By Inder Jit
(Released on 12 March 1985)
Three cheers for our people. They have once again asserted their sovereignty. No one need have any doubt regarding the basic strength and maturity of our democracy. In December last, they boldly met the challenge posed by Indira Gandhi’s assassination. They voted massively for India’s unity and integrity — and for Mr Rajiv Gandhi and his promise of a good and clean Government. At the same time, they voted against the Opposition and severely punished its leaders for their failure to unite and put the country before self. Now our people have massively voted for the Opposition in Karnataka, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh and decisively punished the Congress-I for past misdeeds and undemocratic actions. That Mr Rajiv Gandhi personally had nothing to do with what came to pass made no difference. In the bargain, they have brought New Delhi’s new rulers down to earth. Undoubtedly, the Congress-I secured a record strength in the Lok Sabha. But it received only 49.16 per cent of the votes polled. The majority still cast its vote against the Congress-I.
Most people ask: “What happened? How come Rajiv has not done as well? The answer lies in the fact that there is a basic difference between a poll for the Lok Sabha and a poll for the State Assemblies. The issues involved are wholly different. In the case of the Lok Sabha, most people vote for the new ruler in distant New Delhi and for broad national policies. Expectedly, the overall image and broad impressions of the party leader or leaders count for a lot. But day to day issues of bread and butter and of law and order are uppermost when it comes to choosing the ruler at the State level. Prior to independence, it was often said that good government was no substitute for self-government. The obverse is even more true today. Self-government is no substitute for good government. Consequently, the people now go by the harsh realities at the grass-roots. Not unexpectedly, therefore, they have reaffirmed eloquently their faith in competent Congress-I Chief Ministers such as Mr Arjun Singh in Madhya Pradesh and Mr Vir Bhadra Singh in Himachal Pradesh even as they have voted for the Opposition in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim.
All eyes were appropriately on Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim from the day the poll was announced. Most pollsters tended to give a comfortable majority to Mr N.T. Rama Rao and his Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh and to Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari and his Sikkim Sangram Parishad in Sikkim. Not many, however, thought that Mr Rama Krishna Hegde and his Janata Party would be able to make it in Karnataka. Even after counting of votes started, usually well-informed sources gave an edge to the Congress-I, ignoring Mr Hegde’s confident assertion to some friends: “I’ll get a majority”. Huge crowds that turned up to see and hear Mr Rajiv Gandhi on his whirlwind campaign added to the confusion. But those who gave an edge to the Congress-I counted without the South’s basic sensitivity vis-a-vis the North and its overlordship. Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s plea for one-party rule at the Centre and the States caused a sharp reaction. Mr Hegde capitalised on this sentiment by posing to the Karnataka voters the pointed question: “Do you want to be ruled by Bangalore or by New Delhi?”
Not only that. Mr Hegde who, so to say, emerged as the “man of the match,” played his innings gloriously all the way. The Congress-I High Command, for instance, went smug after boldly refusing a party ticket to Mr Gundu Rao. It tended to feel that the party had had its image clean. But it slurred over the fact that some of the other leaders fielded had images only a shade or two better. What is more, Mr Hegde turned the tables on Mr. Gandhi by using precisely the same argument which the latter had employed against the Opposition during the Lok Sabha poll. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had repeatedly asked: “Who is the Opposition’s candidate for Prime Ministership?” But there was no answer, leading him to add: “They have not been able to unite before the poll. How will they come together after the poll?” Mr Hegde posed the same question, albeit differently: “Who will be the leader of the Congress-I? Will it be Moily or K.H. Patil or Bangarappa” The Congress-I had no answer to offer. And, the people of Karnataka drew their own lesson.
More. Mr Hegde’s victory is essentially a triumph of the Janata Party and its value based politics. Unknown to most people outside Karnataka, Mr Hegde blazed prior to the poll a new trail in free and fair elections. He set up an independent five-member poll watch-dog panel to ensure strict observance of the Election Commission’s code of conduct. The panel was headed by Mr Kadidal Manjappa, a former Chief Minister, who is known as “Mr Clean of Karnataka”, and included the Jnanpith award winner, Dr Shivrama Karanth. The people of the State, sick of dirty poll politics, welcomed the panel’s appointment. And, so did the Chief Election Commissioner who, for a change, rose to the occasion and lauded the “high standard” of public morality established by the State Government in constituting the panel. The Committee received over 170 complaints, including two against the Chief Minister, and went into them “objectively and honestly”. Interestingly, there were seven complaints against the appointment of the panel itself on the ground that it would benefit the Janata politically. At the end another blow had been struck for value based politics.
Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s plea for one-party rule at the Centre and the States caused a sharp reaction. Mr Hegde capitalised on this sentiment by posing to the Karnataka voters the pointed question: “Do you want to be ruled by Bangalore or by New Delhi?”
The scandalous sacking of NTR as Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh last year and his subsequent return to power are well known. But Sikkim’s sordid story needs to be recalled. Its Chief Minister, Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari, was dismissed by the then Governor, Mr Homi Talyarkhan, on May 11, even when he enjoyed the support of 28 MLAs in a House of 32. His crime? Mr Bhandari’s refusal a day earlier to withdraw a resolution passed at a Congress-I convention on April 3-6, attended by some 40,000 party workers. (The resolution advocated grant of citizenship to all those who had been in Sikkim since 1970. Further, it demanded reservation of seats for the Nepalis.) Mr Bhandari fought hard to persuade the Governor to go by democratic norms since he had the backing of 18 out of 28 Congress-I MLAs. He urged the Governor to call an emergent meeting of the Congress-I Legislature Party or an emergency session of the Assembly to enable him to prove his claim. But all this proved of little avail. The Governor and the Union Minister of State, Mr H. Venkatasubbiah, who was then in Gangtok, bluntly said: “No”.
The drama did not end there. Mr Bhandari was dismissed and Mr B. B. Gurung sworn in as Chief Minister. Mr Bhandari did not, however, give up. He still tried to salvage matters. Since the whole exercise seemed to him to be personally against him, he held a meeting of his followers who then elected Mr Chamla Tsheering as the new leader. The Governor was duly informed and sent a list of the 18 Congress-I MLAs who were present at the meeting. On May 20, Mr Tsheering and his supporters were invited to the Raj Bhawan for a counting of heads. But the Governor told them: “I shall consult the party High Command and let you know tomorrow.” Mr. Tsheering called on the Governor again the following day. But nothing happened. Mr. Bhandari and his supporters then came to Delhi and met the Congress-I Working President, Mr. Kamlapati Tripathi, who said: “I am nothing. The Prime Minister will decide.” On May 23, Mr. Bhandari and 14 MLAs resigned from the Congress-I to prove his strength and formed a new regional party: Sikkim Sangram Parishad. The fat was in the fire. Two days later on May 25, Sikkim was arbitrarily placed under President’s rule.
The Congress-I has none but itself to blame for the trouncing it has received in Andhra Pradesh – and the setback suffered in Maharashtra, where it won only a narrow majority – 148 of the 288 seats. NTR and his Government were beginning to run into trouble when the then Governor, Mr. Ram Lal, made him a hero once again by dismissing him in collusion with Mr. N. Bhaskara Rao, who has since been defeated and punished appropriately. It is doubtful if NTR would have won as many seats without the newly-acquired halo of martyrdom. In Maharashtra, the Congress-I started well. Faced with a major challenge from Mr. Sharad Pawar and his front of Opposition parties, it decided to back the strong and popular Mr. Vasantdada Patil for continued Chief Ministership. But before long, the Congress-I had second thoughts and its General Secretary in New Delhi announced that the issue of Chief Ministership was open and would depend upon the poll outcome. Nothing could have been more ill-advised. The announcement weakened the hands of Mr. Patil, who alone could have delivered the goods.
In sharp contrast, the Congress-I has done well in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal, Orissa and Gujarat because there was no scope for any doubt in regard to the State’s leadership In fact, Mr. Arjun Singh and Vir Bhadra Singh have been able to do particularly well because New Delhi additionally gave them solid backing in recognition of their good work. U.P. and Bihar should also have done well by the same reckoning. Both Mr. N.D. Tiwari and Mr. Chandra Shekhar Singh are men of ability and integrity and enjoyed the Centre’s full confidence. In fact, Mr. Tiwari, who was doing well in New Delhi, was persuaded to say on in Lucknow. Unfortunately for both, infighting within the Congress-I took a heavy toll. Another 30 seats are said to have been lost in UP because of the tragic killing of Raja Man Singh, greatly arousing the wrath of the fellow Jats in Western U.P. The Congress-I in Rajasthan was poised for a big win under Mr. Shiv Charan Mathur when the poll was announced. But the Man Singh episode cost the party at least 20 seats – apart from the exit of Mr. Shiv Charan Mathur an upright Chief Minister of proven capability.
The fall out of the Assembly poll has above all shown that our people have rejected the concept of one-party rule at the Centre and in the States. It has underlined India’s diversity and made it clear that unity lies through a federal path, as provided for in the Constitution.
What in the final analysis is the fall-out of the Assembly poll? Above all, it has shown that our people have rejected the concept of one-party rule at the Centre and in the States. It has underlined India’s diversity and made it clear that unity lies through a federal path, as provided for in the Constitution, True, no single Opposition party has yet made the grade at the national level. However, a virtual two-party system has emerged in Karnataka — the Janata and the Congress-I. The Janata Party could now use its strong base in the State to emerge as an alternative to the Congress-I at the national level, individually or in cooperation with parties like the Telugu Desam, which has already advocated a federal party under the name of Bharat Desam. The latest poll has thrown up strong States just as the December poll threw up a strong Centre. Happily, NTR, Mr Hegde and Mr Bhandari have offered Mr Gandhi and the Centre their full cooperation. This should make for healthy Centre-State relations — and a strong and united India. — INFA