End of one-party rule

The era of single-party dominance is long over for Indian democracy. At the macro level, there are two political parties - the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Smaller parties are important for the formation of a State Government in alliance with Central parties. Smaller parties tried very hard to emerge as a third force, for example, SP tried to spread its wings in Bihar, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Even the CPM got an excellent opportunity to spread out of its narrow base of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. But now, their bases are dwindling.

If we consider image building, then the Congress has been strategising return as a dominant single party by making Rahul Gandhi's leadership acceptable to wider sections. If it succeeds, it would be nothing less than a miracle. Yes, age is on Rahul's side as well as his tall and handsome personality. His dynastic streak is also there. But these three ingredients are not enough. What about the mettle of leadership?

Comparably, Varun Gandhi can be a better leader. He, too, belongs to the Gandhi family, is youthful and attractive. During the election campaign, he showed grit, even if it was controversial.

The projection of Rahul Gandhi as a charismatic leader has been going on for six years. For image building, the media credited a number of achievements to him. But he didn't matter electorally. During the UP Assembly polls, his roadshow was just a photographic achievement. The tall, handsome young man was an adoring idol of beautiful girls, but result-wise the Congress came fourth. In the Gujarat road show, he was launched with a lot of fanfare. The Congress tried to split the BJP but the ploy flopped. Narendra Modi remained the supreme leader.

Till date, Rahul's image building exercise has not yielded anything except publicity. During the Karnataka Assembly polls, Sonia Gandhi added lustre, but the BJP came to power in the State. Now, Rahul is concentrating in UP by visiting Harijan basties and staying there overnight. He toured Bihar and announced a monumental organisational set-up. One is yet to see the result of that exercise. The Congress is just propagating issues. In the Telangana issue, Sonia Gandhi proved her political immaturity, Meanwhile, the Congress lost Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal. Sadly, it lost its Andhra CM, YSR, which is going to have a negative impact on the State. What's fortunate for the Congress is that its principal adversary, the BJP, is passing through its worst phase in history. The Congress has been able to settle the competition among the second rung leaders, even without naming the top leader.

Coming back to smaller parties, SP's publicity bandmaster, Amar Singh left the party. Kalyan Singh quitting SP may not cause a lot of worry, but Amar's ouster along with his followers will definitely harm its grandeur. The CPM has lost a lot of its lustre and popularity in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee and her party are gaining mass support. It is too early to predict anything, but it can be said that CPM's steam is exhausted. It's internal struggle for power is visible in all the three States, at every level it dominates.

Politically, all parties have suffered a lot. Each party has its own problem. No system of revitalisation in the parties can be seen. As for the BJP, it is too early to predict if it will regain its lost grandeur. The bad taste created by its own people still remains in the mouth. The present-day exercises being done by the party are not to build a castle in the air but to remain grounded. The mood is changing in the party. Having realised past mistakes, the media is in the mood to give a hundred peaceful days to the new BJP team. The BJP is gaining its original spirit and hope. Its core constituency is intact.

During elections, the media has the power to swing votes in favour of the party it supports. And the media continues to support the Congress. The BJP lacks in flexing media muscle altogether. The BSP has proved its immunity to whatever the media maneuovres are.

In India, barring a couple of honourable exceptions, the country does not have a political party where internal democracy works.

We are recognised as the biggest functioning democracy despite: a) dominance of caste parties and caste leaders. The constitution has given every individual the right to vote freely. But, in practice, this freedom is being used collectively under the influence of a caste leader; b) Elections have become more costly following the price rise; c) the EVM system for casting votes has become controversial and lost its credibility to some extent; d) Those who analyse votes and election results have concluded that the poll verdicts are influenced by non-voting citizens, rather than those who vote.

Courtesy: www.dailypioneer.com, February 21, 2010