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POLITICAL DIARY
Win 150 Seats, Run Riot
WANTED A COALITION DHARMA
By Poonam I Kaushish
New Delhi, October 16, 2007
“The worst thing in this world after anarchy is
government.” Henry Ward Beecher, who made the quip, was,
indeed, a futurologist. He seems to have had India of 2007 in
mind when he uttered these brilliant words. Which so aptly
describe the high voltage drama that is being enacted on
India’s political chessboard, especially during the last three
months. Will the Left divorce the Congress and withdraw
support to the UPA Government? Or will Sonia-Manmohan continue
to serenade Comrade Karat with hum saath saath hain? Will
allies RJD’s Laloo and NCP’s Sharad Pawar prevail and ensure
there is no snap poll?
Think. Isn’t it ridiculous that a country as vast as India and
boasting off a billion-and-growing population is swinging like
a yo-yo between hope and despair, thanks to the fracas between
partners. Why? Because the Congress which heads the Government
has only 145 MPs in a 545 member Lok Sabha. To survive it
needs the support of 272 Lok Sabha MPs. Together with its
allies of “like-minded” regional secular parties like the RJD
and NCP they total 219 MPs. Thus, the UPA Government
desperately depends for its survival on the Left parties and
its 62 MPs.
What makes the present situation at once bizarre and tragic is
that it takes around only 150 seats for any one party to
capture the power gaddi called India Raj and rule the roost!
Raising a moot point once again: Can a coalition Government
work in a country as diverse, multi-cultural and
individualistic as we are? Is our polity mature enough to
handle taciturn partners and provide good, clean governance?
Is there a dharma which binds UPA’s comrades-in-arms together?
Or is it a case of brazen opportunism and shameless
self-interest?
Take the first. Coalitions have worked at the Centre and some
states. The BJP-led NDA Government completed its five-year
term at the Centre, after two-aborted attempts. The Left Front
Governments in West Bengal have been most stable Governments
all along since 1977. Similarly, Kerala has experienced
successive coalition Governments belonging alternately to the
LDF and the UDF. These have lasted longer, even full term,
than coalition Governments in other states. The BJP-Shiv Sena
government completed its five-year term in Maharashtra.
Disastrous End
However, we also have instances wherein between 1967 and July
1968, as many as 10 Governments were formed in the four states
of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal. The BJP and
BSP came together in holy matrimony thrice to form Governments
in UP. But each attempt ended disastrously in 1995, 1997 and
2000. What to say of Karnataka’s squabbling partners which has
led to President’s rule in the State for the sixth time.
Two, in a coalition milieu which entails reasonable
give-and-take and unavoidable compromises our polity is still
to mature. Bogged down as it is with tantrums, one-upmanship
and clash of egos. Especially in a scenario where polarization
now is based on vote-bank politics and unbridled lust for
power and money --- not on values, ethics or common agenda.
Forget good, clean governance and national interest.
Look at the inexplicable configurations of the UPA. The
enemies and friends are all rolled into one. The Congress and
the Left parties, which account for 64 seats in the Lok Sabha,
are arch rivals in three states: West Bengal, Kerala and
Tripura. Both have been fighting each other tooth and nail in
every election since Independence. Yet they came together and
became partners at the Centre. Simply to keep the “communal
BJP” out. Both have worked on the dictum that my enemy’s enemy
is my friend. The Congress and RJD are arch rivals in Bihar
and Jharkhand and the NCP cannot see eye-to-eye with the
Congress in Maharashtra. Ditto the case down South with the
DMK & Co.
Three, when it comes to coalition dharma, the less said the
better. Suffice is to say that even thieves are agreed on a
code of conduct. Most of the deals by India Inc are done on
the basis of zuban (word). This should hold equally true in
the case of coalition Governments. There should be a dharma
between coalition partners and this should be scrupulously
followed by all. A lakshman rekha which the allies adhere to
honestly. Alas, this is more a dictum than the rule. No
matter, Sonia Gandhi’s talk of “dharma of coalition” which,
she said, was “to work together, try and understand and
accommodate each others views.”
No Collective Responsibility
Great rhetoric indeed. More so as in reality the obverse holds
true. Take the UPA again. The Prime Minister has little
control over his Cabinet colleagues, especially those
belonging to his allies who have been allotted Ministries on
the basis of their party’s respective strength in the Lok
Sabha. Worse, there is no such thing as collective
responsibility. Not to talk about accountability and
transparency, which are a far cry. The Ministers can do what
they want. Ride roughshod and even treat their ministries as
their personnel fiefdoms. The PM can do nothing except lump
it. Look how Union Health Minister Ramdoss, who belongs to the
itsy-bitsy PMK, continues to play havoc with India’s premier
health institute, AIIMS.
More. The recent shenanigans of the JD(S) father-son duo of
Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy in Karnataka says it all. After
lording over the State for 20-months, Kumaraswamy unabashedly
reneged on his agreement to hand over power to the BJP’s
Yediyurappa. Naturally, the BJP withdrew support and the
Centre imposed President’s rule. Clearly, in being clever by
half the Gowdas’ not only lost power but will have to live
with the ignominy of being dubbed as “shameless betrayers.” A
classic case of an ally biting off more than it could chew and
cutting its nose to spite the face.
Characteristically, each party blames the others for not
giving the people yearning for good governance a remedy for
this state of anarchy. Some even put the onus on the aangootha
chaap janata for the fractured verdicts. Sadly, none wants to
pause and ponder over the long-term ramifications of this
state of affairs. Consequently, our experiments with coalition
Governments continue to get unstuck time and again, thanks to
mindlessness.
Some may be tempted to argue that the common man has
consciously opted for instability. With the aim of unleashing
a churning process which might throw up new forces of change.
Already, this social churning has manifested itself in the
post-Mandalised era. The backward classes and the minorities
have discovered the power of their vote and concluded that
their sectional interests are best served when there is
political uncertainty. In other words, they have outrightly
rejected the national parties and opted for new outfits which
are unencumbered by history and ideological baggage.
This has radically changed the structure of the polity and
consequently the nature of viable and effective alternatives,
as reflected in the multiplicity of over 26 odd regional,
small or minor parties. With the national parties losing their
clout to the regional satraps there is a very high premium on
these parties which get traded and horsetraded many times
over. The trading is made easier by the total collapse of the
moral fabric of the political parties in their naked lust for
the gaddi.
Master of House
This Achilles heel of the national parties has provided a
perfect handle to the regional parties to blackmail, bully and
extort their demands from them, especially from those ruling
at the Centre. Matters have been made worse by the fact that
they could pull the rug off over any flimsy issue and expose
the feet of clay of these parties. Consequently, the regional
satraps are now beginning to flex their muscle for setting the
agenda for India and even becoming the master of the house.
The BSP’s Mayawati makes no bones that her next target is New
Delhi and its Prime Ministership. It is not an empty boast
given our fractured polity. All she needs are 50 seats and the
backing of a national party to come up trumps. Thus, regional
formations like the TDP, JD, DMK, NCP and Trinamool have
neither the time nor inclination for the BJP’s Hindutva or the
Congress brand of politics. Besides, unlike the national
parties, the regional outfits have a unified command structure
and a share of power in the State.
Unfortunately, the national parties have been caught in a web
of their own making. By pandering and giving in to the
blackmail of these regional vote banks. They have created a
Frankenstein over which they have no control. Aspirations can
be trampled, but the thumb that affixes the vote can’t be
amputated.
Leading to the continuing aberration. Even in the dynamics of
politics in the present fragmented state, there will be an
inherent compulsion for the parties to remain together, so as
to be a recognizable force. True, numbers will decide who sits
on the Delhi gaddi. But it remains to be seen whether
individual egos will get the better of collective wisdom.
In sum, one hopes this political game of kiss and tell based
on convenience and opportunism does not reflect the emerging
truth of today’s India. Our polity needs to face the harsh
reality that national interest urgently requires a coalition
dharma that ensures good and honest governance on the basis of
public morality and principles not personal or party
aggrandizement. Our polity must not reduce itself to a level
of Gharib ki joru, sab ki Bhabhi! --- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
E-Mail :
newseditor@sarkaritel.com
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