news details |
|
|
| By throwing one sided love overtures left, right, Rahul betraying political immaturity | | |
Yash Bhasin
Counting chicks not only before the eggs are hatched, but even before the hen has laid all the eggs, the grand old party, Congress has been exposing its desperation to cling to power in the country at any cost. It is virtually prostrating before the regional satraps and caste leaders to woo them for post poll alliance to form the next coalition government.
Foreseeing that party’s residual old allies will not be able to bring in the requisite numbers, the Congress General Secretary and scion of Nehru Gandhi dynasty, Rahul Gandhi has only betrayed his and party’s desperation to go to any extent to lead the next coalition government in the country. Call it his inexperience or lack of craftsmanship, by reaching out to not only the estranged former ally, the CPIM and other left parties, inviting them for post poll alliance again, but also to the partners in the third front and present allies in the NDA, young Rahul Gandhi has put his own credibility as well as of the party at stake. Eulogizing the role of TDP leader, Chander Babu Naidu, who is in the forefront of third front making every bid to form a non Congress and a non BJP coalition government in the Centre, as well as the constant ally of BJP in NDA, JDU leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, by appreciating his present rule in Bihar, the young Congress leader has caused much discomfort and embarrassment to the most trusted allies of the Congress in UPA till in the recent past, the RJD, its Supremeo and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and the LJSP leader Ram Vilas Paswan, who too happens to be a Cabinet Minister in the Congress led UPA government at present. This betrays untrustworthiness of Congress, which can go to any length to ditch its present allies and woo the erstwhile political force foes the sake of power.
At a time when the last two phases of five phases Lok Sabha elections are still to be held and electorates have yet to choose their representatives in about two-fifth of the constituencies i.e. about 200 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats, this betrayal of shakiness on the part of Congress can have adverse psychological impact on the fence sitting voters who are prone to bet on the winning horse.
The Congress, whose seat sharing arrangement with its closest erstwhile allies, the RJD and the LJSP in Bihar led to the latter forming a so called forth front in alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP, to fight no hold barred electoral battle against the Congress in Bihar and UP, on one hand is keeping the option open for joining hands with these again for Congress to lead the next coalition government while on the other hand it is reaching out to its former rivals including the NDA partners. By throwing overtures of one sided rekindling of love with the left parties, who have repeatedly spurned the same and new love born for the JDU, over two decade old ally of BJP in the NDA, the young Rahul Gandhi, who is being groomed by the party and the dynasty to lead the nation after 2014 LS elections and even before it, if any eventuality arises, has put his political maturity at test. With JDU too spurning the friendly overtures of Congress the party is under the risk of closing the doors for post poll re-alliance with its temporarily estranged allies like RJD and LJSP. It is running the risk of being in a position of “Naa Khuda Hi Mila-Naa Visale Saanam. Naa Idhar Ke Rahe-Naa Udhar Ke Rahe”.
By throwing desperate overtures to both the old and new allies, young Gandhi is contradicting his earlier expressed resolve of making the Congress strong in the Hindi belt, Bihar and UPA, by going alone in the elections. In the wake of the Congress seat sharing arrangement with RJD and LJSP in Bihar and Samajwadi Party in UP not getting materialized, Rahul Gandhi had put the bold face, describing the development as a blessing in disguise, throwing opportunity for the Congress to regain its old dominating position in these two states, by throwing the constrains of its regional allies in these states. But now betraying desperation to woo the allies from all sides, the young Congress leader is only exposing the Congress feeling shaky.
If the naive in politics Rahul Gandhi is bringing ridicule to Congress by trying to catch the straw to save the party’s sinking boat from drowning, the veteran politician and NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani and his BJP too are exposing their extreme lust for power by wooing back the repeatedly tried untrustworthy Jaya and Mamta by keeping and expressing the hope that in the post poll scenario these NDA partners will stage back home coming, along with keeping the door open for Naveen Patnayak’s JDB, pocketing the recent humiliation and discomfiture at the hands of the latter, who ditched BJP in Orissa only recently.
By throwing desperate overtures to regional satraps and caste leaders, bolstering the nuisance value of some of them, the two major political parties of the country are only encouraging regional chauvinism on one hand and caste base politics on the other. With no party or even no pre poll combination, UPA and NDA expected to emerge in a position to form the next government on its own, the smaller parties, regional satraps and caste base leaders are all set to dictate their terms to both of them, demanding their pound of flesh and trying to get the maximum in lieu for their support to any of them. This, in the long run, is going to faster regional chauvinism, caste politics and individual personality based parties. The national prospective and approach is going to be the main casualty in the process.
Then what is the remedy? The only remedy to my mind is to make a new experiment of Congress and BJP joining hands and forming the next coalition government in the country, with some sort of power sharing arrangement. The suggestion may look utopian at present. But there is need for launching a move by the civil society and the right thinking citizens in this direction. Some veteran analysts and enlightened citizens who had taken the initiative to bring some sort of re-approachment between the BJP and the Congress over the issue of Indo-US Nuclear deal, for the same to go through, should come forward to launch such a move afresh, despite their effort and that time having not succeeded, with the BJP not budging from its stated position of opposing the deal. The BJP has lately declared that if it comes to power, the NDA will not rescind the Indo-US Nuclear deal, clinched by the UPA. This is an encouraging development.
The country must be saved from impending instability and chaos if the strange bedfellows, having their vested interests joining hands only for the sake of sharing power and rule the nation, pulling it in different directions to serve their vested interest and vindicate their personal egos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
