it cant get any hotter this has been the hottest cruelest november in recent history yet we survived in a way the unusual weather prepared us for the scorching sauna ahead the general elections while we in maharashtra are spared the avoidable heat of the forthcoming assembly polls good luck madhya pradesh chattisgarh rajasthan delhi and mizoram i cant really claim that we are in thanda matlab mode no sir even us uninformed nonpoliticised mumbaikars are getting hot under the collar wondering what awaits uslook at the buffet table which person from that unappetising smorgasbord deserves our vote check out the choices the old politicians are known crooks the new ones ambitious crooksinthemaking the stakes are higher this time but the scenario is murkier too those whove jumped into the fray are straight out of a horror show criminals contesting elections no longer raise eyebrows take your pick from corrupt former cops to murderous current cops retired actors to known scamsters where are the few good men india can place its trust ina few weeks ago i watched the nogood son of a nogood neta swagger into the lobby of a grand hotel he had just swept out of the latest merc with a couple of clearly inebriated buddies a posse of gunmen our money protected these hoodlums when in reality it is we who need protection from their ilk the young man all of 20 had a sneer on his face besides a manner so nauseatingly arrogant i didnt know whether to go up and slap him for no real reason or merely boo as he passed me the group strode into the hotel like they owned it maybe his pop did the pop has his finger in so many pies most people parted hastily as the runt approached this conduct from the aam janata of mumbai is indeed uncharacteristici halfwondered whether it was because the politician happened to be a local and his son a known party animal contrast this scene with another one same city delhi politician a powerful cabinet minister at that there he was one of brand indias most successful articulate and wellrespected spokesmen leaving yet another plush hotel after a highprofile function and you know what he was entirely alone no gunmen no escort not even an official sendoff team whats stranger not a single person seemed to recognise this man or if they did nobody bothered to greet himhe waited quietly for his car cutting such a forlorn figure i nearly hugged him in delhi he might have been mobbed by favourseekers looking for a few microseconds of the mighty ministers precious time the difference in attitude was striking also somewhat bafflingtoday we are being brain washed about something nebulous known as the feel good factor apparently all of