Opinion And then there was one
Eleven months ago we had elections in six states. The result was an even split between the Congress and the BJP....
Eleven months ago we had elections in six states. The result was an even split between the Congress and the BJP. Then came the national elections and all the hopes of a BJP comeback disappeared. Now in October,we have a confirmation of a solid trend. It is the Congress and no other party that can win again and again.
This is a situation fraught with dangers but also rich in possibilities. The BJP has wasted the five months since the general elections in silly quarrels and shown indecisiveness about its ideology,its organisation and its leadership. It needs to come to terms with the New India,a prosperous,confident India where you cant play on the fears of its majority population about the threat of Muslims at home or in Pakistan,where the young men and women are happy mixing their faith with their fashions. The BJP at the top has people who are out of touch with the mood of the time,even in their dress and style of communication. The RSS/BJP used to have a programme of the social uplift of Hindus; the uplift has already happened and the parivar has missed the boat.
The biggest danger then is the decimation of the BJP. This is not a false alarm. In the past 60 years,many powerful parties have bitten the dust and are not even remembered today. The Praja Socialist Party was the principal Opposition party after 1952. By 1962 it was gone. The Swatantra Party was a powerful voice in the 60s and the 70s. The Emergency and the success in 1977 devoured it. The Communist PartiesI and Mare being gnawed at by the Maoists on their Left when they are not self-destructing. The outlook is bleak for ideological parties,whether secular or religious.
What remains is a plethora of regional parties,caste parties which are just family firms and which have strictly local appeal. Just look at the Haryana election results. There are parties whose initials do not matter as long as you know the name of the leader. Some of these parties are locally entrenched,such as the DMK and the AIADMK or the Akali Dal,and the parties in Assam,Mizoram,etc.
None of these parties has a national vision and any interest whatsoever in good governance,human rights,poverty reduction or foreign policy. They are money-grabbing machines designed to keep their clients happy and line the pockets of the leaders. They make a mockery of democracy. While there were two or even three national parties ten years agothe Congress,the BJP and the Communistsnow there is only the Congress. Fifteen years ago the Congress was on the verge of death. Now its back to its old strength. This is good since there is an assurance of continuity at the national level. But its also a dangerous sign because the party has misused its hegemonic position in the past.
The Congress has to reassure the nation that it will not misuse its hegemonic position in the next decade or two. It can do so by reforming the political process in a way which will enhance the quality of governance and also reduce the incoherence of party politics. It has the power and the opportunity to do so. It will face no opposition at the national level and can split the regional parties as it has done with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. It will pick up a local party to befriend-the Trinamool Congress or perhaps CPM in West Bengal and the JDU in Bihar. It can swallow the NCP now.
The major reform the Congress can bring about is to synchronise elections at the national and state levels. It could legislate that if a ruling party lost a confidence vote,Presidents Rule will fill in the time gap till the next scheduled election. This requires a Constitutional Amendment whereby the No Confidence device is restricted to just removing but not replacing the party in power. A corollary of this is fixed term tenures for governments and regular elections at five- or perhaps four-year intervals.
The Congress has the power to do this,perhaps even the duty since no one else can. It will restore the quality of Indian democracy.
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