Dussehra & Diwali: Kill demonic qualities

  

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

This column primarily focuses on political issues and this is what I have been doing for the last three years when this began in The Pioneer. This time too with Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra barely a few days away, the temptation of writing on politics was natural.

But I curbed my natural instinct to analyse political issues as my attention was diverted by the festive spirit gripping the nation, particularly north, the part of India I live in. We have already celebrated Dussehra, Durga Puja and Vijaya Dashami in the way we want. Now, we are preparing to celebrate Diwali. The basic premise of celebrating of all these festivals is the victory of good over evil. The demons die every year reminding us continuously how to guard ourselves against the demonic qualities which are ever ready to influence and affect us.

As I sat with the keyboard to write this column after visiting the Durga Puja pandal where goddess Durga kills the demon Mahisasur and after watching Ravan go down in flames amid bursting of crackers like every year, I was forced to introspect and think afresh. Three decades ago, when I was a kid, I had asked a learned person, my grandfather, “Why do we burn Ravan every year?” His reply was simple, which still remains the standard answer to the query. “Ravan symbolises evil”. Since time immemorial, every year, the day is celebrated as the triumph of good over evil.

Evil… he indeed was. Ravan kidnapped Lord Rama’s wife Sita by deceit and forcibly took her to Lanka. But there are different interpretations why he did so. A section of the scholars say that Sita was kidnapped to take revenge from Rama’s brother Laxman who sliced his sister Surpanakha’s nose. Ravan kept the kidnapped Sita in forceful confinement in Ashok Vatika but never ever touched her.

There is another interpretation that the king of Lanka wanted to win Sita over and had kidnapped her. Whatever, the interpretation and reasons, obviously no kidnapping is acceptable in any society. But the point is whether the offence is so despicable and unheard of in Indian society to be termed as an evil. There are people roaming around with much more serious crime. Why don’t we burn their effigies as well along with Ravan? As compared to these modern days “Ravans”, the actual Ravan of Ramayana looks like a saint. Kidnapping of course is a serious offence. But what about the incidents of gang-rapes and murders taking place with alarming regularity? Isn’t it time we burnt the effigies of the rapists to take the message across that this is more heinous act that what Ravan did?

The demon king of Lanka whose effigy is burnt with much fanfare was also accused of being arrogant. Well, if that is the criteria of terming someone evil, then I am afraid there is an evil lurking in most of the human beings and we need to cleanse ourselves from arrogance and anger. Then, Ravan was extremely egoist. Again, don’t we all suffer from this? Most of us are unable to let go of ego even if it remains a stumbling block for personal development. Ravan usurped the kingdom of his brother Kuber. But don’t we see politicians out of power plotting to dethrone those in power all the time by all means under their command — fair or foul? Isn’t it common to find brothers plotting against each other to get a larger slice of the family property?

Watching a popular television serial recently, I learnt a lesson — a lesson which is now deeply ingrained in me. The protagonist in the serial donates a hefty amount as donation for the local Ramleela management committee and gets the honour of shooting the arrows which would eventually burn the demon king of Lanka. The protagonist is in a joyful mood and waiting for the D-day as he had emerged as the hero of his colony, given the opportunity to shoot arrows at the effigy of Ravan. But he had a sleepless night a day before Dussehra. Ravan appears in his dream and asks him bluntly, why was he so excited to shoot arrows on the effigy the next day? “Because you have evil qualities,” replies the protagonist. “But do you have qualities like Lord Rama to shoot arrows at me?” asks Ravan in the dream of the protagonist. The poor fellow has no answers and awakens in sweat as he himself is trying to overcome anger, aggression, ego, possessiveness, etc.

As I watched so called VIPs and politicians firing symbolic arrows at the effigy of Ravan on television, the protagonist of the serial comes in mind. In Delhi, one finds politicians of all hues trying to be the chief guest at the final day of Ramleela when the effigy of the demon king is burnt.

This is not limited to Delhi alone but even in Chandigarh, Dehradun, Shimla and smaller districts. In the bigger events, you find the big politicians and at the colony level, you find local and aspiring politicians. People should now ask them bluntly, “You are welcome to shoot the arrows, but first answer one question honestly. Can you tell us if you do not have the evil qualities which Ravan had — anger, aggression, ego, possessiveness, lust for power and authority?” A majority of them would go away if they are honest to themselves.

The story of the protagonist on TV serial was taken from the life of Jesus Christ. A woman, caught committing adultery, was brought before Christ. Those who brought her to the Christ said the punishment was stoning till death. “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her,” was the reply of Jesus. When the crowd heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first.

Lord Rama had more qualities than Ravan and that entitled him to slay the demonic qualities of the Lankan king. Obviously the slaying is of demonic qualities of a person and not the person himself.

As a person, Ravan had a great lineage, performed intense tapasya to please Brahma and Lord Shiva, was an exemplary scholar, a very good ruler, an accomplished Veena player said to have composed the hymn known as Shiva Tandava Stotra. Above all, he was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva.

Some scholars even say that his description as a ten-headed person is a reference to him possessing a very thorough knowledge over the four Vedas and six Upanishads, which made him as powerful as 10 scholars. But his evil qualities did him in. Though his skills far outweighed his negative qualities, still the message is that if you possess even a single quality which is evil in nature, this would lead to your downfall. If this could happen to a person of tremendous qualities like Ravan, it could happen to anyone else. According to my understanding, this is perhaps the greatest lesson from the Lanka Kand of Ramayana.

The lesson indeed is one of introspection. Forget the epic Ramayana for a moment. Just look within and tell yourself that you have none of the evil qualities which Ravan had. If you tell yourself honestly and convincingly that you do not have any nor do you intend to acquire those, you would have learnt the true lessons which Ramayana intends to impart. (October 6, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/dussehra-and-diwali-kill-demonic-qualities.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/2014-10-05-68083.html

Leadership a birthright of Neta’s kin in India

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

With campaign for Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra in full swing, dynastic politics is in full bloom. As the malaise is spread out, cutting across party and ideological divides, many say that India has emerged as the laboratory of dynastic politics and academicians from all over the world would soon start converging here to study its dynamics at play.

In Maharashtra and Haryana, you cannot find any party where sons and daughters of prominent political figures do not play the role of a catalyst in their respective parties.

Yes, the BJP could be an exception to the rule to some extent but here also, the sympathy factor is indeed factored in when tickets are allotted though the sons and daughters may not play as important a role as their fathers played.

Given the existence of an umbilical cord connecting dynasty and politics in India, I sometimes wonder why don’t the sons and daughters of American, Russian and French Presidents, British Prime Ministers or other countries of the world get nominations from the parties of their fathers and contest polls. If getting born in the right family is the criteria for a sharp political brain, why don’t we see the children of big leaders of the world joining their fathers and mothers in the profession?

Perhaps in the USA, Russia, France or Britain politics is considered not as lucrative as in India and the children of leaders choose other more paying professions.

Perhaps for the exception of the Bush family in the USA in recent years, people there have abhorrence for anything to do with such traditions befitting only the royalty, perhaps they have outrightly rejected the theory that sons or daughters of big leaders are more

capable of leading the parties and their countries than those who do not have any political lineage.

It requires an empirical study to find out if children of leaders are born leaders and their parents pass on all the leadership qualities they have in their genes to their children. But in India, all the leaders assume that their son or daughter is the best when it comes to party tickets and notwithstanding their role in public life, they get party nominations without any hitch. In fact, most of them claim it to be their birthright. The moment a child is born in the household of an important leader in India, it can be safely said that he or she would someday contest an election.

I will not go into the details of the Gandhi family which is well-known all over the world. But surely the talk of the town was Rahul Gandhi adopting Priyanka Gandhi’s son Rehaan to groom him as the gen next in politics from the Gandhi family. No one has so far denied the reports. Can somebody stand up and say, “Please give us a break. We had enough of it.”

In Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray broke away from the BJP simply because he thought his surname stirred emotions, which would swing the voters in his favour. This would be the first election, which the Shiv Sena would be fighting after the death of the party patriarch, Bal Thackeray and would indicate how far the dynasty can go in Maharashtra politics. In fact, the Shiv Sena broke on the inheritance issue whether the son would inherit the political legacy or the nephew. Balasaheb chose his son, his nephew Raj Thackeray revolted but in the process a dynasty was established. Now that Uddhav knows benefits of a dynasty in politics, he has groomed his son Aditya as well.

Here, the NCP and dynasty are synonymous. Party supremo Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar firmly control the party though no one has been named successor as the patriarch still runs the show. Before break-up with the Congress, Pawar practically ran the show in Maharashtra even though the Chief Minister was from the Congress quota. Post October 15 polls, he is expected to again play the role of kingmaker and will have a bigger pool to choose from. He could support anyone — the Shiv Sena, the BJP or the Congress depending on the bargain if the numbers support him.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is the son of former CM Shankarrao Chavan, and now an MP. Another former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh may have died but his legacy continues as his elder son Amit was a Minister in the Prithviraj Chavan Cabinet. Chavan inherits politics from parliamentarian father Anandrao and his mother who too was an MP. A disgruntled Narayan Rane has both his sons Nilesh and Nitesh in politics.

There are too many from dynasties to count in Maharashtra as most of t he politicians have a father or uncle from whom they have inherited politics. Politics in the State is practically a closed system where you cannot do much without a powerful dynasty.

Now the BJP is trying the formula in a limited way with the daughters of Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde getting into politics after the death of their fathers.

In Haryana, the other State, which goes to polls on October 15, the situation is no different. Here too, you become an important leader by virtue of your birth. Take for instance Dushyant Chautala, the fourth generation from Chaudhary Devi Lal’s family who won the Lok Sabha elections from Hisar by defeating Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, who heads the Haryana Janhit Party. Dushyant’s father Ajay Chautala is a prominent INLD leader. His grandfather Om Prakash Chautala remains the party chief despite in jail. His uncle Abhay is MLA and is running the party in the absence of his jailed father and brother. Dushyant’s mother Naina Singh too would be contesting the polls this time, the first woman from the Chautala family to do so.

Two-term Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s father, Ranbir Singh Hooda was a member of the constituent Assembly and a MP later on. His son Deepender is the only Congress MP from the State. Two-time CM Bhajan Lal has two sons — Chander Mohan and Kuldeep Bishnoi and both in politics. Bishnoi’s wife is MLA and this time all the three are contesting the Assembly polls.

The third Lal in the State, Bansi Lal is regarded as the architect of modern Haryana as three-time CM. His daughter-in-law Kiran Chaudhary is a Minister in the Hooda Cabinet and granddaughter Shruti Chaudhary a former MP who lost the 2014 polls.

His elder son Ranbir Singh Mahendra will be contesting this time on a Congress ticket. The BJP does not have a dynasty to boast off in the State but the sister of Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Vandana Sharma will contest on the lotus symbol from Safidon constituency. Haryana like Maharashtra is a classic case where dynasty rules the roost from the ruling Congress to the Opposition.

You simply cannot aspire to achieve anything worthwhile in politics if you are not the son or daughter of a prominent leader goes the popular saying in poll-bound States like Maharashtra and Haryana. In fact, that is the case in all states-a malady which everyone recognises but cannot do anything to rectify. (September 29, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/2014-09-28-67353.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/leadership-a-birthright-of-netas-kin-in-india.html

As Modi magic dissipates, BJP faces reality test

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

After a series of disappointing results in bye-elections across the country, the BJP is now in an introspection mood. It has now come to realise that the “wave politics” was temporary and has come to an end. For the party rank and file, it was time again for grass roots politics, hard work and a new strategy to win back the voters.

The immediate task in hand not only for the BJP but also its rivals is obviously the Assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra next month, followed by Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand where polls could be held in January. Delhi too faces another round of polls anytime now as there is little possibility of anyone forming a government without engineering defections.

But what went wrong for the BJP after Narendra Modi was swept to power in a wave election in May 2014? Was the party a victim of over-confidence or fell down due to a new political arithmetic shaping up in north India?

Take for example Uttar Pradesh where the party performed rather badly in the Assembly polls. The seats which it lost were vacated by its MPs after winning the May 2014 polls. The party lost seven of the 11 seats it held in the bypolls, clearly suggesting that the ground situation had changed drastically within months of sweeping the State in May. In fact, NDA constituent Apna Dal also lost Rohania Assembly seat in Varanasi parliamentary constituency, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

But all is not lost for the BJP in UP as the bypoll results cannot be seen in isolation from the existence of multi polar politics in the biggest State of the country. Ask even those opposed to the BJP and they will admit that had the Bahujan Samaj Party contested the bypolls, the results would have been entirely different. As it was a straight contest between Samajwadi Party and the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre had to face reverses. The vote bank of the BSP perhaps shifted en masse to the SP, there was a consolidation of the minority votes for the SP and issues of love-jehad failed to ignite the imagination of the voters.

The message to the BJP was loud and clear. If the index of Opposition unity is high, it would find the going tough. Though in UP it was not a case of Opposition unity as the BSP decided not to contest as part of an electoral strategy but in Bihar a month earlier it was strong Opposition unity which proved to be the nemesis of the BJP. In Bihar, the RJD, JD(U) and the Congress came together on a common platform for the bypolls and won six of the ten Assembly seats.

Clearly in Bihar and UP, the altered political arithmetic following the Lok Sabha polls led to the defeat of the BJP. In the Lok Sabha polls, if the votes of the RJD, JD(U) and the Congress are added, it was more than that of the BJP. Though polls cannot be entirely fought on fictional arithmetic, it does help gauze the mood of the people and suggest the respective strengths and weaknesses of the parties and their support base in different caste groups. In Bihar, it remains to be seen if the three parties stick together for the next year’s Assembly polls given their divergent support base, mutual bickering, aspiration for the Chief Minister’s post and claims and counter-claims of their leaders.

In Uttar Pradesh, it would indeed be a wishful thinking to imagine the BSP and the SP coming together. Given their acrimonious past and bitter rivalry, this cannot materialise in the near future. But in a hypothetical situation if the votes they poll is added up along with that of the Congress, a new arithmetic emerges and surely the BJP cannot be found anywhere in this scenario. The BJP can thrive in UP and Bihar only in a multi-cornered contest. It remains to be seen whether it can consolidate the vote base which it got in the Lok Sabha polls and increase it further. That would be a formidable challenge and the BJP would have to take it head on if it wants to make governments in the two key States of north India.

The bypolls nevertheless confirmed that May 2014 was a wave or rather a tsunami and it has subsided in three months. The party’s disappointing performance in the Assembly by-elections in Bihar, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh last month and now in UP and Rajasthan clearly indicate that the party needs to re-strategise and re-group and not take the May victory as ever-lasting.

Gujarat is a case in point. Here the BJP won Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Prime Minister Modi, but the margin came down by over two lakh votes. A down and out Congress managed to wrest three seats from the BJP which saw a clean sweep of the party barely three months ago and that too when a fellow Gujarati runs the country as the Prime Minister. The score-line here was 6-3 in favour of the BJP but ask the saffron party supporters and they will admit that loss in this State indeed hurts.

In Rajasthan, another “clean sweep State”, the Congress wrested three seats from the BJP, indicating that its revival was only a matter of time. Of the four seats the BJP won only one even though all the seats were vacated by the newly- elected MPs. The score-line of 3-1 in favour of the Congress was indeed disappointing for the BJP and its leaders conceded it saying local factors contributed in the defeat.

Last month, the BJP lost all three seats where bypolls were held in Uttarakhand, suggesting the slackening grip of the party in a State where it had won all the five seats in a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha polls. Something indeed went wrong somewhere for the party in the hill State and it must have found out the reasons by now and may be taking corrective steps.

As the by-polls indicated that the BJP was vulnerable, the alliance partners struck when they thought the iron was hot. In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena is refusing to budge from its stand and concede extra seats to the BJP. The bargaining strength of the BJP has gone down considerably in the State where it did exceedingly well in the Lok Sabha polls, winning 23 of the 26 seats it contested. Clearly, the ambition to emerge as the senior alliance partner in Maharashtra has been the biggest casualty of the bypolls for the BJP. It cannot dump the Shiv Sena for the MNS as this would give a walkover to the Congress-NCP alliance and would have to be contented with what has been offered on plate.

In the other poll-bound State of Haryana, the alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress is over as the BJP did not want to concede more than a dozen seats to Kuldeep Bishnoi. Even as the party workers hailed the break-up of the alliance, the by-poll results dampened their spirit. This was a State where they thought the BJP was heading to form the Government after winning seven of the eight seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls. But given the new political reality after the by-polls, where local factors and issues decided the results and not a pan-Indian factor or a personality, there is an element of subdued caution amongst the BJP workers and leaders now. A section of the party is already talking about possible post-poll alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal. The party knows that the going is not as easy as in the Lok Sabha polls given the sub-regional issues at play, and the importance of strong candidates along with caste permutations and combinations in multi-cornered contests where the margin of victory is expected to be in a few hundreds. (September 22, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/as-modi-magic-dissipates-bjp-faces-reality-test.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/2014-09-21-66445.html

Thus election season, Spotlight’s on Haryana

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

It seems the Congress has abandoned the Gandhi family at least in Haryana, which goes to polls next month.

Given the diminishing electoral returns of the Gandhi family, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, seeking an improbable third term, has dropped the names of both party president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi from the publicity material which appears on both sides of GT Road from the borders of Delhi to Ambala.

Interestingly, after dropping the names of the party president and vice president, Hooda has sought to emerge as the only Congress leader in Haryana dwarfing others. All the wall paintings and posters in this GT Road belt only glorify Hooda and seek votes in his name. This comes at a time when Hooda too has lost his clout in the State and battling extreme political adversity and anti-incumbency to get at least a dozen seats in the State Assembly.

But the message which the publicity managers of Hooda, obviously with his concurrence, have sent is that the days of the high command are over and the regional chieftains of Congress would call the shots wherever they can. It is perhaps for the first time that a Congress leader (Hooda) has declared himself the chief ministerial candidate of the party. Moreover, Hooda is seeking votes on his own name, on his claims of giving something to every section of the society in the State rather than invoking the Gandhi family for the polls.

The Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the State and an interesting battle is shaping up. Ruling Congress is face to face with a resurgent BJP, riding high on the Narendra Modi wave. The third angle in the contest is Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which practically has no chief ministerial candidate as both its top leaders — father son duo of Om Prakash Chautala and Ajay Chautala — are languishing in jail after being convicted in the teacher’s recruitment scam.

BJP has desisted from naming anyone as the chief ministerial candidate as there are too many aspirants. The party is going to polls with the formula of collective leadership to prevent factionalism ahead of the polls. The only problem for BJP is the absence of a leader who has an imprint all over the State. Newly-inducted Chaudhary Birender Singh’s influence is limited to the Bangar belt, Rao Inderjit Singh, MP from Gurgaon and Minister in the Modi Cabinet is an import from Congress and is not acceptable to the cadres and middle ranking leaders. Another Minister in the Modi Cabinet from Haryana Krishanpal Gurjar, the MP from Faridabad is not known outside his constituency. Capt Abhimanyu, spokesperson of the BJP too has been active but lacks ground support. Om Prakash Dhankar, national President of BJP’s Kisan Morcha hails from Rohtak and was the only party candidate who lost the Lok Sabha polls to Deepender Hooda. This could weaken his chances of projection as the Chief Ministerial candidate even though he hails from the dominant Jat community. State BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma too hasn’t got much following and acceptability in the party.

Coming back to Congress, the most significant problem in Haryana is the reliance of the high command on only Hooda. This is a far cry from the policy of promoting several leaders in any given State, representing different caste and sub-regional aspirations. But in Haryana, party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi have placed all their eggs in one basket. Tragically, the basket has got torn and the eggs are falling one by one.

Even as the chips are down, Hooda has shown no inclination to take everyone along as he perhaps knows the outcome and is preparing to position himself in the party after a possible electoral defeat in the Assembly polls. As the party high command is oblivious of the charges of the dissidents and their repeated plea against the Chief Minister, Hooda has turned into a regional autocrat, not willing to accommodate anyone except his camp followers. All dissidents have either parted way or will do so anytime now, except perhaps former Union Minister Selja, who is perhaps positioning herself as an alternative to Hooda in State politics post 2014 Assembly polls.

The year 2014 was really bad for Hooda on all counts. He saw the departure of several party stalwarts this year, which considerably weakened the party’s amongst all castes and regions of the state. Power Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav resigned from the Cabinet and then took back his resignation on the eve of Assembly polls, indicating serious fault lines.

All leaders who left Congress this year, charged Hooda with discrimination against most areas of the State except Rohtak from where his son Deepinder Hooda is MP, and areas surrounding it. “Only Rohtak, Sonipat and Jhajjar have seen development,” is the common refrain of all those who left the party. Be it Chaudhary Birender Singh, Rao Inderjit Singh,  Dharambir and others.

What is ironical and an indication of Congress turning a blind eye to Haryana is the fact that there is no tall leader of any stature left who could be the potential rival of Hooda in Haryana politics. There is only Rajya Sabha member Selja left who has been critical of Hooda for years now but unlike other leaders, she will remain in the party and fight the battle internally for leadership position in the near future. Clearly, the Congress is a sinking ship in Haryana and the Captain of the ship, Hooda has to take the blame for so many desertions and doing little to change his style of functioning and accommodating the views of those opposed to him.

The unpopularity of Hooda and the Congress is there for all to see. The Lok Sabha poll results shook Congress like never before, giving it merely one of the 10 seats. But Hooda continues to overlook the results, saying that it was a wave in favour of a person (Modi) and some other day ridiculing the Gujarat model of development saying Haryana model was far better. I don’t know, how many voters in Haryana believe him, but one thing is sure. Even his party colleagues do not. That perhaps explains a series of high profile desertions this year. What all this means is that Congress has practically written off Haryana even though the Opposition is badly divided and the excellent performance of BJP in the Lok Sabha polls may not necessarily mean that it will win Assembly polls as comfortably.

Even though there is a little over a month for the State to go to polls, possible post poll permutations and combinations are already being worked out. Even if BJP is not able to get the numbers to form the Government on its own, a situation is emerging where it could go for a post poll alliance with INLD to keep Congress out. INLD, an erstwhile constituent of NDA, has been sympathetic to BJP and wanted an alliance even in 2009 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls but was repeatedly spurned by BJP. The Chautalas have been praising Modi for a long time on every forum available to them. Now with NDA firmly in saddle in New Delhi, INLD too has expectations as it has remained out of power for a decade now. They could stitch a post poll alliance and whoever has more seats, would be the dominant partner in the alliance and would stake claim for CM’s post. Shiromani Akali Dal, an NDA constituent, is expected to bridge the gap in case there is no clear mandate for any party. (September 15, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/this-election-season-spotlights-on-haryana.html

Communication approach: PM Modi shows the way

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

For the first time after he became the Prime Minister of the country, Narendra Modi entered into a dialogue with the citizens of the country through the future generation. Though Modi may be technically addressing and interacting with the schoolchildren, the entire country was listening to each and every word he said on news channels, as almost all were bringing it to the people live.

While the address on Independence Day started the direct communication with the people, it was nevertheless a monologue. But the one on Teacher’s Day was a dialogue, a conversation in which the kids asked him what they felt like. The outcome of both was mesmerising even for those who had apprehensions about Modi’s governance. They realised that for the first time, the country had a Prime Minister who reaches out to the people and talk to them in a language they want to hear. I am not privy to the TRP figures of Modi’s address on Teacher’s Day but it was undoubtedly, one of the highest like popular programmes and cricket matches.

There has been certain criticism like the expenditure incurred on the entire programme and the children being asked to come to schools at an inconvenient time. But then, there is hardly anything  in the world which cannot be critically looked at. Let the critics do their job, think from the perspective of an Indian Prime Minister hammering across the concept of nation building to impressionable minds. You simply cannot look at everything from a political eye.

Modi clearly demonstrated that he is a man of the masses as millions were glued to each and every word he said. Like the Independence Day speech, he touched the raw nerves of the people through his use of this direct medium, speaking extempore and outlining the vision of the Government. It was a fresh breeze as people of the country had forgotten that the Prime Minister speaks.

The mass contact event on Teacher’s Day has now made politicians think what they had not been doing all these years. I talked to some Congressmen and they may disagree with Modi but appreciated the way he has established a direct rapport with the people by effectively using the medium of communication.  He struck the right notes as he laughed with the students, chatted with them, recounted events from his childhood and made sure that the message has been sent across.

The sheer size of the audience was mind-boggling and there is no single family across the country where his message has not gone. One estimate had it that around 75 per cent of the people of the country either heard him that day or were told by their kids about it.

After his address,  Modi took questions from the students, including some which many journalists want to pose to him. These were related to his thoughts on becoming Prime Minister and the buzz in Lutyen’s Delhi that he acted like a headmaster.

I fail to understand the critics who saw politics behind the move. Was breaking ice with students and teachers politics? Then exhorting children to play and sweat a lot, read biographies of great personalities, save electricity, need of building toilets in every school to prevent girl students from dropping out could only help the children understand better and get a perspective.

Though there were reservations initially and even negative feelings in parents and school administration, with his outreach Modi managed to overcome it. I too thought that my daughter would be inconvenienced and she could hear the speech sitting at home. But when he finished speaking, I was convinced of the move as my daughter came home learning things which she otherwise takes for granted.

Though Twitter cannot be the only criteria of judging an event in a country as vast and diverse as ours, but gives ample indication. As Modi was speaking and soon after he finished, the entire cyber world was full of positive reactions. I hardly found any critical expression, one complaining that he could not even go to the loo as he was mesmerised by the programme. There were only adjectives flowing on Twitter… Awesome, encouraging, historic, memorable, motivational, outstanding, inspirational, great, masterpiece, act of nation building…

Many politicians are thinking loud now. “Why couldn’t we think of doing something like this when we were in power,” a Congress leader told me. They feel that it was a question of idea in which they could not visualise how effective a direct communication can be with the citizens of the country.

Earlier, people used to watch presidential debates on television in the United States and wonder why couldn’t a similar practice be started in our country. That may be a far cry here. But time has come where communicating with the people directly would be a great advantage for any political leader. Modi has shown the way and this seems to be the only way for all time to come. (September 8, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/communication-approach-pm-modi-shows-the-way.html

Battlelines drawn: Modi wave on test for BJP

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

With the Assembly elections in Haryana just a few weeks away, the existence or non-existence of a Narendra Modi wave in North India would be tested for the first time in an electoral battle after the Lok Sabha elections.

No one has even an iota of doubt that it was the Modi wave which catapulted Bharatiya Janata Party to power in May 2014. This was a “Modi wave” election in favour of the BJP which was compared to the “sympathy wave” election in favour of the Congress in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. Many a political analyst termed it a “Modi Tsunami” which swept away all political parties and assiduously built regional and caste equations in large parts of North and Western India.

Now after the wave has subsided, it is back to the basics in the Assembly polls. Here, local equations, issues and caste factors matter more than the larger than life image of a personality or a pan Indian issue. The bypoll results in Bihar have already indicated how the BJP has to face new grass roots realities after a new alliance and reduction in the intensity of the Modi wave.

In North India, Haryana would be one State which BJP watchers would be observing closely. Expected to go to polls in October, the ruling party in the Centre has historically always gone for an alliance here and this would be the first time that the party would test its electoral prowess all alone. Even in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP fought with an alliance with Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC). It’s a different matter that HJC lost both the seats given to it while BJP won seven of the eight seats it contested.

Responding to the Opposition emanating from the State BJP, the Kuldeep Bishnoi led HJC snapped its three year old ties with it ahead of the Assembly polls. The alliance took shape when BJP was a fringe player in the State and there were different set of leaders calling the shots at the national level. Aiming to consolidate the non-Jat votebank, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Dr Harsh Vardhan played important role in getting the new alliance together after the party had snubbed Om Prakash Chautala led Indian National Lok Dal. While Gadkari was the party President in 2011, Swaraj was the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Dr Harsh Vardhan was the BJP in-charge of Haryana.

After the generational shift in BJP leadership, with Modi as Prime Minister and Amit Shah as party President, Bishnoi was left with no sympathisers in New Delhi who could influence the decision making. In the new dispensation, no one was willing to honor the 2011 alliance which had offered as many as 45 of the 90 seats to Bishnoi-led HJC and Chief Minister’s post to him for the first two and a half years if the alliance was voted to power. The Lok Sabha poll result further proved that HJC had little standing in the State and Bishnoi was no match to his mercurial father Chaudhary Bhajan Lal. Bishnoi himself lost from Hisar, considered a family bastion, a seat which his father won in 2009 Lok Sabha polls and he himself won in a by-election after the death of Bhajan Lal in 2011.

Not realising that the BJP had grown manifold in 2014 than what it was in 2011 when the alliance came into being, Bishnoi kept on insisting for 45 seats and Chief Minister’s post — a proposal considered “outrageous” and far removed from ground realities by almost everybody in the State unit of his alliance partner. The BJP on the other hand, sent feelers to him to either merge his party with it or settle for around a dozen seats in the new scenario, which had emerged post the Lok Sabha polls. Bishnoi was neither ready to accept the new reality not the proposal for merger. It was a mere formality when he announced his unilateral decision to snap the ties with the BJP. He had not attended either of the three important rallies — one by Prime Minister Modi himself in Kaithal and two by the BJP President in August, giving ample indications that the alliance was already dead before the formal announcement.

At the height of its popularity in 2009, when Chaudhary Bhajan Lal, the architect of the non-Jat political platform was alive, HJC managed a mere six of the 90 seats in the Assembly polls. Due to his political immaturity, five of the MLAs left HJC within days of being elected and merged themselves with Congress, helping it form the Government under Bhupinder Singh Hooda.  Failure to keep his flock together in 2009 kept Bishnoi in the margins of the political mainstream for the last five years despite his alliance with the BJP. Now in 2014, failure to keep the alliance with the BJP will perhaps badly haunt Bishnoi post the results of the Assembly polls.

Banking on the Modi wave and the Modi charisma, the BJP will contest all 90 seats alone, giving it ample maneuverability in the ticket distribution exercise now that the alliance with HJC is formally over. It has formed a considerably powerful caste alliance too with careful selection of those deserting other parties and is now a conglomeration of all castes instead of the non-Jat castes with which it started its political base.

The first important leader to enter the party was Rao Inderjeet, the Congress MP from Gurgaon, now a BJP MP from the same constituency and a Minister in the Modi Cabinet. He has considerable influence in what is known as the Ahirwal belt in South Haryana, in the districts of Gurgaon, Rewari and the nearby areas. BJP did not have any significant presence in the area dominated by the Ahir community before Inderjeet but now can easily make a dent here.

Short of important Jat leaders having support at the grass roots, BJP got Dharambir Singh in its fold from Congress before the Lok Sabha polls and fielded him from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency. He won defeating Shruti Chaudhary, granddaughter of Chaudhary Bansi Lal, considered the architect of modern Haryana. The victory indicated that BJP had made significant inroads in the Jat hinterland, areas in which it never had any presence in the past.

This was followed by the entry of another important Jat leader, Chaudhary Birender Singh, the Rajya Sabha MP from Congress. Birender, a former member of the Congress Working Committee, has influence in what is known as the Bangar belt of the State. But more than that, the old theory that BJP is a party of only the non-Jats has now been effectively demolished. It has now converted itself into an umbrella organisation of different caste groups and interests, an important tool which converts a party into election winning machinery.

It is practically now or never for the BJP in Haryana. Ever since it was formed 34 years ago in 1980, this is perhaps the best chance for the party to come to power on its own in the State without piggy-backing on anyone. Except Congress, the party was in alliance with almost everybody in the State since 1980 and this limited its expansion and growth even when the NDA was in power at the Centre. Now that it has removed the crutches, inducted leaders strategically and is raring to go for the polls, the party should be focussing on candidate selection. This is the most crucial part in an Assembly election as a minor miscalculation could trigger discontent amongst the workers, particularly as a lot of them are new to the party and have joined it recently.

The result of the 2014 Assembly election would indicate whether BJP has been able to convert itself into election winning machinery or not. It has the advantage of two-term anti-incumbency of Hooda Government, Modi wave, high profile desertions to the party and the promise of a good governance. It should consolidate on the advantages in the run-up to the polls and should not fritter away the opportunity it has. (September 1, 2014) 

 http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/2014-08-31-63810.html

Hooting of Chief Ministers: Reflection of unpopularity!

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

Fighting a battle for political survival in Haryana amidst senior party members deserting the sinking ship of the Congress, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda stirred the hornet’s nest when he declared that he would not attend any function of the Prime Minister.

Two other Chief Ministers, both battling crisis within and outside the party, were quick to lap the idea so was the Congress, desperately looking for issues which can help it score brownie points at a time when the party cadre are dejected and lying low after the historic defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan decided not to attend any function in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates. The reason is not difficult to find. He is extremely unpopular even in his own party what to talk of the entire State as a recent revolt against his leadership indicated. The Congress workers in Maharashtra and those in ally NCP know well that he has been imposed as Chief Minister by the party high command (read Sonia and Rahul Gandhi), loathes electoral politics and never contests elections himself and clearly knows the writing on the wall.

Another is Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand Chief Minister. His only claim to fame is that he is the son of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren and happens to be the Chief Minister due to a ragtag opportunistic coalition in the mineral rich State which is infamous for its unstable Governments ever since it was carved out of Bihar in the year 2000. The Congress is supporting Soren’s Government due to its own vested interests and for him too, the writing on the wall is clear. His days as Chief Minister are over.

So what is the surprise when all the three were booed by the crowd, jeered and mocked at in the presence of Modi? If Bihar Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi or Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav share the stage with Modi, they too perhaps would meet the same fate. It’s not a rocket science to know that both are extremely unpopular at this point of time in their respective States. But if Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa or West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee share stage with Modi, it would be difficult to visualize the crowd hooting and jeering at them. Clearly, the hooting of the three Chief Ministers was more due to their unpopularity and anti-incumbency of their parties rather than a planned move by the BJP against them.

The three Chief Ministers are merely disguising their unpopularity and imminent defeat in the Assembly polls by making proclamations that they would not attend functions where Modi is present. Why blame Modi for your plight and weakness? They could have come up with better explanations on their hooting rather than blaming the BJP and Modi. A political answer would have been to gauze the public opinion in advance, use the expertise of the intelligence agencies at your disposal in the State police and if there was a possibility of jeering, get your own supporters at the venue and then shout down those opposing you.

But then, I doubt if there are any Hooda supporters left in Haryana or for that matter a Chavan supporter in Maharashtra. Similarly, it would be difficult to locate any Hemant Soren supporter in Ranchi given his unpopularity in the State. Realising that they were bereft of any support base, all the three Chief Ministers did was to make a loud noise without any

substance. It was more a reflection of their political helplessness and a desperate attempt to generate some sympathy when elections are round the corner.

In the three poll bound States, first it was the turn of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to face the ire of the public. He was heckled while sharing the dais with Modi at a function in Solapur. Instead of any political sound political reply, all he did was to flout the established protocol and boycott the Prime Minister’s programme in Nagpur for a project for Metro.

Then in Haryana, Hooda was booed and not allowed to speak in the presence of Modi at a stone-laying ceremony at Kaithal. Within an hour, he convened a Press conference and declared that he would not attend any function with Modi. Of course, three days later, Hooda arrived in Delhi and had a cup of tea with Modi and issued a statement saying, “I fully respect the constitutional post of the Prime Minister. We discussed such issues concerning Haryana as fall under the purview of the Central Government”.

After Hooda, Hemant Soren in Jharkhand was at the receiving end who had to face the ire of the crowd who started chanting pro-Modi slogans in the State Capital Ranchi. Earlier, in Jammu & Kashmir too, sentiments were expressed against Chief Minister Omer Abdullah in the presence of Modi.

As all the cases of heckling have been reported from the four States going to Assembly polls later this year, the political temperature on the issue boiled soon. Though Abdullah did not express his thoughts, the Congress immediately sought to make a political capital out of the issue by directing its Chief Ministers to boycott functions of Modi.

Anyone with even elementary understanding of public rallies would know that almost all the people who attend rallies are brought in by the leaders and the cadres to the venue. Gone are the days when people used to travel distances to hear their popular leaders. In the age of 24-hour news channels, every leader has been heard countless times and no one has the time and energy to Assembly for rallies in hot and humid conditions. So, people are brought in bus loads and provided all facilities like packed lunch and water so that they do not have any grievance. When Hooda, Chavan or Soren felt that there was a likelihood of their hooting, they could have followed the procedure for rallies and brought in their own supporters too.

Interestingly, in all the three States where the Chief Ministers were booed and jeered, the Congress was practically wiped out in the recent Lok Sabha polls and it was the BJP alone or with its allies all the way. So the hooting also perhaps reflects the public mood and also the fact that people at large realise that the Governments in power in the three States do not represent the will of the people.   

In all this high drama, there was sane voice too. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called upon the representatives of all the political parties to strictly maintain decorum, discipline and refrain from creating ruckus by way of ‘hooting’ and other unsavory acts of distraction during public functions. The veteran of many a battle, the septuagenarian termed this an unhealthy practice. No one would disagree with Badal. But the fact remains that as a political strategy, such incidents will continue to take place.

I have seen Hooda himself employing a similar tactics against his rivals in Congress in front of the party president Sonia Gandhi over a decade back. At a rally in Gohana in Sonipat district, Hooda supporters not only showed black flags to Bhajan Lal but also shouted slogans against him. You reap what you sow, if you sow a wind, you reap a whirlwind. This is perhaps what has happened to Hooda. Now, he is simply shouting grapes are sour. (August 25, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/2014-08-24-63001.html

Days of Opportunistic alliances are over

 

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

Licking their wounds after the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, two former Bihar Chief Ministers—fodder scam tainted Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar — have joined hands for their political survival in Bihar.

What is interesting in the entire drama being scripted in Bihar is the fact that more than any ideology, it is sheer political pragmatism for the two arch rivals to come together. They are raising the non-existent bogey of social justice to justify their alliance. I am not sure if there are any takers for the quarter of a century old formula of social justice, milked to the hilt, in Bihar or elsewhere. There is reason for skepticism. People in the two States of so called social justice experiment—Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — have seen how the votaries of the idea have got neck deep into corruption, nepotism and bad governance. For them social justice over the years has been a theory to gobble the votes of the OBCs, Dalits and minorities. After coming to power, they impose family rule with an inefficient Government thrown-in which lacks any idea or vision, neck deep as it is in corruption.

Besides social justice, Lalu, the chieftain of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JD-U) has tried to raise the ghost of communalism once again. This is a time-tested political formula, which used to give good electoral dividends till a decade back. But this formula no longer gets you the desired results. You cannot force the minority community time and again to vote for you if you don’t do anything for them and only instill fear and a sense of insecurity in them.

It seems Lalu Prasad hasn’t learnt his lessons despite being repeatedly rejected by the electorate. Fodder scam tainted, Lalu cannot contest any election now as he is a convict in the infamous case. But this has not prevented him from foisting his wife, brother-in-laws, father-in-laws, daughter and now son on the people of Bihar in the name of social justice and checking communalism. Now almost everyone knows that those who got “social justice” as per the formula of Lalu Prasad were only his family and no one else. Fifteen years of non-governance and what Nitish Kumar always described as “jungle raj” did immense harm to Bihar, something from which it is yet to recover. Spare a thought for the people of the State, Mr Prasad.

Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, is a confused person now. An egoist, he does not know how to react to the situation after he walked out of his 17-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). So when it was obvious that Narendra Modi would be the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, Kumar perhaps made the biggest political mistake of his life by severing ties with the time-tested alliance partner. The BJP and the JD(U) (earlier Samata Party) had been through thick and thin and fought the “jungle raj” of Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi together. The entire winning formula of Kumar always had the BJP as an integral part, a legacy which he is trying to disown rather late in his political career.

Committing one mistake after the other, instead of making good governance an issue for the State, Kumar has now gone back to the of secular-communal debate and social justice to fetch votes. I am sure, when Kumar introspects, he will realise that it was an opportunity lost by severing ties with the BJP. With the BJP in power in the Centre, he would have had a great opportunity to further develop the State with Central help. The saffron party was playing second fiddle to the JD(U) in Bihar and would have continued that way. But now, when the BJP has single handedly demolished both RJD and JD(U) with little known strength of another ally, Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP, there is no looking back.

The third angle in the troika of RJD-JD(U) is the Congress, which is fighting for its survival not only in the Hindi heartland but also all over the country. By-elections are being held for 10 Assembly seats on August 21 in the State and for the first time, the grand alliance of RJD-JD(U)-Congress will take on the BJP. The very formation of this three-party alliance is the realisation that the BJP has now emerged out of the shadows and become the biggest player in Bihar.

If this alliance, based without any principles and ideology but only on common threat of the BJP, wins a majority of the seats in the by-elections, it may continue till the Assembly polls. However, if the BJP-LJP alliance repeats the performance of the Lok Sabha elections, I am sure Lalu-Nitish would start questioning its effectiveness. The three-party alliance has been created in haste without the bonding of social classes, ideology, ideas and a roadmap and would collapse sooner or later due to the sheer weight of its inner contradictions.

Ironically, some see the alliance in Bihar purely in mathematical terms, subtracting and adding votes of each party to decide who the winner would be. But votes are not polled this way. It is a social, anthropological and electoral science and not mathematics where you add a caste and subtract another to get results in a given constituency.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the three-party alliance got 44.3 per cent of votes while BJP-led NDA got 38.8 per cent.  In the 2010 Assembly elections, this RJD-JDU-Congress together polled 49.83 per cent votes against the 23.21 per cent of BJP-LJP. But the entire theory of percentage arrived like this is a fallacy and is based on the premise that people only vote on the basis of caste, community, religion etc, and not on issues, development and governance.

Even Yadavs (vote bank of the RJD) and Kurmis (vote bank of Kumar) have been historically antagonistic and such an alliance is yet to be tested electorally on the ground. Already, there are reports of antagonism between the two. Then, how can anyone believe that the entire Yadav community in the State is behind Lalu and Kurmi caste behind Kumar. Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi lost from the Yadav bastion of Saran while his daughter Misa Bharti lost from another Yadav bastion of Pataliputra in the Lok Sabha polls.

Nitish Kumar has already become the junior partner in the alliance and the RJD supporters say it is now a fight between them and the BJP with JD(U) and the Congress remaining only as fringe players. The message is clear. If at all a chance comes to form the next Government in Bihar in 2015, it will be RJD (read Rabri Devi or Misa Bharti as Chief Minister).

Ironically, Lalu wants this khichdi in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh as well when he urged the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party to join hands against the BJP. While Mulayam Singh Yadav lapped up the idea, Mayawati immediately rejected it, leading to its premature death. Perhaps Lalu is still living in 1989 or 1990 when a disaster called the Third Front existed. People and parties have moved but Lalu wants to take them back in the era of Mandal politics and keep them pinned to casteism, non-governance and development. Mr Prasad, it was time you too moved on and fought on policies and programmes rather than on the redundant and obsolete ideas of the past. (August 18. 2014) 

 http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/days-of-opportunistic-alliances-are-over.html

Priyanka as the panacea for all ills plaguing Congress

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

Though Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said no to joining active politics “as of now”, Congress sycophants and worshippers of the dynasty have not lost hope. For them, her “no” is only temporary and again after a few months, if not a few weeks, they will raise the slogan of “bring Priyanka in active politics… Long live Congress”. They have been raising this slogan for a decade and would continue to do so till she joins politics.

A little over two decades ago, when Narasimha Rao was the first non-dynast Congress Prime Minister of the country, a similar slogan was raised for Sonia Gandhi. She was then in mourning, having lost her husband Rajiv Gandhi to LTTE assassins but the sycophants would not listen. They would repeatedly mock at the Rao government and urge Sonia to join active politics by staging road-shows near 10 Janpath. The rank and file of Congress then could not look beyond the Gandhi family for its political fortunes even though Rao had provided relatively good governance, was opening the economy with Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister and there were visible  signs of revival all around. Sonia catapulted to the wishes and soon became the Congress President, a post she still occupies.

For Rahul Gandhi, the next generation of the Gandhi family, entry in politics was a fait accompli even though the young man was indifferent and hardly interested in the profession of his mother, father, grandmother and great grandfather. Even now, he does not seem to be interested in politics and does not want to make a career of it despite his recent decision to jump into the Well of the Lok Sabha protesting against so called communalization of politics in the Narendra Modi era. The revelations in Natwar Singh’s book that Sonia Gandhi did not become prime minister in May 2004 because her son Rahul Gandhi did not want her to take up the responsibility as he was afraid that she would be killed like his father Rajiv Gandhi, has only confirmed the belief that the Congress Vice President does not want any responsibility either for himself or his mother.

What perhaps is preventing Priyanka’s entry in politics is the tradition that in the Gandhi-Nehru family, it has always been only two members at a time in politics and not three in the last almost 100 years. Moti Lal Nehru and his son Jawaharlal were in Congress politics together for a brief period and then the latter took over. When Nehru was the Prime Minister, his daughter Indira Gandhi kept away from politics even though she was groomed well for a leadership role and saw it at close quarters every day. Even after Nehru’s death, it took a while for Indira Gandhi to become the Prime Minister. Then she and her son Sanjay Gandhi were together in politics before Sanjay’s untimely death in a Delhi plane crash in 1980. It was only then that a reluctant Rajiv Gandhi entered politics to keep alive the family tradition. Indira and Rajiv were together in politics for only four years when the then Prime Minister was assassinated in October 1984. It was Rajiv’s turn now to keep alive the family tradition till his death in 1991. By then, Congress was so attuned to a member of the dynasty heading it that it could not look beyond Sonia.

This is what is happening now. When law of diminishing returns has caught up with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and they can no longer get votes for them, Congress sycophants have conveniently turned to Priyanka, thinking that she now has the magic wand, could salvage the situation and help them win polls again. Wishful thinking! But that is the way Congress rank and file has been forced to believe over the years as it is a party driven by a family and dynasty and not an ideology or a coherent thinking.

We have seen Priyanka Gandhi campaigning in Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh from where her brother and mother have been winning successive elections. She makes frequent forays in the constituencies even when elections are not around to keep the bonding intact. However, in the last Lok Sabha elections, when she showed her aggressive best and took on Narendra Modi, she invariably found her at the receiving end due to Modi’s brilliant one liners. The trump card was found faltering. In her electioneering in the two constituencies of UP, she hardly spoke about the issues facing the country and what solutions her party offered. Of course, she is a good communicator, was able to connect with the voters with her approach and this helped her mother and brother win.  But for a serious role in politics, more is required not occasional visits to a constituency or two.

But given the way Rahul has fared and reduced the party to the lowest ever tally when the Lok Sabha elections were fought under his leadership, Priyanka perhaps is the only hope of the party for which dynasty is the glue which keeps the machinery and conflicting claims of leaders together. Priyanka reaches out to the people unlike Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, is more articulate and approachable and the party believes that she has the charisma which her brother and mother lack. Ask the average Congress worker and even the leaders and they will tell you it is a matter of time before she enters politics. Many see her as the star campaigner of the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the way Modi was for BJP in 2014.

As the family does not speak out on any issue, more so if they are related to the family, there are other theories doing the round. One is that Priyanka would never join politics and instead her son Rehan Vadra would be adopted by Rahul Gandhi to give  him the magical Gandhi surname and groom him as the next generation leader as is the tradition in the family for the last 100 years. A news report in weekly Sunday Guardian by senior and accomplished Journalist Pankaj Vohra brought this out. He argued that a succession plan was worked out to enable Rahul adopt Rehan given that he remains a bachelor at the age of 44 and there was little possibility of him getting married in the immediate future.

Those closely watching Congress and family affairs insist that when senior leaders like Janardan Dwivedi and Oscar Fernandes talk of Priyanka entering politics, it is part of a strategy—to float a test balloon and see the reaction periodically. Invariably, this evokes a strong reaction with articles in newspapers, stories on television channels, Congress sycophants coming out in the open and finally Priyanka herself denying it with a statement. So when Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said that party workers wanted all members of the Gandhi family to be active in politics, it was part of a well thought out strategy which is to float the trial balloon regularly to see the popularity of Priyanka in public domain.

The problem for the Congress President is if Priyanka gets into politics and become more popular than her brother, there would be an intense sibling rivalry. There is every possibility of this as the graph of Rahul has been continuously going down in the last four years till it reached its nadir in the 2014 polls with the party getting only 44 members in the Lok Sabha.  Perhaps, Congress can build on an idea which Rahul himself devised. This is democratization of the party. It can hold primaries or an election in the party through a secret ballot to determine who is more popular—Rahul, Priyanka or someone else. But then, if Congress had behaved that way, it would not have reached the figure of 44, begging to be declared the main opposition party in Lok Sabha. (August 11, 2014) 

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/priyanka-as-the-panacea--for-all-ills-plaguing-cong.html

Congress and Hooda’s litmus test of Haryana

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

The Model Code of Conduct is expected to come into force in Haryana by the end of this month for the Assembly polls, expected to be held in October. In the run up to the polls, there has been some expected and some unexpected script for the ruling Congress. The outcome of all the drama being enacted in the State is pointing towards one direction — a political disaster is waiting to happen. From now on, only a miracle could help the Congress come to power in the State for the third time in a row.

The most significant problem in Haryana is the reliance of the Congress high command on only one leader — Bhupinder Singh Hooda. This is a far cry from the policy of promoting several leaders in any given State, representing different caste and sub-regional aspirations. But in Haryana, party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi have placed all their eggs in one basket. Tragically, the basket has got torn and the eggs are falling one by one.

Even as the chips are down, Hooda has shown no inclination to take everyone along as he perhaps knows the outcome and is preparing to position himself in the party after a possible electoral defeat in the Assembly polls. As the party high command is oblivious of the charges of the dissidents and their repeated plea against the Chief Minister, Hooda has turned into a regional autocrat, not willing to accommodate anyone except his camp followers. All dissidents have either parted way or will do so anytime now, except perhaps former Union Minister Selja, who is perhaps positioning herself as an alternative to Hooda in State politics post 2014 Assembly polls.

Hooda’s autocratic style of functioning is reflected in his stubborn approach in appointing several commissioners to statutory bodies. With election weeks away, the appointments did not serve any political purpose and harmed his reputation immensely. If you appoint any person to a statutory post on the eve of elections and flout all norms in the process, you only make a public spectacle of yourself. The electorate keeps a watch on all this and looks for an opportune time. Sadly, it is merely eight-ten weeks for Hooda.

Now, Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has asked for an explanation from the Government on the legality of appointments. Obviously, Hooda will target the Governor saying he is a BJP appointee. He could have easily avoided all this when polls are round the corner and he could have waited for his third victory to appoint anyone wherever he wanted. But then, it seems Hooda is himself not sure about the electoral outcome, necessitating the controversial appointments. He perhaps thought that making half a dozen people Commissioners, giving them perks like office, vehicles and staff was more important than the credibility of his Government.

The year 2014 was really bad for Hooda on all counts. The controversy surrounding the appointment of the Commissioners was only the latest in the list which troubled the two-time Chief Minister from the Jat land of the state, Rohtak. Simultaneously, he was faced with the resignation of his Cabinet colleague, Power Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav from the Cabinet. Though Yadav took back his resignation after persuasion from party high command, but the damage had been done. The entire State knew the allegations which Yadav hurled at his boss and it will be foolhardy on part of the party to believe that this will not hurt them in the polls.

Yadav charged Hooda with discrimination against most areas of the state except Rohtak from where his son Deepinder Hooda is MP, and areas surrounding it. “Only Rohtak, Sonipat and Jhajjar have seen development. People in our areas question us about development and jobs but we are helpless,” he said, while resigning, adding that power was vested in a single person (Hooda) in the State and all decisions flow from there. Yadav has been making the allegations for a while but was forced to remain silent all these months as the party high command was backing Hooda and never heeded to the campaign of dissidents.

That perhaps is the reason why dissident Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Chaudhary Birender Singh is leaving Congress with which he was associated for four decades and joining BJP in the next two weeks. A member of the Congress Working Committee, Birender’s repeated complaint against Hooda in the last over four years found no takers in New Delhi and no attempt was made to mollify him. He has now been removed from the CWC but that is not going to cut the losses of the party. Birender is expected to take away a section of the Jat voters with him when he leaves Congress.

With Hooda becoming unpopular and no guarantee of the party returning to power, Haryana Congress has been facing an exodus of leaders. Rao Inderjit Singh, who had also been vocal against Hooda, showed the way by joining BJP, winning from Rohtak and becoming a minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Like Birender, who is expected to join the BJP on August 18, Rao, was also in the Congress for over four decades.

Congress leader and sitting MLA,  Dharambir switched over to BJP just on the eve of Lok Sabha polls, got party ticket and is now a  MP from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh seat. The move has severely dented Congress’ hold in the area from where from chief minister Bansi Lal hailed from. The third Congressman to be elected on a BJP ticket was Ramesh Kaushik from Sonipat. He changed his loyalties sometime ago and was rewarded with a BJP ticket.

Another major political setback for Hooda this year was his friend Venod Sharma leaving Congress. He severed his four-decade old ties with the Congress to float  Jan Chetna Party. Sharma too is exploring possibilities of merging his outfit with BJP or entering into a loose alliance with it. Then there is Rajya Sabha member Selja who has been critical of Hooda for years now but unlike other leaders, she will remain in the party and fight the battle internally for leadership position in the near future. Clearly, Congress is a sinking ship in Haryana and the Captain of the shit, Hooda has to take the blame for so many desertions and doing little to change his style of functioning and accommodating the views of those opposed to him.

The unpopularity of Hooda and the Congress is there for all to see. The Lok Sabha poll results shook Congress like never before, giving it merely one of the 10 seats. But Hooda continues to overlook the results, saying that it was a wave in favour of a person (Modi) and some other day ridiculing the Gujarat model of development saying Haryana model was far better. I don’t know, how many voters in Haryana believe him, but one thing is sure. Even his party colleagues do not. That perhaps explains a series of high profile desertions this year. What all this means is that Congress has practically written off Haryana even though the Opposition is badly divided and the excellent performance of BJP in the Lok Sabha polls may not necessarily mean that it will win Assembly polls as comfortably.

Even as the writing is on the wall, Hooda and Congress are putting up a brave face. Hooda has been touring the entire state and mocking at the Gujarat model insisting that there should be a Haryana model of Development in the country. Clearly, the battle lines in the State indicate that it is Hooda versus the rest. If Hooda misses the script and the plot in October polls, the entire blame will be on his soldiers. The Chief Minister is doing all he can to change the plot by aggressive campaigning. But it seems it is too little and too late. (August 4, 2014) 

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/2014-08-03-60689.html