Opinion Congress intimidated its own MLAs, locked them up

Forty-four Congress legislators were taken outside Gujarat, at a time when they were required to serve the flood-hit people of their constituencies. The Congress resorted to other desperate tactics as well.

Rajya Sabha election, gujarat Rajya Sabha election, election commission, electoral politics, Congress, ahmad patel, ahmed patel ahmed patel won, gujarat flood, BJP gujarat, amit shah, smriti irani, indian express news, india news, opinion

BJP President Amit Shah’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha sends out an important message to the workers and sympathisers of the party across the country. Illustration: C R Sasikumar

Bhupender Yadav

August 17, 2017 12:30 AM IST First published on: Aug 17, 2017 at 12:30 AM IST

BJP President Amit Shah’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha sends out an important message to the workers and sympathisers of the party across the country. Illustration: C R Sasikumar

The Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat last week has led to much debate about the powers of the Election Commission and the future of electoral politics in the country. One of the important issues which arise from the sequence of events in the last week is how do we construct a fair and transparent electoral system, which does not give a chance for recrimination and allegations, especially against the referee, whom we as players respect in the course of the electoral contest.

The other issue is about the use of muscle and money power by the Congress. The party resorted to desperate tactics like muffling the voices of its own representatives. Forty-four Congress legislators were taken outside Gujarat, at a time when they were required to serve the flood-hit people of their constituencies. The Congress resorted to other desperate tactics as well. On the morning of the Rajya Sabha election, a senior Congress leader used the social media site, Twitter, to seek votes for his party candidate on the basis of caste. The Congress representatives even tried to disturb voting by snatching ballot papers. Should this be allowed to become the norm? After all, over time, what is good for the goose is bound to become good for the gander too.

The Rajya Sabha election last week involved a complex question. One vote less to the Congress candidate would have led to victory for the third BJP candidate. Even the cancellation of a few votes as a result of the objections raised by the BJP would have resulted in the defeat of the Congress candidate. But the BJP’s objections were not considered by the Election Commission.

The election raised another serious question. The country’s oldest national party transporting all its Gujarat legislators from one resort to another and keeping them under constant surveillance in order to protect the interest of one candidate does not portend well for the future of India’s electoral politics.

The BJP believes that the Rajya Sabha elections have been characterised by the unethical use of money and muscle power for quite some time now. To stop these unethical practices and to give real meaning to the representative powers of the peoples’ nominees, the BJP has proposed the open ballot system and the use of party whip for the Rajya Sabha elections. We stand by this recommendation even today, but the Congress has always been opposed to it. Would it change its stance now?

The history of electoral politics in the country is replete with examples of the use of deceitful tactics by the Congress. The party which is a past master at these tactics is not likely to give them up so easily. We in the BJP do not expect it do so, specially after the recent incidents in Gujarat.

In Gujarat, the Congress went out of its way to intimidate its own MLAs. These legislators were not even allowed to meet their relatives. The ostensible reason for the use of such intimidatory tactics was to stop the BJP. However, it was quite apparent that the Congress in the state was deeply divided for reasons that had very little to do with the BJP. It is indeed surprising that the Congress blamed the BJP when it was not able to keep its flock together. The fact that the leader of its legislative party along with the chief whip and senior MLAs decided to leave the Congress can not be blamed on the BJP.

This election is significant for the BJP in general and for the Gujarat BJP in particular because the party has increased its vote-base by expanding its social constituency. The party has not only consolidated its support amongst the social sections, which have been its longtime supporters, but has also created new support bases in different parts of the state — and the country.

BJP President Amit Shah’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha sends out an important message to the workers and sympathisers of the party across the country. That the party’s most successful strategist is now in Parliament is a significant step in the party’s surge.

We are moving towards a New India, whereas the Congress is still struggling with its contradictions, many which were evident during the recent Rajya Sabha elections. The Congress candidate did manage to win. But it was a pyrrhic victory. Ahmed Patel’s victory has split the party in Gujarat. The Congress had to undertake a gross display of muscle and money power to retain a single seat. No wonder the people in the country are losing faith in the party.