polytics and polymics

Why Regional Parties want to get bigger pie in Union government? Politics and Polemics- By Dr. G Balakrishnan, (former AFP correspondent & professor emeritus)

Actually this mandate for Congress is a great graveyard to regional parties and theories of development of regional parties and consolidation and coalitions also hit the blind end.

This is being realized by the regional parties and in this DMK a bit intelligent and clever operator started realizing that their credibility as Regional party to hold any longer in Tamil Nadu is also going to hit the end. Then what will happen to them is the consternation sulking in them.

Similarly now most of the regional parties, like RJD, SP, BSP, under secular banner all have come to support the Congress government in the center from outside. It will not be a wonder if Nitish Kumar (Bihar) comes forward to support and seeing him Biju Patnaik (Orissa) will rush to support congress from outside. This is a ploy to tell their respective electorates but form them the Congress could not have done this and that. In the similar vein pre-poll allies also try to show some flexibility and want to be in the government just to tell their electorates tomorrow but for them, Congress could not have achieved this and that kind of statements to crave indulgence of their respective electorates.In this band falls DMK, TC(West Bengal) of Mamata NCP of Mr.Sharad Pawar.. Every independent would boast to his electorate but for him the Congress would not have done this and that just to keep the electorate in tact with him. There is enormous or mortal fear is there, as the electorate is slowly shifting back to National Parties and thus the regional parties vote share is steadily falling.

In the similar way it has also happened with BJP in some pockets, though BJP as such did not perform well in the election so also communists who are loosing credibility with the people.


In this process what these regional parties would do is getting into hard bargaining for portfolios like DMK has been trying to get 5 cabinet posts and 4 minister of state positions in the union cabinet and aiming to get very important portfolios while Trina mol is trying to play the same card when Mamata said she should get ministerial berths one berth higher than what DMK is getting! On the top of it she is pitching for common minimum program (CMP) while it is no longer relevant at all. But this is help her say in the forthcoming state of west Bengal elections in 2011 that she did this and that to get the electorate support away from Congress.

Now in News channels and in print media there are many camouflaged journalists while they are some kind of party men just infiltrate in media so that their respective parties get free coverage on their vituperative speaking abilities to show that they can ask anything to inconvenience of the interviewee and that is what we see in TV channels. Some are pure journalists and some the faked journalists. This way also parties start operating just to protect the parties’ interests in the polity.


Now when you look at DMK of Tamil Nadu. It enjoys 97 seats in TN assembly and it could form government with the help of 34 seats of congress and if this 34 seats move to ADMK of 80 seats from DMK, naturally DMK government is set to fall and ADMK can come to power much earlier than the next state elections and also this can help ADMK to work so well in the government in Tamil Nadu for the benefit of the people and thus outdo DMK to get elected for the next term too!. DMK knows this after no party is loyal as such like the DMK too. It is not the loyalty of DMK but it is a show. If congress has not got 206 seats in Lok Sabha the self-same DMK would have much misbehaved. So there is nothing like loyalty as such but that word in conveniently used for some convenience by these parties. If DMK is foolish enough to pick up quarrel with congress in the sharing of cabinet composition it is bound to lose out. Adamant politicians are there in DMK and they would just black mail octogenarian Karunanidhi and in fact he is already tired and practically in retiring mood and in this way he wants his children to come to power. That way he is cleverly moving. He wants his son Stalin in Tamil Nadu politics and Algiri in central politics so too his daughter Kanimozhi. In the same vein he has to accommodate TR Baalu (BC) and Raja (Dalit) in central politics so that his family is in proper hold of party and government with the help of National party in Congress.

Madam Sonia is a recluse in Congress and she may be kind to give protection to these local regional parties and they just want to take advantage, but it cannot be accepted by Congress-men who had spent all their lives in congress and with new genre in the party again to perpetuate their claims. Indeed Congress is the oldest Indian party with national color with secularist credentials while BJP is not yet fully a National in its perceptions except some kind of here and there approaches with Hindutva philosophy. That is separating from other bigger communities like Muslims and Christians, as they lack the sagacity to run national politics.


In one of his articles Swaminathan S Ankalasaria Aiyar in Economic Times (20 may issue) wrote ‘ almost all the theories put forward by political analysts to explain the victory of the UPA in general and Congress in particular are partial explanations at best’. He is also partially right at best. in his details while it is true political analysts, psephologists miserably failed in their calculations because all of these people suggested 2009 elections will lead to hung assembly with a shandy(Market) for support at some price!

He considered the following questions: 1 Is this a vote for secularism?; 2. is it true the congress party is back on the road to its old political dominance under Rahul Gandhi? 3.Whether voters are tied of caste-based and regional parties and are heading back toward national parties?; 4.Whether the congress gained greatly from populist schemes like NREGS(National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, and the farm waiver? And 5. Whether rural prosperity boosted by five years of good monsoon gave the Congress a big boost?.

The congress won 206 out of 543 seats of Lok Sabha while as UPA the seat position stood at 261, say a short of 11 seats to make the magic mark of 272 seats out of 543 seats.
The congress got overall percentage of Indian voters at 28.6% (as vote share). In UP the position stood at 18.3% far lower than Mayawati’s 27.4%, or Samajvadi parti tally of 23.3%. In Rajya Sabha congress commands 29 seats.



When I considered the following questions, my answers are definitely different to that of Ankalaseria Iyer (Economic Times) and let us look how?

1. Is this a vote for secularism?


Secularism is the basic structure of the Indian constitution because the very contrivance for the creation of the Indian constitution is the Constituent Assembly and it considered for the peaceful coexistence of all religions in unity of diversity pattern and hence approach is certainly secular – worldly, though some parties like BJP started questioning the validity of secular (worldly) approach to life and living. That is why BJP had to eat the dust in the election while congress could corner most of the voters after all they believed in worldly approach of peaceful co-existence as they had seen how the life became miserable after Babri Masjid episode. People got totally modified on the basis of their own wisdom and discarded the BJP thought process and they feel indeed sorry for the divisive approach of BJP in the Indian population. Voters believe in peaceful coexistence and peaceful living and leading a peaceful life away from all kinds of unnecessary strife. So it is a vote for secularism.



2. Is it true the congress party is back on the road to its old political dominance under Rahul Gandhi?


Yes, Rahul understood the meaning of old political dominance in the mind of Indian as the founding fathers of the Indian constitution saw the divisive politics really divided India and that divisive thoughts really permitted the outsiders could pay havoc in the Indian polity, after the problem first created between Prithviraj Chuhan and Jayachandra in1191 AD and that divisiveness invited the Gaznis and Goris in Indian scene in India as Goris understood to keep the people of India under their control they have to maintain divisiveness in the minds of people. This went further during Moghals followed by smaller Islamic Rules and further followed by European invaders in India they tried to keep divisiveness between Muslims and Hindus and that helped British to hold this India for abut 150 years more. This aspect was fully appreciated by most of the Indian constituent assembly members. They wanted an end for this divisiveness. But attempted to be revived by BJP by Babri Masjid episode and that effect continued till the beginning of 2009 but same 2009 people verdict is for secular approach after proper appreciation by Rahul in his brotherhood communication to all in the country and that caught the imagination of the Indian voters irrespective of religions and castes and the like. So yes Rahul revived the old thought of Indian constituent assembly to carve out Independent India. Credit goes to Rahul in finding an end to caste-ism and religious chauvinism


3.Whether voters are tied of caste-based and regional parties and are heading back toward national parties?

Yes, self-interested politicians desiring divisiveness to perpetuate political satraps misguided voters. Blinkers of caste-based regional parties were removed once after the voters realized how ignorantly they submitted themselves to these politicians. So voters should be vigilant against the political strategists. That is the verdict of the 2009 elections. Congress patient waiting paid rich dividends through Rahul who could realize the folly of other parties excessively working for their political survival. So it is true the final bell is also wrung to these divisiveness. Even Arjun Singh removal from HRD is the result of this new thought, after all Arjun Singh of Congress was over playing Backward tickets against the principles of Indian constitution. Similarly, it is an end to Karunanidhi DMK politics of questioning the sensitive issues of Sethu Samudram after all it affected the secular culture of India. Karunanidhi even wanted to bring in amendments to the Indian constitution stating it is stale as it was not convenient to him. So the very people who made these parties to work for sometime will root out the regional politics and they themselves found these parties outlived their existence. You cannot attack the sentiments of average Indian under any kind of priorities and those sentiments are the protector of environmental philosophy of regions. After all environment is genuine and the so called progressive ideas are some kind of black mailing mechanism. One could have seen in West Bengal at Nadigam the villager did not agree to Nano project at the cost of agricultural lands and those agricultural lands in the name of Special Economic Zones cannot be destroyed is the clear message delivered and that even went to the extent of shaking the CPM government. So the voters are asserting their rights forgetting the so called religious divide and in fact the various followers of religion joined together in the common fight that you cannot destroy agriculture for your Special economic Zone. Simliar agitations surfaced in Panvel (Maharashtra) when Mr. Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra to provide big chunk of land to Reliance Ambanis in the name of special economic or export zones. Congress also should keep a watch on the congressmen who want to do harm to Agricultural lands just to benefit self gains of the politicians. In the name of progressiveness, you cannot forget the age old perceptions of living. Similarly, the people in Devanahalli (Bangalore-Karnataka) really did not like the international new airport at the cost of their land holdings even though it gave a fast buck for the villagers and yet most of the villagers did not like the government’s intrusion in their private lives and living mechanism with sustainable growth. People like Deva Gowda(JD) and Yeddiurappa(BJP) have affected the environment of Karnataka(Bangalore) and in fact really affected the normal environment of Bangalore and they have badly damaged Bangalore environment, even according to Medical specialists as they find there are a lot of new diseases among people in Bangalore is showing their heads, in the so called process of progressive Information Technology centers developing in the city. The Bangalore city is really polluted thanks to over crowding of buildings and destruction of tress to help constructions activities of all kinds of infrastructures, without consideration of environment. Even environmental laws are just flouted by these governments there in place in Karnataka, in the name of economic development. Economic development cannot take place at the cost of environment and yet the governments went on giving exemptions by environmental clearances of special nature while one cannot question the Nature and Nature laws. Now the people are feeling the brunt due to uncreative thinking in the government circles of Karnataka and elsewhere too. Still the governments have not realized the problems in correct measure. If you want to develop infrastructure you will have to think in several ways to basically protect the environment and un-damageable methodologies have to be worked out by the urban planners, any where in the world. Poor people would suffer otherwise and suffering of poor people have forced the poor people to rise against the governments. The ground water tables in the Bangalore city area is depleted and bore-wells do not get any more water. Water scarcity is looming large and this will get enlarged if monsoons fail. Now in Madhya Pradesh government is looking to skies to provide drinking water to the people and if rains fail a lot of people will naturally die in MP for want of water. Today people fight for water and die and no rains people will just naturally die. So economic development means properly protecting the environment is vital. Regional parties just looking for employment alone and thus to develop infrastructure and bringing in companies does not mean development if the state governments give a go by to the environment realities. Earlier they realize the better is the message the facts are saying emphatically today. So it is high time real education drills in Universities should be emphasized, failing it will bring miseries to people at large is the message again.


4.Whether the congress gained greatly from populist schemes like NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, and the farm loan waiver?

Yes, NREGS and farm loan waivers to the extent of Rs.65000 crores of last Dr. Manmohan Singh Union government really helped the farmers and that also contributed to congress returned to government formation once again with a better verdict. Dr. Manmohan Singh should ensure that at all costs no environment should be attacked in the name of economic development. If you cannot bring economic development at the cost of environment, then so be it is the message. So it is high time planners cannot afford to forget the environment at all. If they forget naturally there will be natural calamities pop up their heads to exterminate the humans. This is again a new kind of genocide! People will wait for sometime and if it affects them then there will be all round agitations which the prime minister has to note and appropriate strategies he should work out with the help of Environment Ministries and just not by issuing some so called exemption notifications please!



And 5. Whether rural prosperity boosted by five years of good monsoon gave the Congress a big boost?.


Yes but if environment is attacked in the name of infrastructure naturally good monsoon will become a Blue Moon to the Nation. After all we do not have technology, which can provide water, air etc by synthetic mechanics and till the time we can create synthetic water, synthetic air etc., you will have to carefully plan developments is the message. Courts also should not turn a deaf ear to petitions regarding water and environmental pollution by simply stating some statue of the government or the other but courts also should understand that if the government cannot provide water, energy and air etc by any special methods then naturally they should set aside such so called notifications of the governments concerned, after all constitutional courts are the custodians of the Indian constitution and assert over the irrational parliamentary dispensations, after all people are primary for the country and they have to be saved at all costs is the message.

Yes it is the monsoons provided water to the country/ies, which cannot be forgotten by any Government and even by United Nations.
So the message is loud and clear that you have to protect the environment at all costs