When virtually every part of North India was being visited by splashes of welcome rain in late-April — even as everyone had reconciled themselves to a scorching summer — millions of hearts and minds were rejuvenated. And, as the Met office promised the prospect of more rain, I was reminded of the important role that rains have played in virtually every election in the country. Apart from other potential weapons of mass distraction, leaders have made full use of the rains to woo voters. Whether it was former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh claiming last year that large parts of the country have witnessed massive droughts because both the PM and the president are bachelors, or the present Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, cornering the Ashok Gehlot government for having brought years of drought to the state — an issue she has failed to address, incidentally — the land of the southwest monsoon is also the land of rain politics. In fact, with its habit of taking credit for virtually every good thing that has happened in this country, the BJP is sometimes tempted to even add rains to its kitty of “feel-good” developments. And, as the poll juggernaut rolls almost to a halt, you wonder if the politics of coalitions will also be decided by one or two thunderstorms. Laloo Prasad Yadav may suddenly decide to bury the hatchet with his Yadav rival, Mulayam Singh, if the prospect of being struck down by an NDA thunderbolt worries him, or behenji Mayawati may decide it is time to call the shots at the Centre again with a handful of MPs because it’s ‘‘raining’’ opportunities for her. Last year’s rains broke a 41-year-old record in Delhi and gave Sheila Dikshit’s government a new lease of life. Down south, no matter how fast the southwest disturbance reaches the Kerala coast, somehow it weakens over Andhra’s drought-affected districts, where farmers’ suicides could now well mean that cyber-Naidu is going dot-bust. Forget speculation over whether or not we are to be blessed with a normal monsoon, upon which of course are based prospects of India actually Shining. Right now, the only thing that is raining are political manoeuvres. One can only wish, though, that the rains this time don’t assume cyclonic proportions. Hopefully, the current political high-pressure will ease as time goes by. At a same time, a good downpour may do an enormous lot of good by washing away numerous non-performing political parties that are presently crowding the political scene. The future then, going by every available psephological and meteorological trend, is uncertain. In fact, the only thing that can be said with some certitude is that we are in for stormy times.
