Changing the frame

As the dates for the high-stakes Gujarat election were announced,Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched her partys campaign in a predictably riven atmosphere. Gandhi herself refrained from a personal back-and-forth. Instead,her speech in Rajkot focused primarily on the UPAs raft of reformist decisions,which the BJP has opposed. She spoke of FDI in retail,of the diesel price hike and the capping of subsidised LPG cylinders. Not all reforms are electorally palatable,given that they inevitably hurt some constituencies while holding out a larger,more long-term promise however,FDI in retail is an easier sell than most,and Gandhi seized the opportunity. She framed retail reform as a move that would benefit farmers,and lower prices in towns and cities,and also pointed out that states that remained wary were free not to implement it. She squared with citizens about the the need for more rational pricing,given that India imports 80 per cent of its petroleum.

This speech was remarkable because it is the first time the Congress party has politically defended the UPAs newfound will to reform. The prime ministers address to the nation explained the context for these decisions,and later,the CWC endorsed them,after it was made clear that the welfare schemes that the party and the NAC throw their weight behind depend entirely on a thriving economy. However,the UPA can no longer split its thinking along a left axis and a right axis the Congress cannot presume that good economics makes bad politics,that the discussion about reforms is too technocratic for the electoral arena. At a moment when practically every party in opposition,including the BJP,is taking on the discredited vocabulary of the Left,it is up to the Congress to make a strong argument for growth,for managing inflation,curbing subsidies,sharpening productivity and taking investment-friendly actions.

A clear signal from the party,like making economic reform part of the electoral pitch,could goad the government into action and such encouragement would still be late,but better than never. Sonia Gandhis speech in Gujarat marks a welcome shift in the discourse. Economic good sense should not be considered a political liability.