Political Diary
New
Delhi, 21 May 2019
It’s Not Over Till
Over
JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDER!
By Poonam I Kaushish
Phew! The last ballot
has been sealed and in two days we shall know who will sit on India’s Raj gaddi in this hard-fought theeka-dhuandhar elections. Encapsulated
brilliantly in an adage: Poll is a right whore. She often gives but also takes
away all in one fell swoop. So will it be Modi’s BJP and cohorts or the ‘mahamilawati tukde-tukde’ gang
comprising Congress, TMC, SP, BSP, TDP, TRS etc. Either which way in politics it’s
not over till it’s over and jo jeeta wohi
sikander!
In this arduous six
weeks Election 2019 the first thing that stood out was the metamorphous of ‘vikas purush’ Modi who sold a dream of ‘achhe din’ in 2014 to the NaMo persona
of a macho numero uno who has no
challenger. Whether he comes up trumps and gets a second term is not the issue
and neither is it a quibble over whether the BJP gets a majority with how many
seats. He is the central figure
for the BJP campaign with Congress and other Opposition Parties pulling out all
stops to bring him down.
This is the first
election where the aam aadmi is
asking, “if not Modi, who? Call it
the TINA (there is no alternative) factor as there
is no real and credible challenge and choice to
him. Alongside the Opposition tukde
tukde satraps are influential only in their respective regions. Indeed a
feather in BJP and NaMo’s cap as they have successfully been able to sensitize
people about their narrative vs
squabbling regional netas.
Two, it is for the
first time that the BJP which prided
itself on being a Party driven by a broad-based collective leadership wedded to
the RSS’s ideology, is today Modi-centric, dictated totally by his personality
cult. Ably assisted by counter ego Amit Shah nobody dare challenge him else he
will be banished forever.
At another level, it
has exposed the hypocrisy of the system. Love him, hate him or ignore him, the
hard reality is that this in-your-face chai-wallah
turned Prime Minister couldn’t care a damn. He believes in an eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth. Truly, living up to the synonym of rule by law, jiski laathi uski bhains. His reaction:
catch me if you can.
Moreover, even as the entire BJP campaign has been built to
show that Congress Rahul is not mature enough to lead the nation and the Prime
Ministerial cap will not fit the likes of Mamata, Mayawati, Naidu, Rao etc UPA chairperson
Sonia Gandhi is seeking to bind together a cohesive alternative. But this would
depend on the Congress and regional satraps
total tally.
It is to Rahul’s credit that he has matured as a leader who
relishes the thrust and parry of real politik and is a stark
contrast to Modi whose persona is all pervasive larger than life. True, he has
not been able to manage alliances, was snubbed by Mayawati and
Akhilesh and failed to ignite voters’ imagination as an alternate to NaMo yet
made his Party into a potent force.
Surprisingly, the
Congress, post its victory in the recent States Assembly polls and showing signs of revival plus desperate to
stop Modi from returning to power continues to be confused about its support
base and has fallen back to its tried and tested formula --- abuse and
corruption as poll plank as NYAY has hardly created an impact. Whether Rahul’s “love and hug” to counter
rancid politics can increase the Party tally is a moot point.
On the face of it,
the Congress has been unable to really challenge the BJP in States where it is
in a direct one-to-one fight. Except Punjab, in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh the Hindutva Brigade is busy fighting a rear guard comeback after
a humiliating drubbing in the Assembly elections while Gujarat is up in the
air.
In fact it is the
regional Parties with strong leaders, committed cadres and carefully crafted
caste equations which are giving stiff resistance and putting up a much better
fight against the BJP in UP, Bihar,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Odisha. They are set to
win large majorities here, effectively confining Modi’s pickings to States in
which he is up against the Congress. The Grand Dame is only playing
spoiler or Party popper specially in UP.
Also, more than
likely allies it is easier to pinpoint those who will definitely not go with
the BJP. Besides, the Congress, Left, Mamata’s Trinamool, RJD, DMK and perhaps
Akhilesh’s Samajwadi could be the bulwark of UPA 3. While TRS Rao, YSR
Congress’s Jagan and BJD’s Patnaik could go along-with Modi and BSP’s Mayawati,
NCP’s Pawar, TDP’s Naidu and JD(S) Gowda could be ready to jump ship to the
Saffron Sangh if the right offer is made.
Despite all the hype,
another takeaway is the stark north-south divide vis-a-vis Modi vs rest. Clearly, the Southern regional
satraps come up trumps as their electorate does not seem to have been taken in
by the Modi personality as people in the North. Other than Karnataka, the BJP has
not made much of an impact in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra and Telangana. So despite the hype, the BJP would be lucky to get a few
seats in these States.
Further, it is the
first election in years when the secular-communal words are non-existent. While
the Hindutva Brigade has centered its poll theme on Jai Sri Ram, Congress
leaders starting with bhai-bahen are
falling over themselves to prove their Hindu roots. Rahul calls himself a
devout jenue dhari while Priyanka
performs pujas at various temples.
In a milieu of an
over confident BJP, the only debatable point for the Saffron Sangh is how much
ground Modi’s BJP will concede to NDA allies and others likely to join his
bandwagon if the Party’s tally remains around 200-220.
Undeniably, 2019
election is easily the most polarising one in recent electoral history. Forget
mutual antipathy and mistrust, it is an election which spews hatred built on
those supporting Modi and his opponents with barely any meeting ground between
the two. The political discourse has never been more neech, gross and pungent sans any debate on vital issues
debilitating the nation. Be it unemployment, farmers distress and rising food
inflation.
Leaving voters
wondering whether our Parties need a complete makeover and a new set of rules
which fight for policies and problems that bother their electorate. Additionally,
is it right for a poor country to spend nearly Rs 50,000 crores on elections?
Time we think of overhauling the election apparatus.
In sum, have we run
out of good politicians? Who uphold the ideals of democracy? The dignity of the
electoral process? And draw a lakshman
rekha on vulgarity and vow not to cross it? Time our leaders understand
that Prime Ministers will come and go but their words will stay. Which will
influence young minds and teach them to show dignity and respect for others.
It will be a mistake
to even think that this narrative will return to normal and business as usual once
polls are over. Primarily as they could leave our polity and society divided
and scarred. Whereby a lot of time, effort and statesmanship will be required
to undo the damage. The lead will have to be taken by none other than the next
Prime Minister. ---- INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
New
Delhi,
18
May 2019
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