Wooing the upper castes

Constabulary from all over MP, totally unfamiliar with the sleepy hill station, had taken up positions on anything resembling an intersection. It was, therefore, impossible for an itinerant journalist to find his way to any of the five locations where the sub-groups had been instructed by the party president to sink into the deepest layers of thought on five distinct issues 8212; politics, economy, organisation, foreign affairs and agriculture.

The Pachmarhi declaration gives a clue to the aspirations of those who drafted the document: the Congress commits itself to becoming the party of 8220;the best and the brightest8221;, 8212; title of the classic on the hallowed circle of Harvard educated men around John Kennedy. The various documents highlight the party8217;s clarity of thought. The document on organisation says:8220;Besides being Indian National Congress a Platform of mass movement, the scientific approach for building a mass-cum-cadre base party to orient in the recentpolitical orders of the nation should be developed at all levels to respond to challenges both in confronting Socio Political/Socio Economic issues and challenges of Election8221;. Verbatim

A perusal of all the documents reveals several references to Ayodhya, Srikrishna commission, Dalits and backward castes, but the party8217;s political intentions are embedded in Sonia Gandhi8217;s opening and concluding remarks. She has indicated no urgency in replacing the BJP at the Centre. In fact, her emphasis is elsewhere: 8220;We will work relentlessly to recapture our political and social base in the vital states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.8221;

How does the party propose to perform this feat? Clearly by fighting the two Yadavs tooth and nail. After all, the Congress support base of lower castes and Muslims has been stolen by Mulayam Singh Yadav in UP and to a substantial extent by Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar. The upper castes have shifted to the BJP as a reaction. Considering that the Congress lost each one of the 85 seats inUP, the state in which once it had absolute power, what rear guard action can it mount?

From its shattered base if it does target Mualyam and Laloo as its principal enemies, the beneficiary of this assault would in all likelihood be the BJP. But in pursuing this line of logic analysts run the risk of ignoring important subsidiary plots. By shunning coalitions for the time being, the party may well be positioning itself for the electoral combat in MP, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram where coalitions are not of the essence. In all these cases it is more or less a direct contest with the BJP, with a minor variation only in Mizoram.

It is generally believed even by those not sympathetic to the Congress that the party may win in three of the four states. In fact, it would not be surprising if it wins in all four. Such an outcome would enable the authors of the Sonia Gandhi project to place on her head the halo that charismatic leaders are entitled to.

Heaped upon the BJP8217;s misgovernance in Lucknow and Delhiwill then be the ignominy of electoral defeat. A Congress on the recovery trail could then be open to both the options: leading on its own terms an alternative coalition 8220;on the basis of agreed programmes which will not weaken the party or compromise its basic ideology8221;, or, preparing for general elections.

One attitude became very clear at Pachmarhi: the Congress proposed to take a tougher line on the politics of empowerment than even the BJP. For example, the BJP8217;s persistence with Kalyan Singh8217;s incompetence, is because he is the party8217;s backward caste facade. Sonia Gandhi8217;s opening remarks in Pachmarhi expresses regret at the manner in which the politics of caste has played itself out. 8220;The fragmentation of society that we see today in the name of caste is both alarming and distressing. We must categorically reject casteism and we must resist its growth with all our might8221;.

Does the rejection of casteism also imply the rejection of politics which has empowered backward sections on a scale unknownbefore? 8220;It is the parliamentary system that is leading to social empowerment and that is giving representation to groups and communities who have been subjugated for centuries8221;. There is in her speech a sort of acquiescence in this trend. 8220;This is as it should be8221;. Then comes the concern. 8220;At the same time we must also take serious note of the growing sense of frustration with the parliamentary form of government among the thinking and educated sections of our society8221;, the best and the brightest!

There was no thumping approval of Bhajan Lal8217;s advice that too much should not be made of a mosque built by an invader in which no one ever prayed. But Pachmarhi did not accord much saliency to the minorities, or how they were to be addressed. There was joy in Pachmarhi that the Bihar government might be dismissed, no alarm that the BJP might grow.

Ironically, when Sonia Gandhi walked past Gandhi Chowk in Pachmarhi8217;s meagre bazar, the only non-vegetarian restaurant, owned by a Muslim, had its shuttersdown. In fact, for three days of the Congress session the owner was virtually under siege from policemen who demanded a non-vegetarian feast to chase the liquor after their day8217;s exertions. 8220;They want to exert their authority by insisting on sitting here and drinking8221;, the owner said. 8220;To avoid trouble I decided to close the front gate for the duration of the Congress session.8221; There may be some symbolism in the story.