The political atmosphere of the capital is rather ominous. Here are some of the speculations that are beginning to make a bit of sense, although they are not fully backed by empirical evidence. In a calibrated manner, the Bharatiya Janata Party is picking up every weakness displayed by the ruling party and blowing it into a large balloon that is gradually affecting the perceptions of urban India regarding the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance government. Juxtaposed with that, a negativism about the present regime has begun to set in. The spin doctors of the Congress, if there are any of consequence in the party, have, as usual, failed miserably to turn around the disturbing mood. On cue, senior leaders of the Congress are in supreme denial, which reinforces the fact that they are in rapid decline, unable to listen, lest they have to hear the truth about their failures.
The attack of the National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP leaders, on the ruling coalition and on the prime minister in particular falls just short of a blow below the belt. The recent personal assault on Sonia Gandhi, followed by a verbal dismissal of Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of lack of experience, damning his fresh and upright political positions and mocking him for being an ‘heir apparent’, all smack of a concerted plan designed with an eye on the midterm poll. As for the shenanigans of the Central Bureau of Investigation — the people of India will tend to agree with the BJP/NDA that the CBI follows the biddings of the government in office. Unfortunately for the Congress, it is its government that is in power today and the UPA is on the backfoot.
The spectrum scam is the mother of all scams, and the ruling party will have to take the brunt of its exposure. The reputation of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the last UPA dispensation and thereafter leaves much to be desired.
Stalled growth
For the Congress, harping on what it did in its first term in office carries no weight at all. What was done was done — the nuclear bill, the national rural employment guarantee scheme, the Right to Information Act — all are seen as work in progress today. Therefore, no extra brownie points for those salutary initiatives, which are being given a miss as the corruption scandals take prime position in the minds of the electorate.
Watching from the sidelines, it is clear that whenever the government in power is on the defensive, politically manipulated inmates from babudom awaken and are nudged by vested interests into delivering selective ‘leaks’ to the press in an effort to destabilize the government. Delhi is much like a sieve at this moment. Ministry leaks, lobby leaks, corporate leaks — all leaks are flooding the landscape, compelling verbal slinging matches between the two ‘sides’, deviating from the critical issues that confront us. If the Central government had had serious intentions to overhaul the present configuration of people holding key positions, the BJP assault has made it self-conscious and intent on keeping the status quo, lest a reshuffle be seen as succumbing to the Opposition’s pressure. That is the sad truth.
Opposition groups are never in disarray when the ruling dispensation is plagued by scams. There is furious politicking behind the scenes, with contenders dreaming of a short-term ‘throne’ in the sun. Better be a footnote in the history books than have no mention at all. All this is part of the political racketeering that has besieged India for the last two decades, stalling greater growth. Ideally, this country needs strong states and iconic regional leaders, with a Centre that controls defence, foreign policy and finance, ruled by one of the two national parties.
A truly federal polity.
