VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
The electorate of the country
seems to have made a decision and there is little doubt left that Congress is
on its way out and NDA almost ready to occupy the office space of Prime
Minister at South Block along with the ministerial buildings in Lutyen’s Delhi .
As the Congress is headed for its
worst ever defeat in the last 62 years, BJP is headed for its best ever in the
34 years of its formation after 1980. It must indeed be gratifying for those
involved in the formation of BJP after the fiasco of the Janata Party that from
two seats in 1984 versus 410 seats of the Congress, it is headed to form the
next Government in the Centre.
Demoralised workers of the
Congress versus enthusiastic workers of the BJP tell the story in various parts
of the country, which are yet to go to polls. Despite 10 years of rule, the
party workers and candidates of the ruling party do not know how to approach
the electorate and with what. Despite a manifesto, they do not know what
promises to make and to which section. They are putting up a brave face even
though they know what is in store for them.
Sometimes, I am amazed at the way
Congress is brazenly mocking at the Gujarat model of
development. Agreed that the Gujarat model is for the big Capital but at the
end of the day, it has generated employment
opportunities, increased the GDP of the State, enhanced tax collection
and general prosperity with several ancillary units coming up to supplement the
bigger industries. Of course, Gujarat was always a
developed State and Narendra Modi perhaps played no more a role than that of a
catalyst. The Gujarat model may also have its
limitations and cannot be implemented in States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
and West Bengal where local economy has to be factored
in for any scheme. But to out rightly reject it, the way Congress is doing, is
simply amusing to say the least.
Now, compare it with the Amethi
and Raebareli models of development, patented by the Congress. Here, I have
travelled extensively and amazed at the backwardness of the region despite
electing Congress Prime Ministers, Congress presidents and vice-presidents
since decades. Remember, Indira Gandhi represented Raebareli while her son
Sanjay Gandhi and later Rajiv Gandhi represented Amethi. The same is the
situation now, with mother-son representing the two constituencies — Raebareli
by Congress president and Amethi by its vice-president.
All you see here in vast rural
landscape of the two constituencies are remnants of petrol pumps. The party and
its Government only allotted petrol pumps, LPG dealership and kerosene depots
to their followers over the years. The concentration is so dense that there are
petrol pumps and LPG dealers every 2-km in the two constituencies — something
unheard of anywhere in rural India .
In the twin constituencies, primarily rural, the vehicle penetration is so low
that a lot of these petrol pumps have either closed down or exist just for the
sake of it as many cater to not more than 2-3 vehicles a day. So this is the
model of development of Amethi and Raebareli.
Then in all these decades when
the two constituencies of UP have been electing Prime Ministers, Congress
presidents and de facto Prime Ministers, all they have got are a few showpiece
like a flying academy here or a footwear institute there, a railway coach
factory now and a hospital. Some private sector investment did come after Rajiv
Gandhi won in 1984 and became Prime Minister but then the industrialists got
land at a throwaway price and wanted other concessions from the then Congress
Government. They set up temporary shades, started some manufacturing in huge
gated and walled complexes and gradually abandoned them. All of them are now
firmly closed even as some are being used as prime real estate.
In short, that is Amethi and
Raebareli models of development where power always plays truant, you have to
walk a considerable distance to get to a cyber café or eat a hygienic meal in a
hotel. You will be lucky to find a decent hotel with power back up and without
mosquitoes for company. The roads remain bumpy and the situation worsens in the
monsoons.
Whenever I visited the two
constituencies in the past, I always wondered what have the Gandhis done for
the area to command absolute loyalty of the voters. Except for the Sanjay
Gandhi Hospital Sanjay Gandhi
Hospital
This makes me wonder, if you
cannot even improve the lifestyle of the people who have been voting you for
decades and are loyal followers, what will you do for the country? You have
been taking the people of Amethi and Raebareli for granted, not for a year or
two but for decades — four decades. Paternalism of the royal style is not going
to help here. This is what you have been doing for decades, make a flash visit,
appear in a wedding function, wave from your SUV, eat a lunch on the roadside
for photo-op, sit on the ground for a while and then disappear to the comfort
of your home in New Delhi . People
of the country have seen through this façade.
The Amethi and Raebareli models
glorify poverty, teach you how to live with minimum resources and also tell you
not to aspire for anything — jobs, better education, modern life style,
electricity, etc. I would take the risk of being termed cynical, but perhaps
there is a vested interest is keeping the people in the trap of poverty to
command their loyalty. It is like the royal families of the country who still
command respect in the small areas which they ruled decades ago. Rooted in
poverty and superstition, they still revere the descendants of the Rajas and
Maharajas out of habit.
But gradually old habits are
changing and this is discernible on the ground. For the first time, in 2014,
the Gandhi family has perhaps become a liability for the Congress in many
places. There are perhaps only two States where Congress is holding on its own
against the onslaught of the NDA and the regional parties this time. These are Assam
and Punjab . While in Assam ,
Tarun Gogoi is the name instead of the Gandhi family, in Punjab
each Congress candidate is holding on to the battlefield without the baggage of
the Gandhi family. In fact, the saying in Punjab is that
you should avoid a rally of a member of the first family of the Congress in
your constituency to improve your prospects.
The bigger question now is that
will the Gandhi family take the blame if Congress is reduced to double digits
in the Lok Sabha election?
As Rahul Gandhi has taken over
the party, his stamp is visible everywhere and is the de facto prime
ministerial candidate of his party, he will have to be brave and candid enough
to take on the responsibility. If the Congress fares well despite the odds,
Rahul has to be given credit and if the party fails badly and reduced in the
double digits, you cannot merely blame Manmohan Singh for that and emerge
unscathed.
After May 16, Rahul Gandhi needs
to reinvent himself and the Congress. The old idioms and phrases of governance,
with which he is rooted, is not working in this age and era. Despite being
relatively young and two decades younger than Narendra Modi, he could not make
a dent in the youth segment and first time voters. He will now have to think
what will his role be as a Leader of Opposition and how to use that role to
strengthen the party and himself for the next battle in 2019. (April 28, 2014 )
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