too . There were lot better candi's in KTJ core team itself ,bt due to pact poltu they didn't contest the election .

Nyway, I damn care about Ankit's sufferings ,but I know he is the best among the 3 cali wise.

TLS-Anon said...

I have been in the debate club under Ankit Singh (TLS) and I really wanted to say that he has never attended a single meeting.

And just 2 hrs before the sop box
he came to us and asked us about the club. He didn't even have complete funda of TLS!!!!!!!!!!!

pristine said...

If we stand for fairness and democracy then why is an independent canditate facing such discrimination.More so why is there a concept of independent canditate,is not every one supposed to be independent..One of my friends told me today and I quote "agar woh khada ho gaya to agle saal se aur koi hall ke baare mein nahi sochega".VP is an institute level post not a Hall level post,he is supposed to think about the entire student community.There is no difference between the hegemony of halls,fest members etc and the dynastic politics that ruins our country.
You can ban a discussion on Mainchat,you can delay publishing sops of such canditates,you can ask me to vote within the pact but it is ultimately I (any voter) who makes the choice.If I find these actions(the discrimination meted out to a fellow iitian) offensive I will vent my anger on the voting sheet.

Anonymous said...

Before you think, I am going anonymous because I am a resident of RP Hall 3rd year and don't want to be ostracized...This e campaigning is more like a desperate attempt by KTJ ( and their sympathizers) who don't want the monopoly of a KTJ VP to be broken..Power hungry fools..People who are saying Nivesh was good in SOP. Then , let me make this thing clear to you guys, the panel was biased big time against Celestine and Ankit Singh, more so Celestine. The great Arnav, who claims to be a non poltu guy didn't ask Nivesh a single question. To give rata rataya question and answers is no big deal. It was clearly visible that we was made to mug all the answers and there was nothing but Kshitij bull crap in his profile. Had been in another pact, he would have cried, at least the other two didn't. Grow up guys, he was nothing if not for the biased panel. You are talking abt placements. What role did Matah have to play..He wasnt even here during the placements..So I guess whosoever(except KTJ guy) will be selected will do any day better..VOTE for a change...We don't want another Matah( read: a core team guy)..Think sensibly..Select a guy who deserves it and who has done a lot in the insti. At this moment Celestine seems the only right guy..He has done a lot in the insti.Give him a chance..and @ Shirish Subramaniam all u core team guys are power hungry fools...VOTE FOR A CHANGE..Not for the guy Nivesh who cant answer a single question spontaneously but only mugged up questions..

Anonymous said...

It's not only about what the guy has gone through or that is an 'underdog'.

Shrey, you have totally misjudge the guy, I think you don't know him. No body, no damn person in the institute has the amount of funda as Ankit Singh has. Talking about the potential and temperament he has got while pursuing a job at hand, he is the best.

Refrain from making comments if you have no idea, what qualities are the guy bestowed with and what makes a good VP of him.

Deepak Singh said...

I am sure that i would not be able to persuade even a single fellow Kgpian to vote for the right candidate since most of them are high on endorphins after last night's entertainment extravaganza. But just think for two minutes, what kind of person do you want as a VP-- a person whose whole propaganda rests on getting sympathy through false and magnified allegations and anti-incumbency , who in the past also has shown no respect even for his own team members and whose tenure will announce the arrival of a dark political era in the Kgp election model where candidates will rely only on regional and caste based politics with populist antics to support them, who has already promised the crucial posts of UG representative, PG repreentative and PR chair to his supporters who also have the history of power play in MMM hall.
You can also opt to go for a candidate who is contesting only because the PG students who hail mostly from down south wanted one of their "own" as a candidate.
Is it really the mistake of a person that his hall supports him,that he is being supported by all the people who know him even the slightest. I know all the candidates personally and today I will vote for Nivesh Pandey. I have my placements next year and i dont want to sit the full remaining year fearing about my future.

bibhash k jha said...

shrey-doesnt-know-anything

http://bibhashkjha.blogspot.com/2010/03/dark-knight.html

Mihir said...

i just want to mention here that it was NOT a good SOP delivered by Ankit Singh what i witnessed at the baski court by any standards whatsoever whether be it his attitude or his proposals or his groundwork. i sympathize for him not getting funda, but that is no reason for being non-sensical and rude at the SOP. I just hope that common sense will prevail.

Other thing i must mention here is another candidate named Nivesh Pandey delivered a flawless set of SOP and proposals, and looks more prepared and motivated to become the VP.

Protik Roychowdhury said...

@above Everyone exaggerates his/her accomplishments... you do it i do it and the 3 candis also do it. i could tell you 4 things nivesh has exaggerated and any patel can probably tell you celestine's part of the story

Now coming to the soapbox... 2 candidates entered the Soapbox having preprepared answers for certain questions that they WOULD be asked and they practiced answering them for the better part of a week. As to why Nivesh may have looked better to some, well apart from that arbit law dude in the panel, as the pact stands, there were 5 people from nivesh's pact and 2 from celestine's. So nivesh basically knew all questions that FIVE of the panel would ask. Ankit did not have this advantage.. all he could do was answer truthfully and use his presence of mind, which he did admirably.

@shrey
to me it looks like you've already formed an opinion as to who you like and who you don't which is fair enough but I get the feeling that you did not hear ankit's SOP properly going by what you've written (and if that is so, its a shame). Both his proposals were faultless and better than either of nivesh/celestine's ones... and he's submitted 15 pages worth groundwork on 1 proposal itself, which is remarkable. Sure there were the crowd pleasing comments from time to time but you have to see it in light of the fact that there were 8/9 people against him, most of whom had refused to help him and had made objectionable comments to him before the soapbox. Apart from that though there was nough substance in what he said and the questions put to him were asinine to say the least.
And dont you think if he did not have the credentials, he would not have been contesting? I'd stretch my neck out here to say he's got better credentials than celestine. So there. And about the ban from DC++ of a certain video, even I can get certain videos removed from DC if it directly antagonizes me. So can you.
Lastly please do not misquote people since thats the worst thing you could do...it is NOT he who "refused proper orientation and guidance."... it is he who "WAS refused proper orientation and guidance."
Ahh the difference a word can make.

Anonymous said...

Have u seen him working for Shaurya too.. This guys took a lot of initiatives to take the fest to such heights.
The reason to vote for Ankit Singh is not sympathy, neither his underdog status..
Look at the profile of all the candidates and judge for yourself who is the most deserving.
Look at the proposals of all the candis and judge for yourself who is the most innovative and who have copied them from the old funda books.
Look at the courage of the student who believed he could take on the entire poltu system and prove his worth in front of a completely biased panel.
Look at the unconditional hope and claps he brought out from the students who were there just to support their hall.
There is a reason why he is suppressed in DC, in all hall days, and by all the seniors who have been a part of the corrupt system. There is a fear in the system that this is the time for change.
Not every batch is lucky enough to have such a warrior.
His victory can change the entire election mindset of all the future Happa's and fest heads.
Learn to vote on reason, and you will find the right reasons.

Unknown said...

A very diplomatic trick.. played well Shrey. Well... may the best man win.


I do not understand though why you had to actually show everyone the video. Shouldn't people be more concerned with his SOP and his work? It feels like you are playing dirty here. For a friend. right?

Abhishek Kumar said...

Jo hona hai hoga.
Kudos to Ankit.

http://hectoratkakori.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I would Like to mention something here about what u have written.
"He refused proper orientation and guidance."
I would correct u and say that "He was refused proper orientation and guidance" by his seniors. I am sure he would have taken it had he been given the opportunity.

Anonymous said...

I second what TLS-Anon has written. He hardly attends the TLS meetings ( he is supposedly a governor )
Debate Club!!!! What a Joke!!
He can hardly speak english properly.
He just shows off at the meetings.

Anonymous said...

@Shrey:Gunda was a great analogy...so true in this context
A few notes on our underdog who suddenly looks like a favourite
Till now I have received confirmation from 2 JBNSTS scholars that Ankit Singh is NOT a JBNSTS scholar as claimed(when I asked him he said he won it in his first year...so i looked up that list and asked fellow recipients).
Secondly,being a TLS member myself I have been 'privileged' to see Ankit Singh at work.He has NOT written a single article during his 2 years at TLS and as a Governor,he hasn't been attending meetings since the midsems last sem.His contribution to the TLS publications so far has been NIL.Also,his recruitment policies for TLS were highly unethical to say the least.Funnily,2 of very vocal supporters of Ankit Singh who also happen to be TLS members recruited by him happen to come from the same cultural background as Ankit Singh.They also share his literary talents.
I am still unsure as to whom I want to see as my VP but I am pretty convinced whom I don't want to see as one.

Anonymous said...

Not sure that your move og putting up that dance video will get you many fans....but anything that someone wants hidden from the public glare...probably deserves to be there!!!!
Getting it removed from DC has popularized that video a lot.....

divya bohra said...

Very sad to read your opinion about the exciting new scene in KGP. I am not very sure how much a part have you ever been in anything dedicated to the service of your hall but seeing your extreme interest in promoting certain methodologies and work cultures i am sure you are a fan. Your views seem highly influenced, and facts, twisted. Its funny but the racist in you is a fierce one. As a suggestion, or rather a request, please try to make your own opinions and views removing some of that cynicism and bias and try to make some sense to yourself and make sure you yourself do feel whatever you are feeling is right at least in your own mind. You can joke around about as many people as you want but believe me at the end of it, if it really mattered all that much, a lot of people who inspire me and you alike today would have given up on themselves before we even knew of their existence.

Sumeet said...

@Divya: I'm just bored,and since yours is the last post on this blog, ill rather enjoy tearing it apart.

Very sad to read your opinion about the exciting new scene in KGP.

Good that you have an opinion, just like Shrey.

I am not very sure how much a part have you ever been in anything dedicated to the service of your hall but seeing your extreme interest in promoting certain methodologies and work cultures i am sure you are a fan.

Naa he isnt. But the fact that you give a damn as to who rules Bihar doesnt mean that you dont have a right to opine.

Your views seem highly influenced, and facts, twisted.

Its funny how people just give random opinions without justifying them.
For example, you've got to say why someone is highly influenced and which of the facts that he has mentioned are twisted. Substantiate. Enunciate. Damn, Im good at this


Its funny but the racist in you is a fierce one.

Dude, Shrey, if you call Laloo Yadav a mockery of Indian politics, you're being racist. Keep that in mind the next time you write a blog.



As a suggestion, or rather a request, please try to make your own opinions and views removing some of that cynicism and bias and try to make some sense to yourself and make sure you yourself do feel whatever you are feeling is right at least in your own mind.


Yeah, right, you remove cynicism and bias from a political blog and what's left ? I think thats the way a blog's defined in my dictionary: I get to be as cynical as you have been in posting this comment (and i admire that) and get away with it..


You can joke around about as many people as you want but believe me at the end of it, if it really mattered all that much, a lot of people who inspire me and you alike today would have given up on themselves before we even knew of their existence.

Seriously what part of the VP SOP did you find inspirational. You should read the "chicken soup series". Thats inspirational.

Mandar said...

well as a close friend i would say: bravo shrey, true democracy is when you have the freedom to take a shot at someone, the right to express unpopular opinions, and at several times, "anti-feel-good" sentiments, the replies to your blog made an interesting reading... so they say your influenced, SO WHAT?? We all are, i mean if u werent, you would be a vegetable, and you obviously have the guts to put up all the comments, i mean some of the comments are taking a bigger pot-shot at you, than at any of the candidates!!
I dont know to complete certainty about the hard work, dedication, or groundwork, of all candidates, and i cant unless i have known all of them personally for an extended period, the beauty lies in how everyone has formed such a deep rooted conviction and a sense of FIDELITY in a supposedly anti-incumbent,independent, hall supported, spoon-fed, blah blah,in a "one night stand"(SOAP, pun completely intended).
Finally no political blog is complete without Machiavelli ...

"One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well, they are yours. They would shed their blood for you, risk their property, their lives, their children, so long, as I said above, as danger is remote; but when you are in danger they turn against you."
AND
"Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil."
So keep blogging

Unknown said...

Politics.

There is never the case of the best man winning in India anymore. It's always the guy who has more votes. And it's not a redundant statement.

Think about it.

Abhishek Kumar said...

Why did the Guts to publish the comments came only after much of the voting was already over ?

In fact, did guts play any part at all? My comment was approved much later when I provoked you on grounds of guts.
Proof: See for yourself the two same comments under two different names...K.A.K.O.R.I and Abhishek Kumar, both of them being me.
It turns out that you comfortably screened a lot of other people comments too which did not appear until much later. But by then the voting was already over. So late that the damage was already done by your blog. The facts were already twisted.
That's a dirty stunt.
Unexpected from a person whose blog influenced so many.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. And kudos to the fact that you expressed yours. But I wish you had not done the negative publicity and twisted the facts about Ankit.I wish you had not censored and controlled the comments the way you did.

@Sumeet......So considerate of you to tear down a comment just for fun, just because you were getting bored. But it would have been nice if you would have taken care to read all the earlier comments, especially those of Abhey Kalra, Protik Roychowdhury and gone through http://bibhashkjha.blogspot.com/2010/03/dark-knight.html posted by bibhash jha. Even carefully reading the particular comment, the one which you supposedly tore down in a self assumed manner, would have been good. But then Sumeet, Ignorance Is Bliss. Isn't it ? Definitely worth the few lines of fun I'll say. If not anything, this blog did succeed in entertaining your whims. I'm just being cynical.

Anonymous said...

The phenomenon that truly amazes me is how people who have so longer never given a rat's ass about hall poltu and its ill effects have suddenly realized how bad hall poltu is.....if only that change would last....

and suddenly the Jester's Jest is no longer one!!!!

well next is the HCM elections...hope we have some interesting developments there too

Sarajeet said...

I really appreciate Shrey's support for Tarun Rathi. But he is not one who is there to win sympathy votes courtesy the fact that he is from HJB hall which just to let everyone know is by no means a majority postgraduate hall. I would advise Shrey to be sure of the facts before he makes such loose comments on his otherwise well researched blog.

ShreyGoyal.com said...

@Abhishek Kumar

I had a lab and Field Trip Presentation at my department from 1 pm to 6 pm yesterday, a fact that you can verify from any 3rd year student of the Mining Department, making it physically impossible for me approve any comments then.

And anyway, the facts remain what they always have. Ignorance is indeed bliss - so first get your facts right, then you can distort them as much as you want. Even if you're a fifth year student and all that yada yada...

Vijay said...

Congrats Cells - the dark horse
he whose real load starts tonight.

Kudos Ankit - the court jester
he who mocked the pact system of Kgp.

Apologies Nivesh - the white knight
he who deserved a fair fight but got none.

Shirish Subramanian said...

I had a chat with Pulkit Da (RK) the other day. I got some of the best gyaan I had heard in a while.

Check this:
"In a democracy, you get the leader you deserve!"

I'll say, if 92 of those votes had shifted over from Celestine to Ankit Singh, I would have sure wished upon the Institute a Leader like him.

Secondly, I think its about time that Abhishek and his cronies stop using their Year of Study to justify their arbitrary comments. C'mon, we're out of the 'Senior jo bhi bolega sahi bolega' syndrome, aren't we?

And, as an afterthought, I must indeed add, the discussion here has been much more fruitful than on the other blog that has been advertised cheaply here. :P

Sumeet said...

@Abhishek Kumar alias Kakori alias Random fifth year who needs a break in life after 5 horrid years in some dark, dingy corner of one of our hallowed halls of residence:

Dude, you're not fighting apartheid here that if Nelson Mandela doesnt get elected, the kid of some black kid doesn't get to eat or doesnt get to go to school. Its a gymkhana election and while I'm in no way, undermining its importance, believe me, after 10 years, you wont even remember who got elected.

Didnt 5 years here teach you how to "Peace maar" and "Load na le". Damn it, i thought all 5th years were hyper-cool people, basking in the glory of booze and "G" and "sutta", oblivious to the fact that life goes on around them.


All I'm asking you is simply, "Why so serious"?

Ashish Gourav said...

The first reason to comment is to give Shrey a testimony that I've finally read this post which seems to have gone to different communities of KGP with JUNTA accusing "Shrey-Knows" to being an ignorant and one even went on to say "Shrey doesn't know!"...

I know people who campaigned for one, supported the other and voted in the favour of the third; to top it all, they shook their hands with Celestine after he won...true spirit of KGP :P