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| Regional discrimination: Congress, BJP should share the charge | | |
Yash Bhasin
In run up to the political parties gearing up for elections to 15th Lok Sabha political scenario in the country is getting murky and confusing. In their bid to improve their tally in the next Lok Sabha, to sharpen their bargaining position in the formation of next government in the Centre various parties are indulging in horse trading. New combinations and permutations are being formulated. In this mad race, the ideological commitment, programmes and priorities of the respective parties are being given good bye and perceived prospects of becoming partners in the political power in the country is forming the main criteria for the parties in joining hands with each other.
The two main parties in the country, the Congress and the BJP are at the receiving end at the hands of their respective hitherto allies, who are dictating them the terms and even resorting to blackmail, to get their pound of flesh to the maximum. If the BJD of Naveen Patnaik in Orissa has severed its 11 year old alliance with BJP, walking out of the NDA, in search of greener postures by improving their electoral prospects both in the state assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the two being held simultaneously in April, the SP in UP is keeping the Congress at tenterhooks, by unilaterally announcing candidates from 53 out of 60 Lok Sabha seats in the state, though announcing to be flexible to concede maximum of 17 seats to Congress. The party at the same time is hob-knobbing with NCP of Sharad Pawar as well as the Left Front, brandishing the sword of becoming part of the proposed third front, if the Congress refuses to accept its dictates. The Maratha stalwart Sharad Pawar too is proving as Achilles Heel for the Congress, by projecting himself to be the Prime Minister in waiting. Even the committed partners in the UPA and its government like DMK in Tamil Nadu are flexing their muscles and asserting their bargaining position. The most trusted allies of the Congress and partners in the UPA government, Lalu Parshad Yadav’s RJD and Ram Villas Paswan’s LJSP are showing signs of unrest with their present status in the UPA and are throwing hints of not hesitating to join the proposed third front, post LS elections, if it emerges to be the forerunner in forming the next government in the country. The two hitherto arch political rivals have joined hands for collective bargaining with the Congress.
The BJP too is not in less discomfiture, with even its oldest and ideologically closest ally, Shiv Sena trying to sail on two boats, while on one hand announcing its decision to not part company with the BJP and being reconciled to L K Advani becoming the next PM. On the other hand betraying its Maratha regional chauvinism, by batting for Maratha leader Sharad Pawar as the next PM, with the latter having already thrown his hat in the ring.
In its desperation to improve its prospect to come back to power, the BJP is admitting to the NDA fold those regional satraps and groups, who in the past had ditched and left it in lurch. These include INLD of Om Prakash Chotala in Haryana, Ajit Singh’s Lok Dal in UP and Assam Gan Parishad in Assam. These unreliable and untrustworthy allies of the BJP can go to any extent to fetch their pound of flesh from it, holding the threat to walk over to the other side. These regional satraps and caste leaders have hardly any scruples or national prospective. Their only objective is to have share in power, to achieve which they can go to any length and join hands with their once arch rival. Further their prospective is limited to serve the interest of, rather keep in good humour their own limited constituencies.
The proposed third front is going to be the hotchpotch of these regional and caste based outfits, plus the left parties who have their own distinct ideology, vision and program of action. This is going to be an opportunistic wed-lock of strange wed-fellows, joining to fulfill their lust for power. With these regional satraps and caste leaders polling in different directions, the country is bound to fall in an era of political uncertainty and instability. Almost all of them aspire to become the Prime Minister of the country and hence will not hesitate to run over the shoulders of each other. The country is feared to have short lived heads of the coalition government, with 10 aspiring Prime Ministers heading the government for six month each, leading the country’s development and march towards progress to grinding halt.
Imagine the scenario if the JD(S) leaders Deva Gode whose party even in its erstwhile strong hold, Karnataka has been reduced to its skeleton in the latest state assembly elections, becomes the Prime Minister of the country again. The unscrupulous Gode, who displayed arch opportunism in first ditching the Congress in the state, joining hands with the BJP in proxy through his son Kumara Swami and the latter heading the state government in alliance with BJP by entering into power sharing arrangement with the saffron party for two parties heading the state government for twenty months each, but betraying the latter when the time for handing over power to BJP came. In doing so it took the refuge under secularism, which it had discarded during the period his son ruled the state with the support of BJP. The country’s future in the hands of these opportunistic, narrow chauvinistic regional and caste based politicians with limited prospective and vision is not safe at all.
But what is the remedy against this uncertainty and political instability looming large on the horizon of India. While emergence of by polar or strong two party system is the ideal solution in the long run, to catch the bluff of regional satraps and caste ridden politicians representing only limited local interests and aspirations, the experiment of two major political parties in the country, the Congress and the BJP joining hands to form a coalition government is worth making. If the Jan Sangh could work with communists and join hands with them in the past, they should have no objection to shake hand with the Congress to save the country from pending political instability and chaos. On the other hand the Congress which has no qualms in joining hands with the Muslim league and other sectarian outfits and caste based organizations, should not consider the BJP as untouchable. The common concern for country’s interests should make the two parties to rise above partisan interest. The two parties, despite having different perceptions about the national unity and country’s progress and prosperity have many things in common, mainly having national prospective and national constituency. They should evolve some mechanism to work together for maintaining national unity and leading the country towards progress and make it less vulnerable to the impact of global melt down and slow down.
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