MillenniumPost
Opinion

Lessons not learnt

Recent state elections have shown no improvement in a distorted and careless opposition despite unexpectedly average voter reception compared to the parliamentary mandate

In a democracy, elections play a significant role in deciding the fate of leaders and parties, and ultimately, it is the people who decide their fate. Political parties and leaders have a perception that they can manage people through their strategies, money and organisational power. It is being done competitively by the political parties. In the same way, people manage parties and leaders through their strategies, perceptions, and decisive political actions through the ballot. In India, democracy gets maturity only through elections, however defective the electoral system has got. Parties carefully study the election results and learn from those results to change their course of action.

No doubt, parties and leaders try to create a consciousness among people through their communicative ability and through which elections are fought. The victory of parties and leaders depends on how well people are influenced by these parties and their leaders. People cannot be deceived or fooled by them continuously. They have their own evaluative standard through which the parties and leaders are assessed and it varies from time to time and state to state. During an election, the whole nation will have only one standard framework of evaluation. Based on the evaluation of parties and leaders by people, electoral victories are decided.

It is with such backdrop that the current electoral verdict in Haryana and Maharashtra must be looked at. The opposition parties have not learnt their lessons in 2019 parliamentary election and yet with all their weaknesses and disabilities, contested elections. They are not united and neither have they revamped their organisations. They have not created a general mood that the BJP is going to be defeated.

BJP has approached the election with a belief that whatever the party and its big duo – Narendra Modi and Amit Shah – say, people will accept and in such a level BJP's leadership has gone up. No leader can match Narendra Modi in a headfirst contest. The distance between BJP and the opposition parties is vast in terms of outreach to masses.

The two assembly elections in Maharastra and Haryana nevertheless gave a shock to BJP and surprised Congress. Why it is a shock to BJP? It is because everyone in the party felt that the charisma and communication ability of the leadership will pay a rich dividend as the opposition parties cannot give the image of a reliable alternative. The mainstream media barring a few exceptions felt that the opposition cannot close the gap because their leadership isn't up to the mark. Hence, BJP second-line leaders felt that people could be carried away on the leadership score by covering their mismanagement of governance and failures. They were wrong.

In the opposition front, especially in the Indian National Congress, the state-level leadership has taken responsibility and managed the show. Yet, they could not give an image that the party is facing the election in full vigour. The lukewarm attitude of its leaders is clearly visible. Hence, they relied on the state leadership. But the election results are a very big surprise to the Indian National Congress.

There are certain inferences to be made from the results. First, people cannot be taken for granted by BJP that they will be not be swayed by speeches of leaders alone. They will assess the performance of the party in power and act accordingly. Unless BJP mends itself, it is very difficult for it to face the next election.

In the same way, it conveys to Congress that people are willing to act in its support provided it reorganises and repositions itself to face people with alternative development programmes. It is shameful that a party with a history of over a century known for its concern for the tribal, fishing, pastoral and craft communities is facing a leadership crisis. It has to take a series of critical decisions to revamp the party to the confidence and trust level of the original constituents of the Indian National Congress. The party has to nurture regional leadership and they must be given independence to build the party from scratch.

In Indian politics, victory is not gained because of one's own strength but due to the failure of the opposition. Now is the time for political parties to think of how they can come out from conventional mode of politics and move in the alternative direction of doing development politics rather than continuing in divisive politics – perpetuating caste and religion.

G Palanithurai is a former Professor and Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies, Gandhigram Rural Institute. Views expressed are strictly personal

Next Story
Share it