October witnessed its own spate of political events. Here is a free-wheeling account with the personal assessment of one of the seniormost journalists in the capital.
Congress High Command Scripts Haryana Poll Defeat
In the past several years, the Congress has perfected the art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The recently held Haryana polls were no different when everything was in the party’s favour, from perception to the ground level realities, but because of reasons, which are clear by now, the Congress lost the battle to the BJP, ensuring that the Saffron Brigade scored a hat-trick. However, full credit should be given to the BJP for this historic victory since it entailed superior strategy and some very clever electoral moves.
The Congress High Command which should be viewing its own role in the entire election is now ready to once again introspect in order to ascertain the reasons for this unexpected result. The supreme irony is that those responsible for the developments would themselves be looking into the factors that contributed to the debacle. On paper, the Congress and the BJP have an identical vote share but in reality, the number of seats the BJP has won is much more than that of its rival. The Congress High Command should first introspect and find out why it was unable to mollify rebels who were in the fray; in at least 18 constituencies, the dissidents polled more than the difference in the winning margins between the BJP and the Congress. In other words, had steps been taken to address this issue, the outcome would have been in favour of the grand old party. One fails to understand why after every election, the Congress undertakes the same exercise and continues to make the same mistakes even after knowing fully well what went wrong.
The BJP also had its rebels but they managed them better and they also ensured that the Congress dissidents did not withdraw themselves in the middle of the battle, thus enabling it to win yet another time. It is a fact that the BJP was on the defensive and was unable to make the election into Jats versus non-Jats. The mood of the people was for a change and all indicators pointed to a Congress win. Despite all these limitations, the BJP won in the end, largely because the Congress had no strategy to back its plans.
Although the blame game has commenced, it is unlikely to lead anywhere.
The same or perhaps even greater mistakes would be committed during the Maharashtra polls, where the Congress would be now bargaining from a defensive position rather than a superior one. This would have been so, had it won in Haryana. The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge needs to take immediate steps to rectify the situation.
There needs to be a party overhaul of some departments, and the pending proposal to revive the Parliamentary Board must be again reconsidered. There are commentators who are claiming that there were BJP sleeper cells or moles within the Congress. This matter should not be dismissed but properly examined by the High Command to ascertain if there was any truth in these allegations. The elections may have also marked the final battle of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, whose nine and half years’ tenure as the Chief Minister (2005 to 2014) is coinciding with the state celebrating the 58th anniversary of its formation on November 1. Time for Kharge and Gandhis to wake up.
Lt. Governor’s stand on tree felling on Ridge baffling
With heightened pollution levels becoming a cause of immense worry in the national capital, the Lt. Governor VK Saxena has ignited another debate with his affidavit in the Supreme Court regarding felling of trees in the Ridge area. Saxena has stated that while clearing a project in February for a medical facility which entailed cutting of 600 trees, he was not aware that permission from the court had to be obtained for such an action. The Lt. Governor who is also the head of the Delhi Development Authority, along with other senior functionaries, can face action if the Court decides to initiate proceedings against them. His affidavit to the court is something which implies that the constitutional head of the Delhi government was unaware of the rules and regulations and has in the process infringed the law. The Ridge is the lung of the city which is facing enormous problems arising out of increasing population, more vehicles and stubble burning in the neighbouring states. Over the past four decades, the Ridge cover has been diminishing with so many buildings coming up in the forest area.
There are two distinct stretches of the Ridge, one which commences from the Delhi University till the Baraf Khana Chowk and the other from Pusa Road till Dhaula Kuan. Jagmohan as the Lt. Governor of Delhi in the early 1980s in the name of sprucing up the Ridge, cleared it of bushes and thickets that were an integral part of the flora fauna. Subsequently barbed wire fencing was done but it did not halt the tree cover denudation. The stretch near Delhi University is not what it used to be earlier and while widening the road from the Hindu Rao hospital towards Rajpur Road near the Civil Lines zone MCD office, many trees were cut. The patch near the Tirath Ram Shah hospital has lost a lot of its tree coverage. Similarly, the main ridge from Pusa Road also is not what it used to be. In the 1960s, there were very few projects that had been started. The Rabindra Rangshala which was for cultural programs and is largely in disuse had come up. Then, there was a listening post or a wireless network of the All India Radio or some government agency and the Buddha Jayanti park towards Dhaula Kuan. Gradually, the Ashram of a Godman came up and then some schools. The Army and the Defence Ministry was also given land and some construction activity saw trees disappearing. On the Sardar Patel Marg, three petrol pumps were closed down as was one on the Willingdon Crescent but the commitment for maintaining an ecological balance was lacking. Under Sheila Dikshit, a tree plantation drive with much fanfare was initiated on the Ridge and other parts of the city. No one knows what happened to these saplings.
The trees and pollution have a close relation with each other. The governments, both at the Centre and in the city have over the past many years failed in preserving the environment. An aspect that needs to be re-examined other than the stubble burning fires that bring in pollution are the use of the CNG vehicles. It should be scientifically established whether this step has helped in any manner or was initiated at the instance of some powerful lobby wanting to promote certain kind of technology. What also often gets overlooked is that the pollution caused by vehicle tyres on roads which are in a terrible state also emanates very dangerous fumes. The authorities have to be held accountable for the state of affairs of the roads which continue to be a cause of immense concern.
The problem arises when the follow up is not taken care off. There are several roads which need immediate attention. A kilometre long stretch between Rajokri and Kapeshera was given a concrete coating about 14 years ago. It is in such a terrible state with no one willing to even have a look. This despite the fact that this is the route taken by various vehicles belonging to the BSF, CRPF, Delhi Police and the CISF.
Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad
There are a lot of expectations from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who shall be making her electoral debut from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to polls on November 13th. The seat had fallen vacant after Rahul Gandhi retained Rae Bareli while giving up on Wayanad, which he represented in the previous Parliament.
Priyanka, if elected, would certainly add to the fire power of the Congress and along with her brother, shall spearhead her party’s agenda both nationally and in various elections that shall follow. Her speeches during the last Lok Sabha polls had touched a chord with the voters and her method of electioneering reminded people of her grandmother, Indira Gandhi, the greatest mass leader of the last century.
However, Priyanka has a long way to go before she can emulate Indira Gandhi, whose connect with the common citizen was phenomenal and whose popularity and appeal was unmatched. A mere resemblance with her illustrious granny is not sufficient to be successful in political life. Her body of work and the effort which went into the making of Indira Gandhi, need to be replicated, if she has to make her mark.
Priyanka cannot take her electoral debut for granted since it entails reaching out to the people of Wayanad and Kerala, who have on multiple occasions stood behind the Congress. Her entry is looked forward to by the party cadres, who would certainly be energised by her inspiring presence. There is no doubt that Priyanka has a certain charisma which is unmatched when she is campaigning.
Nevertheless, the Congress leadership has to understand that in addition to Priyanka’s charm and captivating appeal, the organization needs to be strengthened. This can only be done by focusing on the grassroots workers at the block and district levels and by bringing in more fresh faces, who have some sort of a base.
The commonsense logic is that if the Congress is strengthened, the Gandhis would be automatically strengthened. Therefore, all the energies should not be spent on the image makeover of either Rahul or Priyanka, but on the party. What could happen is that since Priyanka is contesting this time from Wayanad, Congressmen would be rushing there to show their faces. This could be at the expense of both Maharashtra and Jharkhand where the polls would be very significant.
The high command must ensure that the role of party activists is clearly defined. In addition, the services of sitting Chief Ministers to campaign should be enlisted instead of bringing in former CMs, who are by and large past their prime. In Haryana, the party did not sufficiently use Himachal Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Suku or Telangana CM, Revanth Reddy. This should not be repeated. Both of them as also Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah must be inducted for the Assembly poll campaign where the stakes are high and the expertise of those who have won are needed to augment the effort.
The High Command requires re-structuring also. The Parliamentary Board needs to be revived and attempts should be made to assign tasks to those who have worked in the field and have been successful there instead of giving importance to those unfamiliar with the political dynamics and who could perform better as lobbyists rather than as office bearers of the Congress.
Priyanka already has a voice in the party and it is very strong. There is always a talk of her differences over issues with her brother but this kind of narrative suits those who enjoy proximity to the Gandhi siblings and benefit from this supposed rivalry. The Gandhis may have their own way of thinking but publicly, they would never disagree with each other. Sonia Gandhi has ensured that this would never happen.
Bhagwat’s strong message to political parties including the BJP
The Vijay Dashmi address of the Rastriya Swayamsewak Sangh Chief is an event which provides a glimpse into the thinking of the organization regarding various developments taking place within not only India, but throughout the world. The speech has always had many layers that need to be properly understood in the context of the times we live in and without any prejudice or bias. On Saturday, Mohan Bhagwat, the Sarsangchalak of the Sangh made multiple points during his discourse. His speech has evoked strong reactions from the Opposition while within the BJP, an attempt has been made to selectively pinpoint certain portions of what he said. The address assumes significance since it coincided with the beginning of the centenary celebrations of the RSS, an outfit designed to safeguard the interests of the Hindus.
However, Bhagwat did not name any political party thereby allowing a scope for the interpretation of his text in more ways than one. His clarion call to the Hindus to unite was equally for the opposition parties as it was for the BJP, which has been pursuing divisive politics, where candidates are selected on basis of castes and community rather than their contribution to the party. Similar pattern of nominee selection is done by the opposition as well and the point sought to be made by the RSS boss is that such activities were creating divisions within the society which needs to protect itself and the country from forces which are wanting to weaken it.
The RSS has been worried that its thesis of keeping the Hindus united was increasingly being threatened by the rise of the caste agenda. Therefore, the castes which had the means and resources should consider it their responsibility to come to the aid of those who needed assistance. It was not the job of the government alone to bring about parity and upliftment of the deprived sections, but also of the people of this country.
Bhagwat’s call for Hindu unity was also aimed at focusing attention on the atrocities being committed in Bangladesh against the Hindu minority and has demanded an end to such acts. Although there was no detailed reference to the minorities within India, yet the RSS Chief has been advocating inclusive politics with the objective of providing education and other facilities to the Muslims in particular. It is another matter that the Muslims view the Sangh and its affiliates with suspicion and thus are not likely to be impressed by any sort of sermons. The relations between the RSS and the BJP have been strained and the Sangh has been wanting to re-assert its supremacy which has led to tensions within both the organizations. In this context, the RSS and the BJP both have to understand that excluding one community from the political narrative within the country was not going to help in unifying the nation nor would it lead to easing tensions. Therefore, the first priority should be to make the minorities as participants in the electoral process so they feel reassured about their stakes in the future of the country which is so diverse and complex, that it is extremely difficult to have a single formula for keeping it together.
The RSS has nationalist credentials and has come to the aid of the country on multiple occasions. During the Sino-Indo conflict of 1962, the RSS did exemplary work in discharging civil defence duties, a fact that was even recognized by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is not without a reason that he allowed the RSS to participate in the Republic Day parade of 1963 to acknowledge its contribution towards the national cause. The problem with the RSS is that it is viewed as a secretive organization which has an extensive international network; many countries abroad have full scale RSS branches under different names and also conduct Shakhas in these regions. The international wing of the RSS was founded by the late Chaman Lal who also did some exemplary work for the Indian origin people in many distant countries such as Surinam. What Bhagwat is today warning is about the stepped-up activities of many international forces which were wanting to weaken India or rather divide it. He has warned against an attempt similar to what took place in Bangla Desh. Bhagwat’s address needs to be understood for many things it has stated between the lines. While those opposed to the politics of the Sangh Parivar have every right to be critical of his assertions, it should also comfort them somewhat that the Sarsangchalak has also given a strong but subtle message to even the BJP.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pankaj Vohra is a veteran journalist based in Delhi. A long time contributor to The Hindustan Times, he is presently writing for The Sunday Guardian.
