Elections and After

The recent Lok Sabha elections threw up several surprises. The voters decimated several regional satraps like Lalu Prasad, Paswan, Mulayam Singh, Vaiko, Ramadoss etc and reduced the prime-ministerial ambitions of others ranging from Jayalalitha, Pawar, Navin Patnaik to Mayawati and Modi. The BJP held its fort in most States under its rule (Rajasthan excepted) but failed to make significant gains. Its orchestrated campaign to reduce the poll to a direct contest between Manmohan Singh and Advani came a cropper. Karat’s grandiose plans to hoist a Third Front and provide alternative policies remained stillborn with key allies like JD(S) hobnobbing with Congress even before the last round of polling got underway. For the Congress and its allies, the results were sweeter than expected and the comfort derived from increased numbers has raised its confidence to deal with recalcitrant allies like DMK. The formation of cabinet has been like the birth pangs experienced during a difficult delivery. There is a fusion of youth and maturity in the new Cabinet. Rahul Gandhi’s decision not to join it but devote time to rejuvenating the party disappointed those opposed to the dynastic rule.

A fortnight later, the losers remain unrepentant. BJP proclaims that the Congress is misreading the mandate. It is not an endorsement of UPA’s performance but an acceptance of bipolarity in politics implying that Congress merely gained from the rejection of Third and Fourth Fronts. It may be partly valid but does not explain why these votes did not come the BJP’s way. Such a denial mode may do more damage to the party’s prospects. Its policies and manner of discourse is clearly out of sync with youth who constitute a significant part of electorate and have different aspirations. You cannot project an eighty year old as a youth icon while younger leaders in the party remain sidelined. The claims of strong and nationalistic leadership sounded hollow once the ghost of Kandahar and Advani’s praise of Jinnah rose from the past. BJP failed to raise important issues and how it would have done things differently. The campaign remained besmirched in ‘budiya-gudiya’ small talk. No wonder the voters drifted away to those who were a ‘lesser evil’ in voters’ parlance.

The Left parties were perceived as road-blocks to progress. The voters clearly felt that they were caught in a time warp and unwilling to change ideologically with times, as China did. Their decision to vote along side BJP to pull down the govt. over the Indo-US Nuclear deal along with the violence in Nandigram and Singur dented their image considerably and wiped them out of reckoning. In retrospect, Amrtya Sen was right when he disapproved of their decision to withdraw support to UPA and suggesting that they lost their voice in the process. The election results showed that it actually happened even in their strongholds like West Bengal and Kerala. There is saying suggesting there is nothing more dangerous than an idea if it is the only one you have. The Left parties seem to have vindicated it. However, their claim that but for their opposition to unbridled financial reforms, the impact of global recession on India would have been worse is not without merit.

The ball is now in UPA’s court. The problems are aplenty. There is a strong middle class waiting for a clean, transparent and efficient government. The rural populace needs employment generation and social justice to enable it to stay at home rather than migrate to urban chaos. Lacs of cases in courts highlight the need for speedy and fair trials. Education system must be overhauled to prevent meritorious young men and women from going overseas in quest of degrees and jobs. Health care must be made available at affordable prices. The departments dealing with public are seething with corruption and need to be cleansed. Initial indications are that the new ministers have been told to perform or to perish. One hopes they would choose the former option.