Opinion Looks like a party

A day before the speeches were made,the sight of the preparations for the All India Congress Committee meet was a heart-warming one,at least as seen from a distance. Talkatora Stadium in Delhi was speckled with sparkling white-clad Congress workers,complete with topi (the same topi,by the way,that was conspicuous by its absence on the stage where the party bigwigs stood,with the exception of Ghulam Nabi Azad). The reason for the warm fuzzy feeling was that,like an episode of Dr Who,the sight hurtled you into another time and age,when political parties were buzzing bodies that balanced leadership with the aspirations of those who were “led”. They weren’t just machines cranked up to run election cars,calculate expenses and get affidavits done. In a society otherwise so stratified and divided,these were associations that mediated between individuals and policies,and inversely made it possible for those in power to get a sense of the ground,the “worker” being a vital part of the machinery of finding out how things were. Well before Twitter,the “worker” was a primary source of information,from the price of vegetables to an enriching answer to “mahaul kaisa hai”.The kind of ideas or ideology didn’t matter as you have always had a wide choice in India — parties of all descriptions. Political parties went a long way in ensuring the mediation of “democracy” through this diverse land,bridging the helplessness of those trapped in an identity — caste,class or religious — as they provided a forum,occupation and support from a system,different from a caste or religion-centred “samaj” or “samiti”,which have also mushroomed,complete with letterheads. But in this century,political parties face a serious dilemma. While statistics show an increase in party memberships in South Asia (self-reporting by parties),across the land,anger and dissatisfaction with parties too are rising. In western Europe and the US,there has more or less been an open and transparent system,as seen from Barack Obama’s bid for the Democratic nomination in the face of the formidable Clinton machinery,or an Ed Miliband’s election as the Labour Party leader in the UK. This ensures the necessity of demonstrating support across the party’s mass base and through elections. In India,political parties did not follow that script. They went on to evolve their own organisational structures. Loosely speaking,the mass base (Congress) versus the cadres-based parties (the Left,Jan Sangh/ BJP) were the centrally distinguishing features. But over time,almost all the other parties which came up as the one-party dominance of the Congress faded were driven by a family (DMK,Akali Dal,RJD) or just an individual (BSP,AIADMK,Trinamool). The challenge before parties,especially those that claim to have broken off from the Congress culture — or cult,if you like,post-’60s,once Indira Gandhi made it clear she had a successor in mind — is to establish that they have really opened up spaces and enlarged the stage for political aspirants. Mostly,by substituting a single dynasty with one of their own,which goes on to control not just politics but business and real estate,which come with political power these days,these groups have often shut the door on the political aspirations of those who are from outside the fold. This,in part,explains the plateau they seem to hit. As a result,the Congress now seems like any other. A thousand families have been spawned across parties (at least 27 elected Lok Sabha members this time are from well-entrenched political families,as are several ministers in the government). The point is,of course,made that if the guild system is prevalent in other spheres,how can or why should political parties be any different? But it is worrying if they have succeeded in squeezing out all available space there was for the “party worker” — the one who did nothing much,conventionally speaking,yet was ubiquitous and floated through ordinary lives,drinking tea,telling stories,chatting and therefore providing valuable feedback to governments or party elites. Today,with time being the new currency,and “surveys” seen as indicators of preferences,political parties have a difficult choice. They either have to show leadership and take risks by rescuing party structures and cleaning them up,restoring a valued if invisible system that provides a set of arteries for democracy. And this system will have to be shown due respect,however chaotic it may appear to an outsider. Political honchos have the option to work hard to rejuvenate the heart of the democratic machinery within parties and ensure long-term health. Or,to let the emerging status quo prevail,with their respective families (which,despite Ashok Chavan’s protestations,would include mothers-in-law,spouses,children and other kin) serving as the talent pool. The ability of political parties to transcend,even if very briefly,great social divides is too often undervalued. At a time when its rocky neighbourhood gives India such comfort of being an oasis of democracy,it’s important to pay attention to the building blocks of that system. Just a moment of reflection would make it clear that despite all the glamour of several big leaders being “loners” (Atal Bihari Vajpayee,Somnath Chatterjee,or even Sonia Gandhi),how different their biographies would be had their “party” not decided to throw its behind them when it did. And the beauty of it is that political parties were nowhere mentioned in the Constitution. It was,ironically,during the course of introducing the notion of leaving a party — the Tenth Schedule that deals with defections — that an individual’s relationship with the political party was discussed. And yet,whether you had “defected” or exercised a legitimate choice against a draconian or unwise decision made by your party,is now the subject of debate. The recent Karnataka case could reach the Supreme Court and will be watched with great interest,as it goes to the heart of the question tormenting Indian politics today: when is it legitimate for a party member to decamp and when is it blackmail?

seema.chishti@gmail.com