the great indian election jamboree has kicked off..who will win.?..its a punter's dream..in a complex country as ours...no poll pundit or psephologist as they prefer to call themselves can predict it..coz the deciding factors in choosing a candidate includes...caste/ sub caste/religion/religious sect/sex or no sex/family/money power ..and of course the amount of booze you can supply..I wunder how many constituencies are there which actually vote on the merits of the candidate, lucknow comes to mind immediately..i think u can count the rest on ur fingers..have always been a avid follower of indian elections..sadly this time i can just follow it on the web..but am caught in middle of another election..in the second biggest democracy..and even this election seems familiar..same tall promises, same panel of lowly politicians speaking for or against their candidates, same dirty tactics...though.no tall banners, colorful posters or vehicles ferrying voters to polling booths..another thing..the indian election system is far more simpler than the american way..the best decription of the american electoral system i have ever come across was in jeffrey archer's the prodigal daughter