The long wait may be over but many questions remain

 

That Rahul Gandhi is finally being elevated to lead the Congress is not surprising at all. Nevertheless, the million dollar question is: Has the Congress scion developed the political acumen to take on the BJP?

Amitabh Shukla

It was one of the worst kept or rather the most publicized secret of Indian politics — Rahul Gandhi becoming the president of the Congress. Ever since he came into politics and contested the Amethi Lok Sabha seat 13 years ago in 2004, there was not even an iota of doubt that he would be the top boss of the party one day.

The reason is simple: ‘Dynasty’ is the keyword for the Congress and a leader, whose mother, father, grandmother and great grandfather have been Congress presidents, would naturally take over the mantle some day. There is no rocket science involved here and everyone, even in the remotest part of the country, perhaps, knew it. It was simply a matter of time as the question merely was ‘when’ and not ‘who’.

No wonder, soon after he became an MP, there had been a consistent clamour by an overwhelming section of the younger generation of Congress leaders, primarily the dynasts and speculation in the middle and upper echelons of the deeply entrenched party men and women, as to when and how will Rahul Gandhi take over from his mother, Sonia Gandhi.

Now that the decks have been cleared and the heir-apparent for a long time would finally take over as Congress president in the first week of December, speculations will finally end. In fact, after having occupied the post of the party president for the highest number of years in the entire 132-year-old history of the Congress, speculation would now be on the role of party chief Sonia Gandhi in the grand old party. Also, what will now be the role of the old guard of the Congress, which has been consistently loyal to Sonia Gandhi and who managed to read her mind over the years as also influenced her directly or indirectly, occasionally in conflict with the stated desires of the younger Gandhi. 

Perhaps what prompted the Congress to anoint Rahul Gandhi as the new party chief at this juncture in the month, when the Congress was founded in 1885, was the perpetual indisposition of 70-year-old Sonia Gandhi. In the high decibel, Himachal Pradesh Assembly election, she did not campaign at all. Even in the ongoing campaign in Gujarat, she is conspicuous by her absence. She was vacationing in Himachal Pradesh when a small bout of illness again forced her to go back to Delhi. She has been in and out of India for treatment for a while now.

In fact, it was the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, who was made the party vice president in 2013, who was the de facto party president for the last four years after officially becoming the Number Two in the party hierarchy at the Jaipur convention. It is a different matter that now, this official No. 2 position is being sought to be elevated to Number 1, even though the entire brass of the party knows that the actual decision-making since 2013 was being done by Rahul Gandhi himself.

The million dollar or rather the billion rupee question is: Has Rahul Gandhi re-invented himself to take on the mantle of not only the Congress but also the electoral charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

As we can see in the electoral polity, it is increasingly becoming a clash of towering personalities, something similar to the presidential form of contest and electioneering in the United States. Rahul Gandhi proved himself to be incapable of taking on Prime Minister Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, followed by several Assembly elections, the most important of which was the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll.

In his home State, Rahul Gandhi himself selected the candidates, and decided to go for an electoral alliance with the Samajwadi Party and then faced one of the most crushing defeats of his lifetime, the second time in a row. When he took the mantle in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh poll, taking all decisions, the party just managed a little over five per cent of the seats. Both in 2012 and 2017, the entire political strategy in the largest State of the country of the soon-to-become Congress president collapsed like a house of cards, exposing him to several uncomfortable and probing questions.

Of course, what saved Rahul Gandhi from a complete political humiliation in March this year was the redemption in Punjab to a great extent. Here again, in the clash of two personalities — Capt Amarinder Singh on one side and the Badal duo on the other (Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal), the former won. Even though Rahul Gandhi’s political strategy was limited to non-interference in Punjab affairs and leaving almost everything to Capt Amarinder, no one would really call it a sign of a maturing Rahul Gandhi. Punjab cannot really be termed as a victory for Rahul Gandhi’s political acumen. Not even the staunchest Congress supporter would buy that argument.

So, what has changed between the disaster of Uttar Pradesh in March and certain ascension of Rahul Gandhi in December? Politically, nothing but perception wise, the Congress is thinking that the tide is somewhat turning against the BJP at the Centre and it is the right time for Rahul Gandhi to take over so that he can be projected as a leader of stature against Modi in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. The party, perhaps, thinks that by projecting a prime ministerial candidate, they would be able to stitch up an anti-Modi alliance in the remaining months.

There is also a belief amongst Congress strategists that an element of voter fatigue with the BJP has crept in after being in power for three and a half years at the Centre and they are increasingly finding traction once again amongst the electorate.

In the last six months or so, speeches of Rahul Gandhi in foreign countries and during election campaigns in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, is being cited as signs of the maturing of a leader. Of course, Rahul Gandhi does not sound immature now the way he did all through his tenure as a politician, it remains to be seen how it translates into votes in the near future. In fact, trust deficit of the electorate with the Congress has only widened over the years and months since the summer of 2014, when the grand old party of the country was reduced to its lowest figure in its entire electoral history of independent India.

Instead of reinventing itself in any big way and offering a new narrative to counter the electoral juggernaut of the BJP, the Congress is more or less counting on anti-incumbency, if any, against the Modi Government and is hoping that the alleged negative impact of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax on the economy would help it overcome the political odds stacked against it. Being the principal opposition party at the Centre and most States, it is hoping that it would come to power by default rather than by a concrete design and roadmap. Is it a mere wishful thinking or is there any concrete electoral traction on the ground, only the results of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat on December 18 would show.

Rahul Gandhi would become the party president in the middle of the Gujarat election campaign — a State where the party is hoping to make a comeback bid. Not that the Congress hopefuls are hoping to return to power in a State where they have been out of the equation for decades. All they are thinking at this moment is a good show to use it as a launch pad for the next 16 months when the rival political parties would try to match each other in high decibel in the run up to the general election of 2019. (Nov 26, 2017)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edition/agenda/opinion/the-long-wait-may-be-over-but-many-questions-remain.html

DAGSHAI, The Weekend Wonder

Amitabh Shukla 

Dagshai in Himachal Pradesh may only be a small hill station or rather a small Cantonment town, perched on top of a sunny hill on the highway to Shimla, but when you decide to take a detour and come here and spend a few hours, you are bound to enjoy the bounty which nature has to offer.

While going to Shimla from Delhi or Chandigarh, you cross Dharampur, a small Himachal town on the highway known for its eating joints, the most popular of which is undoubtedly the time tested Giani Da Dhaba. It may have been demolished now due to widening of the road and a new structure coming up in place of the old but not long ago it was difficult to find a seat here on the weekends. Ask the old students of numerous public schools around these hills and they will swear by its food. Now, a lot of other eateries have sprung up here, including those of popular food chains, and doing decent business but the work on four-laning of the road has ensured that this lively place now looks more like a dusty, war torn zone.

Anyway, just after you cross the main crowded market of Dharampur which also has a heritage railway station, there is a detour on the right to Dagshai. A signage of the Cantonment Board welcomes you to Dagshai, set up by the East India Company of the British, to escape the intense summer hills of the plains, 30 kms away.

In fact, so conscious were the British about their comfort that they set up three Cantonments nearby — Kasauli, Subathu (the birthplace of Gorkha regiment) and of course Dagshai in close proximity. Then, a little ahead is Shimla, the summer Capital of the British, which also has a significantly large military setting. Whenever I visit these areas, I wonder what the strategic importance of these Cantonments was in those days which prompted the British to set them up in the first place. The reason has to be only one — salubrious climate which reminded the British of their homes and the weather in England.

Of course, for travelers like me, Cantonment Boards like Dagshai, Subathu and Kasauli still are islands of cleanliness, devoid of commercialization which still preserves the old world charm. You can still find and romance with the glory of a bygone era in these three Cantonments in close proximity.

Back to Daghshai, what attracts a traveler like me is silence. This is what brings me back to this place every now and then. When I was in Class I or II, the teachers used to shout “pin drop silence” whenever the naughty boys were at play in the classroom. I never understood the meaning of pin drop silence in school, despite the teachers berating us and forcing us to do so. But here, in Dagshai, just choose any place off the stiff climb, sit there and all you would hear is “pin drop silence”. Even if you drop a pin, you could hear it falling here, literally. Of course, chirping of birds, the melody of flowing breeze, dancing leaves on the numerous trees as the gentle wind caresses them…these cannot be considered sound. This is nature’s magic.

There are no hotels to stay here. Dagshai is not meant for that. But even for a routine tourist, the place has several sightseeing options. The most prominent is a British era Jail — a formidable structure, this is popularly called the Cellular Jail of north India with 54 high security cells. Maintained by the Engineering Wing of the Indian Army, you can see how tough a jail life was in the British era for the Indian freedom fighters.

Irish soldiers, who served in the British Army and revolted in 1920 as part of a freedom movement back home in Ireland, were kept here during their trial. The mutineers were shot dead in a Capital punishment and buried in a cemetery in Dagshai. One of the Irish heroes James Daly, who was buried here for 50 years after taking part in the mutiny and then being shot  as a punishment, got a new resting place in his home country of Ireland in the 1970s. His mortal remains were taken to Ireland with military honours and he is still a celebrated hero back home.

Indian freedom fighters were also kept in the jail which has a wooden floor. This meant that even the slightest of sound was captured by the sentry who could raise an alarm. Four Indian freedom fighters of the famous Komagatamaru ship, all ex-servicemen, who were refused entry in Canada in 1914 had to return back where 20 of them were arrested on arrival and sent to the Dagshai jail. Four of them were hanged.

When I reached this jail and a small museum on a Sunday, it was closed for the afternoon. But the immaculately dressed friendly army sentry promptly opened the doors, saying that very few visitors come here.  He placed the visitor’s book for my comments. I simply wrote, “Had never seen a jail in my life before. I hope the world becomes crime free and jails become a thing of the past in the next century”. I could not even spend half an hour here and to imagine that freedom fighters spent years and were even awarded Capital punishment, was indeed a nightmarish experience.

The museum in the jail compound houses old photographs which recreates the history of the place and some memorabilia from the British period. The architecture of both the jail and the museum are typical British in green color which not only jell with the woody surroundings but also the entire material used has been procured locally.

Over to the cemetery, not used now but well known for several spooky stories built around it. The spooky stories started when the Irish soldiers were executed and buried here, triggering local rumours about their ghosts moving around. There are also local stories of unrequited love and untimely deaths which gave birth to a different genre of ghost stories. Old timers swear that they used to hear unfamiliar sounds.

During my brief visits to the cemetery twice in the recent past, all I could hear on the road above the cemetery was extreme silence—Nothing else. This was the final resting place for several army British officers and soldiers, forcing me to think how they could not even go to their birthplace for their final rest. Born in United Kingdom, died in India…that is what it should have been written on the epitaph. As the cemetery was neglected for years, stones and the written words are missing in most of them. I took a walk and only found squirrels surprise me with their deft and swift movement, colorful birds finding a perfect mating place, a hairy street dog watching me carefully from a distance. There was no ghost to encounter. 

There are boarding schools here, one for the army and at the other a public school and as part of learning nature, treks by school students in uniform are common, including in the cemetery area. I envied these kids. What a wonderful place to be in a boarding school—amid hills, nature, birds and clear blue sky devoid of smog and fog in the winters and intense heat and humidity of the winters.

The St Patrick’s Church, now hardly used came up with the small Cantonment town itself and is a typical colonial architecture, now attracting curious visitors, keen to know their history and heritage. Thick pine and oak trees ass to the charm of the place as you decide to take a walk all around the place and stare at the architectural marvel of a bygone era.

After spending the day roaming around all over the quite Catonment cum hill station, sipping tea at a couple of tea stalls, munching some snacks and also closing your eyes for a quick nap on one of the numerous benches and shades, overlooking wonderful valleys, drive down to Kumarhatti on the other side of the hillock where Dagshai is located. The stiff down hill drive will take you to the crowded market and all of a sudden you will realise how important is solitude to a human life. How important it is to spend time in nature's company...How important it is to realise the value of silence and nothingness which envelops you in these marvels of nature. (November 20, 2017)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/dagshai-the-weekend-wonder.html

Bitter battle in the Queen of Hills

Anti incumbency may sway Himachal poll results

 

 

Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh

One of the most fiercely contested elections recently, Himachal Pradesh is one classic case of democracy where anti incumbency seems to be sole determining factor in the November 9 assembly polls.

If Virbhadra Singh Government is voted out of power forty days later on December 18 when the results are to be announced, it would be largely due to anti-incumbency as the State has been voting out the incumbent Government for the last over three decades without fail.

Not that the six-time Chief Minister has done a lot of development work in the last five years and he needs another term to complete his work. That’s not the case. Himachal is one State where successive Government — BJP and Congress — both have done remarkably well and touched the developmental chord and consistently strived to improve the social and economic indices of the State.

So much so that whoever has been in power, they have focused on core areas like roads, schools, health, transport, women empowerment, horticulture, agriculture tourism etc. Of course, a lot of work still needs to be done as development is an ongoing phenomenon, but it is pleasant to find that there is no politicisation of development in the hill State unlike its neighbours.  Ask the villagers and they will tell you that the BJP started that work and Congress completed it or Congress Government started a particular work and the next BJP Government ensured that it was complete as per the time schedule.

Many villagers do not even associate any work with any political party, simply saying that the government did it. “As long as we get our old age pension on time and other schemes, we are not even bothered to find out who funds the scheme-Centre or the state,” said, Daulat Ram, a village head in Una constituency. Rani, who goes by the first name, and who runs a shop on the highway from Hamirpur to Una, is satisfied with governance as her expectations have been met broadly. “Whatever scheme is announced, either by the Centre or the State, comes here and the villagers get benefit. There is so much awareness now that whoever is in power in Shimla ensures that we are not left out,” she added. 

The general refrain in Himachal is that “it’s a well administered State” and whoever has been in power, has more or less continued the work done by the previous regime, except a few exceptions here and there. Comparison with other states like neighbouring Punjab would be apt as polity here, is completely divided by two adversarial political power structure of Akali Dal and Congress where one upmanship is the norm and verbally tearing each other apart is practiced without fail. Not in Himachal, where good work by the other party keeps on going and the political rival too has little or no issues with it. Even when the local but rival Himachal leaders attack each other, it has little to do with conviction and more to do with political expediency and demands of their respective high command.

Travelling in the hill State during the elections was an eye opener. The bitter acrimony which the rival political parties — BJP and Congress — engage in at the macro level, is absent at the micro level. The high decibel campaign doesn’t really affect the voters living in areas outside the urban habitats and largely they get influenced and go by door to door canvassing and personal touch of candidates. The simple Himachalis in the hinterland are convinced more by their friendly neighborhood candidate and their accessibility than the helicopter flying tall leaders making tall promises or leveling all sorts of accusations against their rivals.

During my travel during elections, I came across numerous tea stall owners, cloth shops, dhaba owners, daily need shops, heads of gram panchayats etc, where the local MLA comes in the evening either for a drink, tea or a simple chat all throughout his or her tenure of five years. Most of the people I interacted with in the villages and the hamlets adjoin the State highways and Major District Roads, personally knew their MLA, had met them and interacted with them on numerous occasions.

“That’s a way of political life her. This is how you conduct your politics here,” said Ramesh Singh, a dhaba owner in Arki constituency. He is a school friend of the sitting MLA Govind Sharma of the BJP and has been voting for the Lotus for the last two terms of Govind Sharma. As his friend Sharma is not contesting this time, he would rather go with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who is contesting from Arki for the first time after leaving his Shimla Rural seat for his son Vikramaditya Singh. “I am what you can say, a floating voter. I take a call at the appropriate time. Had Govind Sharma been contesting, it would have been extremely difficult for me but I would have gone with my friend,” he added. Sharma is a regular at the Dhaba.

There were few takers for the allegations of corruption leveled by top BJP leaders against chief minister Virbhadra Singh. “Corruption is a non issue in Himachal Pradesh. Who would believe that Raja (as Virbhadra Singh is known) who has ancestral wealth running into multiples of crores, would indulge in corruption amounting to `5 crore or something,” said a Professor in Himachal Pradesh University who did not want to be named.

Another Congress leader added, that the problem was in the “unprofessional accountants of Singh who did a shoddy work” while filing his tax returns. They are not willing to buy the charge of BJP leaders that a Raja would indulge in such a small corruption. “People simply laugh it away,” said the Congress leader, when asked about the main election plank of BJP.

The Professor, who is a fence sitter in the politically surcharged State in the run up to elections, does not have a grudge against the BJP either. “See, Congress raised the issues of demonetisation and GST in the elections. These issues are of no consequence to the people of the State,” he said, adding that “the biggest failure of Congress remained finding issues which could find traction with the people”. The Professor said that in a relatively prosperous state, the level of expectations keeps increasing. “People keep voting out the incumbent Government as the expectations are not met. In fact, no government can ever meet all expectations and that is where they vote out one Government and bring out the other,” he added.

The Congress leaders, who claimed to have toured the State and who were managing the polls from the State party headquarters on Cart Road, said it was a “normal election” unlike the “wave election” of 2014 where BJP resoundingly won all the four parliamentary seats in the state. They kept on insisting that Modi is no longer a strong factor in Himachal Pradesh.

BJP leaders disagree. “There is no proof so far to suggest that the Modi wave is on decline. We just won a landslide in UP earlier this year and that was entirely due to Modi magic,” said a BJP leader in Hotel Combermere, the headquarters of the party during the assembly polls. “We have a triple advantage in Himachal this time-charisma of Modi, chief ministerial face of Prem Kumar Dhumal and anti incumbency,” summed up the BJP greenhorn, who claims to be well acquainted with the broader socio-political current of the state.

So, there you have it. The political trend in Himachal is slightly different and it would be difficult to see it from the prism of macro factors that determine the trend in the rest of the northern state. Local factors, local leaders and localized issues seem to dominate the broader contours and that makes the elections all the more exciting. November 13, 2017)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/anti-incumbency-may-sway-himachal-poll-results.html