March 21 : The Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) silver jubilee celebrations were attended by tens of thousands of BSP supporters who had congregated in Lucknow to attend a mass rally where BSP chief Mayawati was presented with a mammoth garland of currency notes worth Rs 5
crores. Her picture adorned the front page of most newspapers. The usual uproar in Parliament followed, but will this hurt Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and the BSP? Is she doing anything that other political parties are not doing in raising resources for the party? The reality is that the methods of collecting party funds are known to everyone: 95 per cent of the funds are collected in “cash” that is controlled by the party leadership, and not by the treasurer.
A simple independent audit of the accounts of all political parties will reveal the reality of the situation. It is this, more than anything else, that is encouraging “dynastic” trends in almost all political parties. Over the past two decades one has observed how India’s political culture has changed with every political family now boasting of a business tycoon in the family. Political workers have yielded political space to chartered accounts and lawyers along with businessmen. As we progress in economic terms, this trend will become more widespread and political families, both at the national and at the state level, will show an increased tendency to rely on other such methods to guarantee political longevity. But this is not likely to work.
This increased concentration of wealth will destroy the credibility and reputation of political parties. It is but a matter of time. There are many politicians whose integrity and performance has been rewarded, including chief ministers like Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Sheila Dikshit, Tarun Gogoi and Shivraj Singh Chauhan. And no list, of course, would be complete without the mention of railway minister Mamata Banerjee. who is also the future chief minister of West Bengal.
Just like many have won, there are losers as well. We see the decline of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh where neither Mulayam Singh Yadav nor his family’s clout will be able to contain the damage. A similar situation exists in Bihar where Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi are unable to revive the fortunes of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Ram Vilas Paswan and his Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) slide into political oblivion. The position is no different with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. So, clearly, “dynastic” politics cannot guarantee political longevity. Whilst succession is assured, there is always the issue of ability and leadership skills backed by acceptable integrity levels.
There will always be winners and losers in politics and I wonder in which category the voter will place Ms Mayawati and the BSP? Ms Mayawati and the BSP cadres in Uttar Pradesh indulge in “excesses”. An electoral verdict for good governance cannot be treated as a licence to indulge in political and financial excesses and no political leader or party can take the electorate for granted. In politics, nothing lasts forever.
The BSP fared well in the byelections but it faces serious resistance from the Congress led by general secretary Rahul Gandhi. The Congress made a stunning return to the political arena and has relegated the SP to third position.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shown signs of revival at the national level and this will be reflected at the state level as well. Next year the political battle in Uttar Pradesh will escalate and it would be a mistake for any side to underestimate the other or to take success for granted.
In the last Lok Sabha election, the BSP tried to convert its Assembly votes into seats at the national level but that did not work. Can the BSP make an impact on the national stage without an alliance with local parties in individual states?
We are still in the era of coalition politics and everyone, from national to regional parties, has to think of strategic alliances for the future. As the Congress consolidates at the Centre and in the states, this process will accelerate. As things stand at the moment, the United Progressive Alliance and the Congress have the advantage. This political advantage is reinforced by good economic policy initiatives whose initial results are encouraging. In fact, with the El Nino effect waning, we will hopefully have a good monsoon.
The Women’s Reservation Bill has suddenly vanished from the media’s attention and the Congress is maintaining a deafening silence on the issue. This is unfortunate and it would be a pity if this bill is termed a “political” accident. The Indian Premier League-3 dominates public interest while various political issues are pushed into the background. This, therefore, would be an ideal opportunity for the Congress to start talks with the Opposition on presenting the bill in the Lok Sabha.
The ground reality is that the reservations issue cannot be avoided — apart from the obvious social objective, it involves a heavy dose of votebank politics. Every political party, including the Congress and the BJP, are affected by this and few members of Parliament favour the bill. If the Congress, the BJP, the JD(U) and the Left are really serious about this bill, then they have an excellent opportunity in the Bihar Assembly elections to implement it through their policy of ticket distribution. It would help a great deal if all the major contestants in the Bihar elections — the JD(U), the BJP, the Congress and the Left — take this decision together. Similar decisions also have to be taken for organisational posts and it is for the Congress and the BJP to set the example.
I had written earlier that the implementation of the bill could take a decade, but those who believe in this beyond the consideration of votebank politics have to take a few political “risks” to convince the voting public that their intentions are honourable.
By Arun Nehru
Arun Nehru is a former Union minister
