DailyPost 1712
THE EASIEST THING IS TO WIN ELECTIONS
If you have picked up politicking in Indian style politics and if you are ready to stay for a long haul, you will certainly be successful. This has been the story of political parties and politicians and for that reason, you will find it difficult to find a party or a politician who has never come to power. Luck even shines on unknown political entities and they are able to grab a chunk of power, when the bigger parties hang in a balance. The freakiest is the fate of the successful independent candidates, who declare real independence, when parties are running short of the golden mark – simple majority. There has been an instance where an independent became the Chief Minister.
Numerically smaller parties becoming leading partners in government has become the order of the day, to keep the adversary out of power. Then at times is the final ace of elected representatives changing sides even to the extent of even being ready to fight fresh elections. New political equations transpire overnight and new governments come to power out of nowhere. MLAs being held hostage in resorts, seems to have become the standard operating procedure. Courts even conduct their proceedings in the stillness of the night for delivering judicial pronouncements on government formation stalemates. Proving the strength on the floor of the house and the role of speakers and Hon’ble Governors, we can leave it for some other day.
This is precisely to convey the feeling to every citizen, as to what is the crux of this democratic exercise. Elections are a game of hope and despair, emotions and rabble rousing, social media / tech hypes and of luring the customers / electorates as in selling any other product. All parties are game with the dissonance of Indian democracy with governance. The tales of government formation, whether one party or coalition, is a battle of heavy weights and heavy ministries. Talent, expertise, capability and experience is of no value. Governments are mere an existing equilibrium of governance. If it can be afloat as technically designed by the Constitution would itself be a miracle. So all political parties are able to make it power, sometime or the other or in some form or manner but the governance always remains a neglected child.
The Human Development Index is core to the existence of governance. The SDGs to which nations are committed runs into calculation imbroglio. The fate of health infrastructure and the health of Indians is not hidden from anybody. The universalization of schools and admissions was declared as the universalization of education. The creation and fate of educated unemployables is well known. We for sure will miss the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have not been able to create a scientific temper. Growth and development have been defined and delivered by one government after the other. Any rural public gathering is tell-tale evidence of what damage has been done to the citizens; their looks, their clothes, their education, their frail health and can it go on and on. While all are successful in coming to power, no one has the capability to govern. The second surge has left nothing to doubt. Imagine if a party wins all the seats, still can it deliver?
GOVERNANCE IS A GIVEN, IS THE MINDSET OF THE POLITICAL CLASS.
Sanjay Sahay