CONGRESS DEBACLE AND ITS IMPACTS IN UP – A MAJOR HEART HEATING HITTING BLOW

CONGRESS DEBACLE AND ITS IMPACTS IN UP – A MAJOR HEART HEATING HITTING BLOW

I opine that the prognosis that the Congress Party after its recent debacle in the Assembly Elections may not sustain itself in parliamentary polls is entirely hypothetical. This is because the parliamentary elections are based on certain 'national' factors such as the national base of a party, national unity, and divisive forces, etc. To state categorically that the elections in the state assemblies portend future trends is not always a sanguine or realistic thought. This is also because of the fact that since the 1980s elections in India have assumed a federal structure as far as the state assembly elections go.



The federal structure is due to the fact that states have their regional aspirations and look towards regional sensibilities, which you have rightly mentioned. However, the same attributes may not be applied to a parliamentary democracy at the level of the national hustings, because when it comes to parliamentary elections it is a matter of choice as to who will hold more ground and more tenability: a regional party or one which professes a national outlook however debilitated the party may be.


For three decades now we have been hollering with paranoia that the National Congress Leadership is not only truncated and dismembered but is also blatantly dynastic. Yet, the electorate has been voting it to power sans the times where BJP came to power riding on the bandwagon of the saffron and anti minority feelings. But when the electorate sensed its perversion and animadversion the public booted it out. True the Congress had to bank on some 'allies' and continues to do so. True also, that the flirtation with the Leftists was short-lived but the fact also is that the National Congress and the Leftists look to certain prime issues such as communalism and casteism - applying not blinkers but a supposedly secular stance. The people have seen through the BJP especially after the Gujarat carnage, and all sections Hindus, Muslims and Christians said an emphatic no to it in the 2009 elections. They were fed up of a sanctimonious hypocrisy and depravity that targeted not only Muslims, but Christians as well.

Then, which electoral party remains? The Leftists improved their position gradually in the parliament but their obduracy on certain issues such as Nandigram, Singur and American baiting as well as given the premise that their moorings are largely regional, have done precious little to credit them as National Parties.



The Indian electorate is very intelligent. Its mass base may be rural but its thought processes are humanistic and nationalistic. Its collective consciousness is phenomenal, it had the guts to vote out the Congress after Emergency and then it overthrew the Janata Party when it found it to be too rigid or ' excessive '. Similarly, it out voted the BJP for its sectarianism.



It was a volcano hitting nearly everything that BSP CHIEF had erected and built as the Dalit Queen. Her elephants have all succumbed to the rushing bicycles of Mulayam. Now, no longer Mulayam Singh needs his son to do the camouflage - he himself will become the next Chief Minister and the meeting of the SP parishad is just an eyewash with the announcement being a matter of mere formality.


In Uttar Pradesh out of 403 seats SP has bagged 224 seats with Congress lagging far behind - content with only 26 seats. Rahul Gandhi accepted all responsibility for the debacle. In Amethi and Rae Bareilly the condition of Congress is pitiable. Rahul's magic did not work and people stuck to the ground reality.


The Prime Minister in waiting should wait no more, no one now knows how long will the wait be? Mulayam’s Jaya Prada gimmick has paid dividends. Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav stole the show in Uttar Pradesh. Once more it is proved that people can go beyond caste and creed, the vote bank of Mulayam is not much affected though. There was polarization of votes between the SP and the BSP and SP has won.


The caste creed division and the traditional vote banks are gradually undergoing a big change. Mulayam Singh had little expectations even after the Star Nielson poll survey, which succeeded in its predictions in West Bengal Assembly elections. Congress party had made the elections a prestige issue for Rahul Gandhi. The results have come as a big shock for the party. Rahul Gandhi’s policy of going alone might have been the reason behind Congress defeat in Rae Bareilly and Amethi, both of which are considered as traditional Congress strongholds. People in the state have voted against the party. The poll is a disappointment for the Congress and the Prime Minister-in-waiting Rahul.


The great expectations of BSP Chief has been belied and BJP with all the smoke screen of activists like Anna whose movements were not all bogus, and sometimes a need for the nation, had to face the humiliation in Uttar Pradesh. It is a near political death for BJP in the land of the Dalits - except for its its narrow win in Uttarakhand in which it has won 32 seats followed by 31 by Congress.


In Goa, the BJP is rejuvenated but that will surely not affect the national politics so greatly as it would have had the BJP won in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP is yet to become a viable alternative in political balancing. In Punjab. The BJP has not much to feel elated. In Manipur Congress had a better show with the pinch of Trinamool in its shoe while striving for power.


Trinamool will sit in the opposition with their seven seats as they want to honour the verdict of the people. This is a big leap for Trinamool in strengthening its position as a national party. The CPI(M) with all its gimmicks as a party of the poor could not open its account anywhere in the five states. This is a big blow for them even in spite of the big road shows arranged by them in those states during the assembly elections.

Off late, they had been elated to have successfully organized the Brigade Rally. But the results of the assembly elections in which Trinamool had the taste of national win of seven seats, sent the CPI (M) again on its back foot. People are scared of the communists if not all over the country, at least in these five states. That the Left is becoming politically redundant in this time of economic crisis is really a matter of concern for all.







Hence, regional elections and parliamentary elections are distinct if not disparate entities. The Indian electorate will not opt for sub nationalism when it comes to majority rule. This is not only the beauty of the Indian consciousness (despite illiteracy and rural habitation) it is perforce a fierce nationalism and subversion of sub national trends.



SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR MISHRA,
NEAR PROFESSORS’S COLONY,
BHIMA BHOI ROAD,
AT/PO – BUDHARAJA,
DIST- SAMBALPUR,
STATE – ODISHA,
PH - +919937965779