Is Janata Parivar merger sustainable?
10 April 2015 11:16 PM GMT
The erstwhile Janata Parivar is getting ready to merge again. In the next few days, the Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is set to announce the name and the symbol of this new organization along with the six parties, which are proposing to unite and probably have already sorted out the modalities. In fact, this will be their third avatar after the Janata experiment of 1977 and the Janata Dal experiment of 1989.Mulayam Singh Yadav, Deve Gowda, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav had already been a part of the Janata Party or the JP movement that preceded it, or both; and were also in Janata Dal. Each formed breakaway parties and achieved some electoral success in their respective pockets of influence. The question is whether this experiment will succeed and the Janata Parivar will be able to make an impact on the national political scene.
The six parties, which are proposing to merge, are the Uttar Pradesh-based Samajwadi Party, the Bihar-focused Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Samajwadi Party, Karnataka’s Janata Dal (Secular) and the Haryana-based Indian National Lok Dal. Together these parties had won a measly 15 seats in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
This to be formed Parivar includes a former Prime Minister, a chief minister, a former chief minister and some very high profile leaders. The Samajwadi Party is in power in UP while JD (U) is ruling Bihar currently. It is intended to take on the political might of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the growing strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has made these leaders suddenly seek to re-claim their common political heritage.
Interestingly there is a saying that the Janata Parivar can neither remain together for long and also cannot remain without each other for long. Although the time for unity has supposedly come the reality is that they have only pockets of influence in states like UP, Bihar, Haryana and Karnataka.
Earlier, these avowed followers of Ram Manohar Lohia and his socialist ideals had come together on an anti-Congress platform. Ironically, this time they are coming together on an anti-BJP platform.
The Congress could be a potential ally in the ensuing Assembly elections. It is to be seen whether this experiment will help the revival of the Congress, which is lying low after its rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the subsequent Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand.
Two parties of the erstwhile Janata Parivar – the RLD chief Ajit Singh and the BJD chief Naveen Patnaik are not on board so far. The BJD is in power in Odisha. While Ajit Singh, whose party is strong in Western Uttar Pradesg is reluctant to share the platform with the INLD, which also represents Jats, Naveen Patnaik is taking his time and is being cautious not to rush. These parties might join if they see that the experiment is successful.
Providing an alternative to the BJP may be difficult unless these leaders put aside their personal egos and put up a united fight. The earlier efforts to form a third front like the UNPA did not take off because of the ego clash.
Secondly, the time is in short supply for the new party to perform; even in Bihar. Next year UP might go for polls. The BJP has got a massive majority in UP and Bihar and it is these two states the new outfit should concentrate on if they want to show credible results.
Thirdly, their track record shows that the Janata Parivar had not been able to survive for more than two or three years even though they may have came back to unite later.
Fourthly, these leaders have come a long way from the eighties when they were twenty years younger and much more energetic. They were able to build some euphoria and hope in the public when they floated their own political outfits. Today they are tried and tested leaders. Some like Nitish Kumar have given good governance and others have not. For instance Lalu has not got any kudos in Bihar for his poor governance record. Mulayam Singh regime has also earned the name of “Goonda raj.”
The vote share of the RJD and JD (U) in Bihar, SP in Uttar Pradesh, INLD in Haryana and JD(S) in Karnataka has declined significantly during the last decade. The JD(S) presence remains limited to the southern Karnataka. Moreover most of them like Lalu, Mulayam Singh and Chautala are facing corruption charges.
On the positive side, the advantage of this new Janata Parivar is its vast social base and if they are able to exploit it then it, they can challenge the BJP. But for that the pre-requisite is solid unity amongst the collective leadership. The Janata and Janata Dal experiment collapsed mainly because of petty leadership disputes. While Lalu is willing to accept Mulayam as the leader of this new experiment he is silent about Nitish Kumar’s leadership in Bihar.
The immediate test can be in Bihar where the RJD and the JD (U) can fight on a single party name and symbol. If the Congress and the left parties join in their efforts, then the anti – BJP votes will not be divided. They had already shown this in the last year’s bye- elections by defeating the BJP candidates. The two leaders together can take on Modi in the public discourse.
On the whole, the new experiment can succeed only if the anti BJP votes are not divided and the opposition fights the BJP in a united manner. IPA
The six parties, which are proposing to merge, are the Uttar Pradesh-based Samajwadi Party, the Bihar-focused Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Samajwadi Party, Karnataka’s Janata Dal (Secular) and the Haryana-based Indian National Lok Dal. Together these parties had won a measly 15 seats in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
This to be formed Parivar includes a former Prime Minister, a chief minister, a former chief minister and some very high profile leaders. The Samajwadi Party is in power in UP while JD (U) is ruling Bihar currently. It is intended to take on the political might of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the growing strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has made these leaders suddenly seek to re-claim their common political heritage.
Interestingly there is a saying that the Janata Parivar can neither remain together for long and also cannot remain without each other for long. Although the time for unity has supposedly come the reality is that they have only pockets of influence in states like UP, Bihar, Haryana and Karnataka.
Earlier, these avowed followers of Ram Manohar Lohia and his socialist ideals had come together on an anti-Congress platform. Ironically, this time they are coming together on an anti-BJP platform.
The Congress could be a potential ally in the ensuing Assembly elections. It is to be seen whether this experiment will help the revival of the Congress, which is lying low after its rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the subsequent Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand.
Two parties of the erstwhile Janata Parivar – the RLD chief Ajit Singh and the BJD chief Naveen Patnaik are not on board so far. The BJD is in power in Odisha. While Ajit Singh, whose party is strong in Western Uttar Pradesg is reluctant to share the platform with the INLD, which also represents Jats, Naveen Patnaik is taking his time and is being cautious not to rush. These parties might join if they see that the experiment is successful.
Providing an alternative to the BJP may be difficult unless these leaders put aside their personal egos and put up a united fight. The earlier efforts to form a third front like the UNPA did not take off because of the ego clash.
Secondly, the time is in short supply for the new party to perform; even in Bihar. Next year UP might go for polls. The BJP has got a massive majority in UP and Bihar and it is these two states the new outfit should concentrate on if they want to show credible results.
Thirdly, their track record shows that the Janata Parivar had not been able to survive for more than two or three years even though they may have came back to unite later.
Fourthly, these leaders have come a long way from the eighties when they were twenty years younger and much more energetic. They were able to build some euphoria and hope in the public when they floated their own political outfits. Today they are tried and tested leaders. Some like Nitish Kumar have given good governance and others have not. For instance Lalu has not got any kudos in Bihar for his poor governance record. Mulayam Singh regime has also earned the name of “Goonda raj.”
The vote share of the RJD and JD (U) in Bihar, SP in Uttar Pradesh, INLD in Haryana and JD(S) in Karnataka has declined significantly during the last decade. The JD(S) presence remains limited to the southern Karnataka. Moreover most of them like Lalu, Mulayam Singh and Chautala are facing corruption charges.
On the positive side, the advantage of this new Janata Parivar is its vast social base and if they are able to exploit it then it, they can challenge the BJP. But for that the pre-requisite is solid unity amongst the collective leadership. The Janata and Janata Dal experiment collapsed mainly because of petty leadership disputes. While Lalu is willing to accept Mulayam as the leader of this new experiment he is silent about Nitish Kumar’s leadership in Bihar.
The immediate test can be in Bihar where the RJD and the JD (U) can fight on a single party name and symbol. If the Congress and the left parties join in their efforts, then the anti – BJP votes will not be divided. They had already shown this in the last year’s bye- elections by defeating the BJP candidates. The two leaders together can take on Modi in the public discourse.
On the whole, the new experiment can succeed only if the anti BJP votes are not divided and the opposition fights the BJP in a united manner. IPA
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