Allied victory

It came close to being a Boston tea-party of disaffected allies whose pursuit of more berths in the Union government had been stymied twi...

It came close to being a Boston tea-party of disaffected allies whose pursuit of more berths in the Union government had been stymied twice over by a much harassed Prime Minister. In the event, after Jayalalitha was persuaded to invite the BJP to tea, it turned out to be a fairly innocuous precursor to a coordination committee meeting of the ruling coalition. But Jayalalitha and company can claim to have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. All-in meetings of allies are a rarity 8212; perhaps no more than three have been held since the Vajpayee government came to power. By arranging for once-a-month meetings of the coordination committee, leaders of the alliance can hope to play a bigger role in government decision-making. Under the energetic George Fernandes, the new convenor, the time-table is sure to be kept. However it is an open question whether the process will lead to more purposeful governance and less brinkmanship.

For the BJP, this development may be a blessing in disguise. It has preferred thusfar to restrict its consultations with its allies to the ministerial level and even that level of interaction has been far too limited for its allies8217; taste or for the purposes of smooth decision- making. Contentious matters arising time and again have compelled meetings between the BJP and one or other disgruntled ally, AIADMK, Trinamul Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal or other. But the BJP has avoided coordination committee meetings. This is partly because of the fear that the whole business of government would be seized up by impossible demands from and irreconcilable differences between the motley members of the coalition. The other reason is the Big Brother-knows-best syndrome. Now that regular coordination committee meetings have been thrust on it, the BJP has to find some way of turning it to good purpose. Ignoring the committee is no longer an option.

It was inevitable that the allies would assert themselves thus. Large egos are involved as well as regional and political party agendas and as the recenttroubles with the Akalis showed, the BJP has paid insufficient attention to them. But while it is only fair that regional parties should have a say at the Centre it is upto them as much as the BJP to make the coordination committee function constructively. It could serve as a vent for letting off steam. More usefully, it could be the forum where consensus is thrashed out on national issues. As the evolution of Jayalalitha8217;s tea-party showed, it is possible some of the time for allies working together to rein in the extreme and self-serving among them. That at least is what the BJP should hope for and work towards. Not unlike the United Front8217;s steering committee, this would be the place to work out a common approach to issues like the price rise which affect everyone8217;s constituencies. As of now all this is in the realm of the optimist but it is worth a good try. The realist would expect to see a shift of power in either the BJP8217;s favour or its larger allies once the results of the Assembly elections in fourstates are out. At that time, the coordination committee is likely to become a whole new ball game.