With General Elections round the corner , there are two questions which are being frequently asked and these are : (1) Who will form the next Government ? (2) Who will be the Prime Minister in the next Government? Frankly, in essence it is one question. But since, contrary to the spirit of parliamentary system, the thrust is on ‘build up’ of prime ministerial candidate by BJP without declaring it, which is provocation enough for the ruling party to be drawn to the plank and join the race , I have framed it in two for the sake of convenience in seeking the right answers.
With spates of happenings in the recent past, one scandal after the other, the Coalgate, the Railgate , the spotgate, growing insecurity of women , rapes and murders etc etc, the ruling party at the centre is naturally in dock for non- governance, besides being pushed to the wall on the issue of corruption. By virtue of being on the saddle ,it is not merely being charged for its failure to control fast growing monster of corruption and punish or atleast seem to punish the guilty , but is being perceived as party to it. With its sagging image , its chances of coming back to power are woefully bleak.
However, the victory of the Congress in Karnataka only endorses the view that the image of a party has nothing to do when it comes to planning the strategy and managing elections. Public memory has always been short and there is no guarantee that it will not be short now. However, much will depend on the alternatives available with the electorate. If the choice is between Congress and BJP alone, with their coalition partners, as in the past, well, then it is immaterial where they cast their votes. For them, it will be no better than robbing Peter to pay Paul, or vice versa. This may be the answer to the first question, but only partially. Let us look at the alternative to Congress.
There is none except BJP, with its cobbled up coalition, which can come up as an alternative to the Congress. But, NDA led by BJP, does not seem to stand on a convincing footing either. About its relations with coalition partners, Bihar is the living example of strains within NDA. The relationship can collapse any time depending upon the pitch that is picked up in building up Narendra Modi as prime ministerial candidate.
And Narendra Modi, who started with a bang in a bid to be projected as BJP’s undeclared prime ministerial candidate is, emerging steadily as a ‘rallying point’ for the party. He is seeking support from within the party and from all other corners, obliquely and with subtlety , to be established as a leader of guts and competence who can take the party to the magic numbers in the next Lok Sabha. The clan of people having faith in his candidature is increasing leaps and bound and the impression that he can pull the country out of the morass of poverty and lack of governance is gathering mass gradually. But, the other side presents the picture of fissures and divisions within the party. There are not many takers of his candidature even in his own party and the fissures concealed behind the pretensions of unity at present are likely to widen the moment party declares him as the official candidate.
Unfortunately, there is none of the stature of Atal Behari Vajpayee who could head the BJP Government with unadulterated image of a thoroughly secular leader which helped him to complete his full term by first cobbling a viable coalition and then keeping it sustained despite party’s known clamour of Hindutava. The senior most leader, L. K. Advani could perhaps match his status but his image as a hard liner is against him so much so that he is watching the emergence of NAMO from the side lines whereas, in terms of seniority and experience, he should have been at the helm. But who knows that he turns the tide at the right moment with the massive silent support that he has within the party because of his experience and other leadership attributes cutting across the bogey of his advancing age as an handicap .
NAMO’s image is also far from being that of a liberal and , much worse, with doubtful secular credentials. It is a strange situation where party is looking to him to push it to power which is possible only if he is acceptable by all the sections of Indian society . And this in no case is possible in his case. It is thus a grave risk for the party to rely on him for its success at the polls. That is emerging as star campagner for his party cannot be denied.
However, despite all my efforts I could not bring myself on his side for the different reason. I am convinced beyond any doubt that howsoever competent NAMO , or for that reason , any other national leader may be to take charge as prime minister , there is a very dim chance of the country to be governed with any semblance of competence under the present parliamentary system of governance. What we are passing through is basically ‘system failure’. I may sound prophet of doom , but I make bold to say that none, not even the God incarnate, can provide a sound governance in India as the head of the Executive under the system of governance that we have adopted under the Constitution. Why ? The reasons are not difficult to find.
If you watch him/her work as the prime minister ,you will find that eighty percent of his/her time is spent on putting the living fish within the basket, leaving him only twenty percent time to be devoted on matters of governance. Even that twenty percent of time is eroded by issues which, though very important for the survival of the country in the comity of nations, are seldom seen with an impact on the teeming millions of the country . It should not surprise anybody then if the image of the prime minister takes a beating, for while he is called upon to govern with comprehensive vision by his deep involvement, he/she does not have the time enough to do it really. I am therefore not impressed by the argument that NAMO will set things right, unless there is proof enough to show that he really has located where the stem lies. No such proof has so far been visible . For me, therefore, it is not material who the prime minister in the next Government will be. For, he /she will be as good as not being there in the present system
As for Rahul Gandhi, he is normally dismissed as an immature politician who owes his present status in the party by virtue of being a Gandhi scion. Yes, it is too early to expect him to come up as prime ministerial candidate of the Congress party . But what I admire him for is the fact that he is being catapulted though into the fray by constant pulls and pushes in his own party , he seems to have no misgivings about himself and knows it well that he is too young and inexperienced to hold the highest executive post. He has been spurning any such suggestions and insinuations within his own party, as and when they crop up. He knows that he can wait till the party has gained enough strength to stand at its own without the crutches of the coalition. I see a lot of potential in him , if he can keep the lust of power at bay and keeps working with a sense of purpose that he has been showing so far.
But more than anything else, I hold him high for his wisdom which dictates him to talk of the ‘system failure’ without mincing words and which indirectly means that he is aware that the parliamentary system is playing havoc with the country, begetting nothing but lawlessness and corruption, besides being a handicap to fast decision making and efficient functioning of the executive.
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