DailyPost 2463
INDIAN POLITICAL LIFE CYCLE
The politicians have their own life cycle and career growth and some grow to the stature of becoming iconic, nation builders, statesmen, visionaries, game changers and what not. It means political, social and more often than not economic clout but what does it mean for the vast majority of the Indian masses. What impact it makes or can possibly make may be gauged from the Indian political life cycle? Political life cycle means the nature and intensity of activities beginning to end that happens in one turn round from one election to the other. This is the democratic lifecycle we follow, so more time cannot be provided to achieve or miss out whatever is of value or promised to the population.
It would pertinent to state that the milestones in this life cycle is what matters to the politician and anything else happening is inconsequential to him, though his political acumen will force him to take credit of that as well. The first milestone in the punctuated political lifecycle for sure is the elections. The politicians are their best here, contextual acumen and generic intelligence of this game can only pull him through. The knowledge of elections from data to history to social engineering to media blitzkrieg he has learned in this laboratory. It is this victory only that would be beginning of everything.
The most important milestone of the elections, the election manifesto is more of a political gimmick. It is created casually and is forgotten much before counting itself. Guaranteeing freebies are only points talked about emphatically and remembered methodically. If you and party win then the third milestone starts, how to become a part of the power arrangement; individually, of your lobby in the party and the party itself, if you ending up in a coalition government. Understanding the work assigned; a department or an organization, is not a part of the political life cycle. They are ordained to understand everything and deliver everything.
The next milestone is to apportion credit for anything achieved by anyone / any organization and claim it to be yours and makes mountains of success of these moles. In the meantime, the freebies start delivering, even if in a degraded state, is publicized in a manner imaginable. Government advertisements on electronic and print media seem to have become an industry in itself. This supports the political life cycle in a splendid way. Then the expertise in finding out the budget of the organization / department / ministry concerned and how best it can be used for political ends, while giving it the camouflage of normal developmental / welfare activities. Additionally, the constituency is groomed as a pocket borough, returning the legislators / parliamentarians for even more than half a dozen times. Followers and workers have to be kept intact, for whatever it takes, be as visible as you can, and start comparing your performance with your predecessor much before the election starts approaching. Attacking the political adversary remains an ongoing project all through. Law making is not even a passe. Various political keep crying for their attention. Lo and behold the election gets announced, five years get over, to start the political life cycle yet again.
GOVERNANCE, GROWTH AND WELFARE ARE NOT A PART OF THE POLITICAL LIFE CYCLE, BUT FOR GRANDIOSE LIP SERVICE TO IT.
Sanjay Sahay