VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
Om Prakash Chautala is a regional
chieftain. He is hardly known outside Haryana nor is his party Indian National
Lok Dal.
Neither in the NDA nor in the
UPA, he is desperate to float something called “Third Front” and wants Punjab
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as the next Prime Minister of the country
after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
So Badal, the veteran of Akali
politics, who has hardly played any political role at the Centre, becomes the
latest name to join the race for prime ministership. Being an astute
politician, firmly rooted to the ground, Badal knows the political reality of
the country and may not himself be aspiring for the position, but his friend
Chautala has nevertheless floated his name.
Chautala may not be serious
unlike his father Chaudhary Devi Lal, who was one of the architects of the
Third Front and rose to become the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in
1989. Badal is firmly in the NDA, one of its oldest constituents and has shown
no inclination to leave it. At this point of time, the Third Front seems more
like a mathematical calculation in the cloud rather than a political reality on
the ground.
Badal’s name is the latest
addition to a dozen odd names being floated like a test balloon. Those who
float the names simply want to see the public reaction or lack of it before
making a hasty retreat.
It all started with the floating
of the name of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the top political job
of the country. The moment the name of Modi is floated, media rushes to get the
reaction of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. This has happened so often in
the last couple of years that people have lost interest in the Modi versus
Kumar shadow boxing. In fact, both the leaders themselves have now refused to
get drawn into the slanging match, orchestrated by a section of the media.
Having won two consecutive
elections in Bihar ,
Nitish Kumar wrote the political obituary of Lalu Prasad Yadav and now
he himself is an aspirant for the top job if the “situation warrants” and NDA
looks for acceptability cutting across the political spectrum. His die-hard
supporters insist that he could become the Prime Minister as the “most
accepted” face of the NDA with all the regional satraps like Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, Mamata Banerjee in West
Bengal , Jayalalita in Tamil Nadu, Chandrababu Naidu and Jagan
Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh likely to support him. And if NDA does not make
him the PM, he could switch over to the UPA to get the top job. This is what a
section of his supporters argue. Well, there is many a slip between the cup and
the lip.
From the BJP, Gujarat
strongman Modi is not the only name being floated around for the top job. You
have the veteran of many a battle, LK Advani, who was the prime ministerial
candidate in the 2009 election as well and could well be the aspirant in 2014
also. He was there in the 2004 elections too but unfortunately NDA lost to the
Congress on both occasions and the dream could not turn into a reality.
Then you have Leader of
Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, whose name has been floated by Shiv
Sena supremo Bal Thackeray who described
her as the most deserving. “At present there is only one person who is
intelligent, brilliant — Sushma Swaraj,” Thackeray said in his mouthpiece,
Saamana. Even before Thackeray said that, she was a contender for the job in
her party.
Due to his suave and
sophisticated image and the ability to make friends across political divide,
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley is another candidate. His
name has been endorsed by former BJP leader, Govindacharya. As the date nears, there will be more endorsements for
his name. Though no one in BJP takes Govindacharya seriously these days, Jaitley finds a lot of
support for his candidature in the party. Punjab BJP is already looking for a
seat in the state for him to contest so that he makes his Lok Sabha debut in
the next general elections.
From the NDA, Sharad Yadav’s name
is also floated occasionally even though he derives his political strength from
JD(U), whose prime vote catcher remains Nitish Kumar. His debating skills and
parliamentary experience are cited prominently in his Curriculum Vitae by his
supporters whose number does not exceed a dozen or two.
Now if you turn the gaze on the
other side of the divide, you find Mulayam Singh Yadav flexing his muscles and
positioning himself as the candidate for the top job. After handing over Uttar
Pradesh to his son Akhilesh Yadav, the senior Yadav has turned whole heartedly
to national politics and is looking for a possible situation which existed in
the late 1980s and early 90s when VP Singh, H D Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar
Gujaral became prime ministers in quick succession before losing the script in
the 1991 polls. But Yadav does not have the support of a Harkishan Singh
Surjeet now and his attempt to cobble up a conglomeration of regional parties
is yet to take off.
Ruling UPA and its main
constituent Congress would obviously smile at so many contenders for the top
job. “The post is not vacant,” is the reply of Congress spokespersons if you
pose the question to them. The party itself has no dearth of contenders.
Manmohan Singh would complete two terms as PM in 2014 and would obviously be
the contender again with his few supporters arguing that if he can remain the
PM for two terms then why not a third term even though he would be 82 by then.
Rahul Gandhi would naturally be
the choice of party President Sonia Gandhi if Congress is voted to power with
the kind of majority it got in the 2009 polls. Rahul has been waiting, learning
his tricks in the organization and would have gained requisite experience by
then, his supporters argue. He may not have won any election for the party but
Congress leaders — senior or junior — have been proposing his name ever since
he joined politics and are all praise for his “potential” and how he could become
the best Prime Minister of the country. No one in the party — from the humble
block level worker to General Secretaries of AICC and the Cabinet Ministers —
would oppose his name if the numbers favour UPA, post 2014 polls.
But what if the Congress manages
to get the numbers despite two lackluster terms and Rahul is not ready even by
then and asks for more time to learn and see the country. A slew of names are
taken in the Congress which includes those of Defense Minister A K Antony,
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram or
even rank outsiders who have the trust of the Gandhi family.
People are watching the latest
edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati with great interest and want to see who gets
the jackpot of `5 crore this season. They would also be keenly watching the
political events unfold to see who becomes the Prime Minister in May 2014. (October 1, 2012)
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