VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
Driving up to Shimla or being hauled up by the heritage
train from Kalka has always been an experience to cherish, more so in the
summers. This time, I chose to drive to the summer Capital of the British to
gauze the political temperature at a time when the plains were sizzling hot
with temperatures in the mid 40s. It was a cool 15 degrees less in the Hill
Station, built and developed by our erstwhile colonial masters but the
political temperature was hot and getting hotter by the day.
Blessed by nature, the beautiful state which many say has
the best indices for living as compared to other states of the country, is in a
political turmoil of sorts with Assembly elections scheduled to be held in
November given the extreme climatic conditions in the tribal areas. If you
deduct around 45 days during which the model code of conduct remains in force,
the BJP-led state government is practically left with only three months in
which it has to hammer across the point to the electorate that it has done
enough to come back to power again.
“Development, development and development is the only
agenda in the polls,” a state leader said without batting an eyelid. Clearly
the term has been borrowed from Vidya Balan starrer hit movie ‘Dirty Picture’
where entertainment, entertainment and entertainment is considered to be the
core for making a film hit. Here, in Himachal Pradesh the winning pedestal will
belong to the party which chants the new political mantra of development,
development and development effectively and convincingly.
Indeed, everyone you talk to, irrespective of the party
affiliation, talks only about development as the main and only agenda of the
polls. Corruption comes next in line as an issue for the polls. While the
Opposition Congress is targeting the Prem Kumar Dhumal government on charges of
non-development and also alleged corruption of a couple of ministers, the
ruling party is ready with a long list of its achievements and challenging the
opposition to prove even a single instance of corruption. To make it more
interesting, there are factions within the ruling party and the opposition
which are trying to run down their own organization. While BJP faces dissidents
and disenchanted faces, apparently those who did not benefit from the regime,
there are similar faces in the Congress, who are battling each other out for
turf supremacy.
The political script in Himachal is similar to any other
state facing elections. We saw that in Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh early this year and will see a similar script in Gujarat
as well which goes to polls along with Himachal. While development has emerged
as the main agenda in the elections in the last few years, corruption is not
far behind, particularly after Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev went hammers and
tong against it.
Congress in Himachal Pradesh is a divided house in the
run-up to the polls with various groups flexing their muscle to get a bigger pound
of the flesh. More so, when the party senses that it could ride on an
anti-incumbency wave. Two Union Ministers – Virbhadra Singh and Anand Sharma
have thrown their hats in the ring and this is to become the chief minister
after the polls. While Sharma was never known to have played an active role in
state politics as he is considered a central leader and is shy of fighting a
direct election in the state, Singh is more concerned with the state rather
than his ministry in the Centre.
The list of Congress aspirants is long. Others in the fray
with their factions, include senior leader G S Bali, state chief Kaul Singh
Thakur and Leader of Opposition Vidya Stokes. They leave no opportunity to run
down each other and ally with each other only when they sense that in the
battle of one-upmanship, this is necessary. For them, their faction is more
important than the party they represent. Instead of acting as an umpire, AICC
General Secretary in-charge of the state, Birender Singh remains a mute
spectator in the fierce turf war being fought within the party.
BJP discounts the anti incumbency factor which the Congress
is taking for granted. “There is a pro incumbency wave in the state with the
government not only delivering what it promised but doing much more than that,”
says Dhumal. But BJP too is not far behind Congress when it comes to internal
differences and facing contradictions. While senior party leader and former
chief minister Shanta Kumar may not have been directly involved nor has he hit
out against anybody in particular, some of his supporters have expressed their
unease. The latest was Rohru legislator Khushi Ram Balnatah who wrote to party
President Nitin Gadkari demanding a change in the leadership saying,
"Allegations of corruption, nepotism and regionalism are being leveled
against the state government."
Balnath is only the latest BJP dissident. More could
resurface as the dates for the polls get near. Party MP Rajan Sushant has
already been suspended for airing his grievances against Dhumal publicly. A new
outfit – Himachal Lokhit Party – too was formed by some BJP dissidents led by
Maheshwar Singh early this year and it intends to enter into an alliance with
the CPI(M) which recently won the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s post in the Shimla
Municipal polls. A Third Front is very much on the cards now in the poll bound
state and will comprise of dissidents of all hues.
Being at the centre of opposition fire, Health Minister
Rajeev Bindal has resigned to blunt the opposition which has been continuously
targeting him for corruption. A close aide of Dhumal, Bindal would now be in
the organisation as state general secretary.
Clearly, both the Congress and BJP are a divided house in
the state and no one can say which party is more divided.
Though Dhumal is concerned about the developments
within the BJP as they come close to the polls, those loyal to him believe that
HLP could help them win the elections as it would eat into the anti-incumbency
votes which would have otherwise gone to the Congress. The situation, they say,
is similar to Punjab where Manpreet Badal broke away
from the Akali Dal to form the PPP and split the anti-incumbency votes and
managed to get over 5 per cent of the vote share in the January 30 elections.
Congress suffered in the process and relegated to the runners-up position even
as the vote difference of SAD-BJP and Congress was much lower than the votes
which the PPP got.
Himachal is headed for a murky political battle and the
reverse counting has begun. Political churning would continue for the next
three months before the line-up is drawn. Obviously the voters would have the
last laugh. (June 18, 2012)
No comments:
Post a Comment