Verdict 2009-Debarshi Dey

Verdict 2009.

-Debaeshi Dey

With Barrack Obama's making it to the White House in November 2008, the citizens of US told the world that they chose hope over fear, a measure of idealism over realism, unity and cooperation over divisiveness and unilateralism, and most importantly to change the way the business of politics is carried out, to rid it of its Machiavellian character to a significant extent, if not completely. Though it is too early to decide whether the President have succeeded in living upto the expectations and the trust and faith his nation has reposed in him, if not fully, then in a substantial way, there is no denying of the fact that he has generated an extraordinary optimism and hopefulness, and a sense of involvement and responsibility in the people within the borders of his country, and also to an extent outside it .

Though it will be too simplistic to characterize the verdict that the Indian people gave in the summer of 2009 in such plain terms, and in spite of the extreme complexities inherent in the Indian polity, there are some very clear and succinct message that comes out eloquently from the mandate of the Indian people. Let us glean them out one by one.
1. There is a strong temptation to characterize a mandate as Anti-incumbency (if the party in power is voted out) or a mandate negating anti-incumbency (if the Party in power is reelected). As much as we wish to see it as a mandate for the UPA, which it well might be in certain areas, it cannot be held for the entire country. Last time there was a National wave in favor of a party or an alliance was in 1984, the sympathy wave after Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Since then we have not seen any such wave in favor of any Party or Allaince, and 2009 has not been an exception. This time though the Congress have got more than 200 seats ( the first time in 25 years that a single party crossed the double century mark), in many major states, Madhyapradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, the Congress or the UPA have got either very few seats or considerably less seats than their opponents. It is curious to see that though this time in most states the people have voted in favour of the ruling party in that state ( all the above mentioned state, together with Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kashmir, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, etc), but again here there are big exceptions: Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. So my first observation is Verdict 2009 is much more complex to simply classify it as either negating anti-incumbency factor or accepting it.
2. The second observation I can make is that the electorate has refused to be taken for granted. Whether they are Dalits of UP whose allegiance to Mayawati was unquestioned, or the rural people of West Bengal who were taken to be rock solid foundation of the Red citadel, or the people of Tamil Nadu who were as if mechanically expected to alternate their loyalty every election between the two Dravidian parties, they have all emphatically made it clear, they might be voiceless but they are not mindless. They have more than clearly articulated that they are not creatures of habit but individuals with expectations and aspirations.
3.Verdict 2009 made it clear clever and cunning arithmetic will not work, not always.The naked opportunism exhibited by Mahakutami consisting of TDP, TRS, and the Left parties outdid all other pre-poll alliance in showing their ideological and political bankruptcy. Here was Chandrababu Naidu, the poster boy of American brand of capitalism, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Yechuries and Prakash Karats, whose Raison d'etre in politics is Anti-capitalism and Anti-Americanism. If that was not enough, they were joined by TRS, whose main demand is to carve out Telengana out of AP, which have been bitterly opposed by the same Naidu. And Karat's CPI(M) is completely opposed to granting statehood to Gorkhaland in West Bengal, where they are in power.
4. Verdict 2009 unquestionably proved development delivers. If the 90s were the era of Identity politics (whether caste or religious) with its impact spilling over the first part of the first decade of the 21st century, it started loosing its grip a few years ago, giving way to Poltics of Development ( so much so, the poster boy of Hindutva has to make Development his USP and not Hindutwa). And by 2009 ,the Politics of Development is firmly established. This major shift is perhaps the best outcome of verdict 2009. Whether it is Nitish Kumar in Bihar, or Navin Pattnaik in Orissa or Sheela Dixit in Delhi, or Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Madhya Pradesh or Narendra Modi in Gujarat, the electorate has shown if one is honest and sincere in his effort to deliver Roti, Kapda aur Makan, they will not be dissappointed. But at the same time, they have shown that they are wise enough to call on the bluff of phoney development, as in the case of Buddhadev Bhattacharya in West Bengal.
5. Verdict 2009 reveals paradoxically, a growing thirst for new and young leadership on one hand, but apathy if not cynicism on the other, by a large section of the Electorate. If in significant parts of the country the voter turnout has been only about fifty percent, it is only more worrisome that in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi ( with the exception of Kolkata) it is further less (Forty percent or a little more), even after a fervid celebrity endorsed campaign to go out and vote. The increasing disconnect and despair people are feeling with the politicians and the political process, though not good omen in a democracy, have been evident very clearly.
Finally, I would say that before the Election it was asked repeatedly, who will be India's Obama. I think what is more important, is India ready for an Obama ?