n anatomy of the electoral verdict 2004
Friday, May 20, 2022
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • RSS in News
  • Subscribe
Home General

n anatomy of the electoral verdict 2004

Archive Manager by Archive Manager
Jun 20, 2004, 12:00 am IST
in General
Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement chairman Sohail Abro

Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement chairman Sohail Abro

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterTelegramEmail

A
By Dr Rajvir Sharma

Now that the electoral dust over the 14th Lok Sabha has settled, it is time to scale the nature of the verdict of the people. A myth is being created that it was a verdict in favour of the Congress+ and a total rejection of the BJP-led NDA. This mindset does not allow the citizens of this country to be vociferous in their protest against the thought of appointing a person of foreign origin as Prime Minister, while professing to be a part of India'sproud democracy. They do not hesitate in raising a sinister voice against persons of the stature of Sushma Swaraj while glorifying Smt. Sonia Gandhi fallaciously to the level of a saint.

The question is whether it was really a certificate to the Congress combine to rule or it was merely a gang up of the anti-BHP elements to grab power in the name of the people. There is no denying the fact that the parties that fought these elections against both the alliances led

by the BJP and Congress, respectively, were given 135 seats, clearly indicating that these voters wanted 135 MPs not to be partners of either the NDA or Congress+. However, the lust for power and pelf, not the democratic norms, led them to go against the popular will to join the Congress-led govern-ment. Thus the Congress-led government, it may be concluded, commands neither credibility nor legitimacy.

It may not be misplaced to recall that it was the overfriendly behaviour of the media towards the Congress and the changing election campain strategies of the BHP which were responsible for a marginal increase in the number of seats of the Congress, from 114 of 229 to 145 in 2004. By no stretch of argument it can be accepted as a mandate to the party. It rather suggests that the countrymen did not have confidence in its capabilities, honesty and integrity to them.

That Sonia is not acceptable to the masses of India was decisively expressed in reducing the number of seats from ten to nine in Uttar Pradesh where she concentrated the most in performing her shows on the roads. The Congress gains are in those states where she could get the crutches from allies or where the caste and community arithmetic was calculated in a pragmatic manner. The major gains for the party have been in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. If one goes deeper into the reasons for the electoral outcome, one can easily discern that it was the dictatorial, revengeful and inhumanly arrogant approach of the ruling party in Tamil Nadu to the Opposition and the government employees which resulted in total gain for DMK-led group and the Congress+. It was no Congress effect at all.

In Andhra Pradesh, it was again the continuous campaign led by Y.S.R., the present Chief Minister, against the Naidu government who did not take timely corrective measures to meet the challenge on the ground. Despite the fact that Naidu represented the forces of modernisation, change and commitment to the people of Andhra, he failed to meet the propaganda against him. Again, no Sonia factor. Understanding reached with RJD and JMM even at its own humiliation, in Bihar and Jharkhand, also paid dividends to the Congress.

It is, therefore, imperative for the present Prime Minister not to be misled by the Left or any other such petty political leadership to ignore the call for consensus. Dr Manmohan Singh, having an image of an upright, honest and sincere leader, would not, one hopes, like to forgo that image at the altar of power. At the core of his heart, he must be aware that development is not a partisan issue. Access to public services like health, water, education, sanitation, roads has to be made easy and affordable to the poor?a process which was initiated by the predecessor government.

At the same time, he has another onerous task to perform?not to involve in politicking by removing the NDA-appointed Governors in various states unless there is a constitutional ground for doing so. Any other step would not only be violative of the spirit of federalism, it would also put a question mark on the neutrality of the office of the government which is so crucial for coopera-tive Centre-state relations as well as for smooth functioning of the state governments.

A Governor is the eyes and ears of the Central Government, but not its agent at any cost. The Congress-led government should, therefore, refrain from reintroducing the old Congress practices employed in the 60s or later. The only duty cast upon a Governor in relation to the Centre is that he should keep the Centre posted with any unde-sirable developments in the state or about the genuine, not concocted, failure of the contitutional machinery in the state. If the Governor fails in performing that duty, the Centre would be justified in removing such a person.

The Congress-led govern-ment shall have to rise above the rhetorics, misconception and misconstrued notions that it is a people'sgovernment with a clear mandate. It shall be pertinent for this government to be free from three vices?arrogance, infl-uence and authority of the Left and unresponsiveness to the implications of people'sdecision.

(The writer is a reader in political science at Delhi University.)

ShareTweetSendShareSend
Previous News

Sangh Samachar

Next News

#8220;BJP will replace Congress in Kerala”

Related News

Nikhat Zareen strikes gold in Women’s World Boxing C’ships

PM Modi lauds Nikhat Zareen for ‘fantastic’ gold at World Boxing C’ships

Nikhat Zareen strikes gold in Women’s World Boxing C’ships

Nikhat Zareen strikes gold in Women’s World Boxing C’ships

Hindus and other minorities face violent attacks on streets: CDPHR report on religious discrimination in US

Hindus and other minorities face violent attacks on streets: CDPHR report on religious discrimination in US

EAM S Jaishankar Hitting back hard: India schooling the biased West

EAM S Jaishankar highlights eight key points during BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque case tomorrow

Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque case tomorrow

1,224 KM long Amritsar Jalandhar Highway Targeted To Be Completed by September 2023: Nitin Gadkari

1,224 KM long Amritsar Jalandhar Highway Targeted To Be Completed by September 2023: Nitin Gadkari

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Nikhat Zareen strikes gold in Women’s World Boxing C’ships

PM Modi lauds Nikhat Zareen for ‘fantastic’ gold at World Boxing C’ships

Nikhat Zareen strikes gold in Women’s World Boxing C’ships

Nikhat Zareen strikes gold in Women’s World Boxing C’ships

Hindus and other minorities face violent attacks on streets: CDPHR report on religious discrimination in US

Hindus and other minorities face violent attacks on streets: CDPHR report on religious discrimination in US

EAM S Jaishankar Hitting back hard: India schooling the biased West

EAM S Jaishankar highlights eight key points during BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque case tomorrow

Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque case tomorrow

1,224 KM long Amritsar Jalandhar Highway Targeted To Be Completed by September 2023: Nitin Gadkari

1,224 KM long Amritsar Jalandhar Highway Targeted To Be Completed by September 2023: Nitin Gadkari

Egypt approves India as a wheat supplier, announces Union Minister Piyush Goyal

India defends ‘wheat export’ ban, says it always helped ‘partners in distress’

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann meets Amit Shah, discusses farmers and drone issues

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann meets Amit Shah, discusses farmers and drone issues

PM Modi to attend Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24

PM Modi to attend Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24

Universities should not be the arena of ideological battle: Amit Shah

Universities should not be the arena of ideological battle: Amit Shah

  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Special Report
  • Sci & Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Books
  • Interviews
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Obituary
  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies