An Agenda for the New State Governments

Now that the first Assembly elections after the last Lok Sabha elections are over, the outcome in Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra clearly shows that the honeymoon period of the UPA is still on. While poll analysts and observers would get into the usual voter share and percentage calculations, the fact remains “Joh jeeta wo Sikandar” Critics of the Congress have attributed the party’s victory to a divided Opposition while the BJP has sought to hide its defeat by blaming the Electronic Voting Machine describing it as the ruling party’s Election Victory Machine. Had that been the case, the Congress could have easily engineered a landslide for Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana. Howsoever hard it may try to convince the people that the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was backed by the Congress, the Opposition will have to concede that it was Bal Thackeray’s a la Dhritrashtra decision to anoint his politically novice son over his winnable and hugely popular nephew that is at the genesis of the problem. And if Congress has taken advantage of this split, then that is what politics is all about. What other qualification does Maneka Gandhi or her son Varun have to justify their positions in the BJP except for their surname ‘Gandhi’.

The fact remains that an incumbent Government has been returned to power for the third consecutive term in Maharashtra and for the second tenure in Arunachal and Haryana. Certainly, the Government might have done something for the people to gain their confidence for the first time. Say, the Prime Minister’s Vidarbha package, the NREGS with all its shortcomings and the fact that the Government acted swiftly, replaced the Chief Minister in the state and the Home Minister at the Centre and ensured that there has been no major terror incident any where in the country after the November 26 Mumbai attacks last year. The infighting within the BJP’s top leadership has disillusioned the people no end with the saffron party, the Shiv Sena had nothing new to offer except the parochial Maratha Manoos slogans, whose patent is now with Raj Thackeray. The people are increasingly getting fed up with the negative agendas of the political parties. They want the Opposition on the streets in their neighbourhood to fight for them and not fighting amongst themselves on television and print media.

Having retained the people’s mandate, the Congress too should not rest on laurels or past glory. They will have to deliver. More than anything else, in Maharashtra, the Government should put an end to the spate of suicides, which refuses to abate even after the announcement of special economic packages. Where is the money being spent? Is it reaching the needy and deserving or are the middlemen making hay while the sun shines? What about agricultural infrastructure and remunerative prices? What about private, non-institutional loans taken from money lenders at a much higher interest rate for purposes other than agriculture yet equally important such as education and marriage of children? The suicides are a blot on our existence as a civilized welfare state. It is a cruel joke and mockery on the very idea of a super power India. It is the fodder on which violent movements like Naxalism sustain.

Secondly, the Congress-NCP Government should rein in the burgeoning strength of the likes of Raj Thackeray and their lumpen elements. The way people from North India were beaten up and a noted film director was forced to change even references to the city as Mumbai as against Bombay virtually at stick point, is a sad and sorry comment on the state of affairs in Maharashtra. While it is true that local talent, where available should be given the fullest opportunity, no civilized state can allow its citizens to be beaten up for seeking a dignified life and means of livelihood. Moreover, Congress should also establish beyond doubt that it had no secret understanding with the MNS by going tough against any anti-national and illegal action by Raj and his goons. Not that there are no other problems, but these two are foremost.

As for Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda was saved by a whisker. His Haryana No 1 was more like NDA’s ‘India Shining’, more on hype, less on substance. Again, like NDA’s disastrous 2004 experiment, an overconfident Hooda went to the hustings, several months in advance. Spending crores on advertisements and propaganda without work at the ground level is the best recipe for defeat. The ever increasing labour unrest, lawlessness of caste Panchayats and the ever widening sex imbalance are major areas of concern for the state.

Last but not the least, Arunachal. Both the voting percentage and the vote was for India and against China. The people want to be part of India. But that patriotism should not be taken for granted. They also want development. Both the Centre and the re-elected state Government should ensure that not a single youth would ever feel that he or she would be better off in China than India. We cannot afford another Kashmir on our North Eastern frontier.