The Akali Dal-BJP combine has failed to stem the Congress' resurgence but will the Congress be able to build on it. The question, of course, is rhetorical and some would say being asked too soon. But the way the politics is being played in the state has not much hope to offer for future. Read on...
While the impact of the results on national scene is just to sink in, it would be interesting to have a look at the results in Punjab. Especially when all that the media in state has been able to offer so far by way of an analysis is, that the results are surprising.
I think when a newspaper says the result have baffled politicians it actually means that it has baffled all those who were predicting a clean sweep for the Congress. This includes the media fraternity in state. Now the problem is that it’s expected of a Congressman to claim that they will sweep the elections but media is supposed to have its ears to the ground. Going by the state media is in it might be asking for too much but it would have been great to have a paper admit that they had no clue. Interestingly much of the media in state is trying to project the verdict in state as if it has been somewhat a lesser kind of victory. To give an extreme example the Times of India has gone on to the extent of calling it “a fractured verdict”.
But to be fair to media in general, at least, they got the trend right. It is always hazardous to try to put a number to it but the trend was there for all those to see who did not have any blinkers on. There was no mistaking it actually. It was so perceptible all around which way the wind was blowing. State Congress will have to see what was it that couldn’t let them take better advantage of the anti-incumbency wave in state against government led by Badals. Eight out of 13 is a decisive vote in normal circumstances (especially as they had only two last time, a four times raise this time) and conclusively proves that electorate has turned against the party they voted for last (just two years back in assembly elections).
The state CM termed the results satisfactory as grinning Sukhbir Badal posed for cameras celebrating his wife Harsimrat’s victory from Bathinda. Only a politician of the mettle of Parkash Singh Badal would have explained the decisive result against his combine as ‘satisfactory’. The reaction of Badal Jr is not surprising given his overall conduct in the past. Sukhbir anyway is an aberration imposed on people of the state by a doting politician father for whom politics has only been a means to family aggrandisement. I don't think many missed the irony in the pictures of Sukhbir Badal flashing 'V' signs standing out through the sunroof of his vehicle on the roads of Bathinda. Any other party chief would have been more contemplative on losing a state.
The Bathinda election, in a way, epitomized what is wrong with the state’s political scene. Turned into a personal battle between Badal and Captain families this election showed the state has not shed its feudal character yet. The acquiescing media lapping it all up ended up focusing whole state’s attention there. None of the contesting candidates had it in them by themselves anything to deserve that kind of attention. (Incidentally it would be instructing to watch Harsimrat performing in Parliament). Both Raninder and Badal daughter-in-law were made to bear the cross of the feudal mindset of the families they come from.
It would have been in keeping with the democratic norms if the candidates, once selected, were left to contest on their own or party’s merits or demerits. Why on earth should a party president be responsible for one seat only even if his wife is contesting from there? We were told by Amarinder just that. This election would prove to be Amarinder's Waterloo was the retort of Sukhbir. Amarinder did fall to the bait accepting the juvenile challenge. The media looking for some colour was quick to term it as a Battle Royale.
Now it is for people to judge what have they done to deserve such leaders? Punjabis, for whom Cock Fighting has been a leisure pastime not in so distant past, seemed to have been a reveling in this personality clash. Egging them on, the supporters of both turned the election, meant to chose the people to govern the country, into a battle of personal fiefdoms.
So even as the senior leaders of ruling combine in state fell by the wayside and the allies tally was halved from 11 to five we are being told that Bathinda win has taken a sting out of Congress success. Ironically, it’s only the captain who is responsible for this. Being the only leader in sight who could lead the party against the formidable party organization like Akali Dal, Amarinder should have been toasting the victory which has seen senior leaders like Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, a former union minister and Charanjit Singh Atwal the outgoing Deputy Speaker biting the dust and party contributing eight seats to national kitty. He has been made to cut a sorry figure in a scenario where he has made his adversary in power lose the election.
Remember Punjab is the only state along with Uttrakhand and West Bengal in which incumbent party has fared poorly at the hustings. The ruling SAD-BJP has failed to get most of its candidates elected while it has had an opportunity to show their accomplishments, if any. Majority of the state governments have been able to do so these elections, sending their party MPs to centre, mostly backed by their performance.
Wearing fig-leaves of anti-incumbency Badals have been able to get away with it. They have been ably assisted in that by Amarinder Singh.
-Jatinder Preet
2 comments:
What happened in Bathinda is not easy to grasp. It is not fair to blame both the sides. Amrinder had to fight on many fronts. Many big leaders among the Congress leadership were conniving with Badals to harm Amrinder's claim for being main Congress leader in punjab. Amrinder launched a state-wide campaign. You may say he is not as laborious a campaigner as P.S. Badal is but he did not concentrate only on Bathinda .On the other hand it was the whole state government plus SGPC which had deployed all their resources to rig the verdict.And the use of threat and money is beyond imagination.congress was not organizationally prepared to fight back that degree of criminal intervention. but congress has won in 67 assembly seats.Congress high command ensured it by managing the spoilers within the state leadership.It was the best possible management.But Rahul success in Punjab has a deeper significance.Bitu fought like his grandfather S. Beant Singh .New dynamism injected by Rahul was visibly present during the campaign.The enthused congress is playing the politics in a new way.The promise lies in the cohesive top free from any major weakness.However organizational restructuring is a nationwide agenda for the congress whose intentions were loudly expressed during the campaign.I hope we will see a new congress in the near future more cohesive and well trained.But what happens to badals is beyond my grasp.They will introduce many irritants is certain.
This is not to take credit from Amarinder Singh for whatever he did. In fact I have acknowledged him as "the only leader in sight who could lead the party against the formidable party organization like Akali Dal". Its just a lament about the style of politics introduced by him (which has been more succesfuly and more visciously appropriated by Sukhbir and his goonda brigade now). Its just a lament that for want of better leaders Congress in state has to make do with a vindictive and arrogant politician. He has a kind of charisma that earned him many fans but that's clearly not enough. Needless to add, I would prefer him to the Badals and the kind of Congress leaders we have any day. But that only emphasises again that we dont have much of a choice.
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