| Rejoice. The people of India, mostly barely literate or illiterate, have on their own made Indian democracy and polity a bit more robust. A coalition of upper caste members, dalits and Muslims have given a clear mandate in UP in favour of some bit of governance, seeking to end the misrule of coalition politics. In doing so they have recreated the coalition that kept India together during the initial decades after independence under the leadership of the Congress, this time under the banner of Mayawati and the Bahujan Samaj Party of the dalits. Should this recreated old coalition at the grassroots extend to the rest of India, a new chapter in Indian politics can begin. |
| Undoubtedly the UP assembly election results are up to a point no different from scores held in recent years. The anti-incumbency factor has worked again and the party in power has been thrown out after a period of serious misrule. But the change in the share of the popular vote garnered by the various parties tells a more significant tale. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress have retained their earlier share. It is the BJP that has lost a significant share of its vote, as also the minor parties, and the overwhelming gainer is the BSP. |
| The BSP is no longer a party of the dalits but seemingly of everyone. It has been giving tickets for some time now to candidates from diverse castes and in the election campaign a strong theme was people planning to vote for Mayawati in the expectation that she would put down goondagiri and official non-performance with an iron hand. In the home of caste politics, voters have ultimately been swayed by the desire to have a government that works. |
| The significance of a section of the BJP's erstwhile supporters deserting it needs explaining. Plagued by unedifying misfortunes and plain scandals all over the country, the BJP had little to offer other than the Hindutva card. It released an inflammatory campaign CD, which it disowned only after it had met with humiliating defeat. Even the return of Kalyan Singh, the architect of its earlier victory, did not help. The recent victory of the party in Uttaranchal and Punjab indicates that it still is the natural choice where it is the main opposition party and an anti-incumbency mood is in play. But where a more powerful and credible alternative is available, Muslim bashing alone will not work. |
| Other than the main plot, there is a sub-plot worth noting. The Congress failed to improve its share of the vote despite extensive campaigning by Rahul Gandhi. His inability to make a difference had been correctly predicted by those who went by the kind of crowds he drew. Thus, not only has the Congress failed to reemerge in a territory which earlier provided the bulk of its winning numbers in the Lok Sabha, its prince in waiting has to wait a bit more. The Congress, like the BJP, is not finished yet. It is right now running a credible coalition government at the Centre despite the severe limitations imposed by the varying priorities of its partners. But at a moment when the BSP has stolen its earlier kingly clothes, questions about its long-term future need asking. |
| Even as we celebrate the victory of issue-based politics over caste, it must be remembered that Mayawati, several times chief minister already, does not come sans baggage. The chapter of the Taj Corridor project is not yet closed, she does not have a squeaky clean image, the massive transfer of officials that she has already initiated all indicate that she is set well within the mainstream of Indian politics with all its aberrations. After the decline of the Congress many false prophets from Charan Singh to V P Singh have come and gone. Mayawati may also turn out to be a god that failed. |
| But it is quite likely that the revolution she has wrought will live on even if she personally is eclipsed. As dalits all over the country feel electrified, a resurrection of the old secular platform of national unity seems distinctly possible way beyond the borders of UP. The one step forward that the UP electorate has taken by voting for governance and against the politics of caste, religion and coalitions may be followed by setbacks. But it is highly likely that an idea, once out, will not simply go away. Not as long as the people can vote freely. |
| If there is any fitting epilogue to the elections then it is Mulayam Singh's lament that he has been defeated by the Election Commission. He of course meant that it was partisan and handicapped him. But he surely missed the irony that he was speaking the truth without realising in what way. In a sense the commission did indeed defeat the ruling party, by preventing it from typically using the official machinery to rig the polls. It has been repeatedly and correctly said that only periodic elections do not a democracy make. For that you need checks and balances exercised through strong institutions""those that Nehru tried to build and Indira Gandhi tried to destroy. |
| While many institutions have indeed declined, the one that has grown stronger and in recent years acquired an almost magisterial grandeur is the Election Commission. It brooks no nonsense and has over time managed to hold freer and fairer elections even in the Hindi heartland where rigging used to be widespread. Judging by the way UP has voted for a semblance of governance, the hope is that elections in future will do what they have been unable to do so far""put India in the hands of politicians who are neither criminal nor corrupt. |
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
