Maharashtra masala

So, finally, Maharashtra8217;s Democratic Front survived fairly comfortably 8212; having notched ten votes more than the Opposition could muster in Thursday8217;s vote of confidence.

While the two partners in power, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party NCP, can draw a collective breath of relief over the outcome, the people of the state will certainly be in a less celebratory mood. The last two weeks have provided them with a particularly ugly glimpse of their political representatives right across the spectrum.

No mainstream party has emerged from this crisis with their reputations intact 8212; not the Congress, not the NCP, certainly not the Shiv Sena or the BJP. Amidst the kidnapping and the floor-crossing, the aircraft hops and the luxury resort backdrops, the mysterious comings and goings, appearances and disappearances, an extremely sordid drama of political wheeling and dealing was played out before the startled eyes of the citizen. The crisis 8212; quite familiar to Goa or Manipur, Uttar Pradesh or even Gujarat 8212; has irreparably damaged Maharashtra8217;s image as a state with a progressive and modernising sensibility and a secure polity. It revealed that Vilasrao Deshmukh seriously lacked leadership qualities, that Chhagan Bhujbal for all his pugnaciousness could not keep his flock intact, that the leadership of both the Shiv Sena and the BJP were quite amenable to wreaking havoc in the state through their smash-and-grab politics and, yes, that MLAs can be bought like potatoes in the marketplace, provided the price is right.