Will ‘INDIA’ shine?
Shishir Prashant
From Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi, India has seen some powerful Prime Ministers since 1947. However, even seemingly well-set Prime Ministers such as the powerful Indira Gandhi or her son Rajiv bit the dust in the elections when challenged by the charismatic Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly called JP, who raised the banner of a “total revolution” or Viswanath Pratap Singh, who highlighted the need for ensuring social justice to the most marginalised sections of Indian society.
In late 1990s, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister by dint of the politics of reconciliation and harmonization. By the time he rose to the helm, the era of dynastic politics was on the wane. That gave Vajpayee ample space to forge an alliance with leaders like George Fernandes, Balasaheb Thackeray, Chandra Babu Naidu, and Parkash Singh Badal. The strong Hindutva agenda was put on the backburner.
In comparison to Vajpayee’s tenure, the eras of JP and V P Singh were different as they both carried a political charisma which worked wonders in 1977 and in 1989, respectively. More so because the two leaders were pitted against the mother and the son who were both not only prime ministers but considered very powerful. By the end of 1977, Gandhi was such a dominating figure in the Indian politics that then Congress President D K Barooah had coined the phrase “India is Indira and Indira is India.” Similarly, in 1989, no one had thought that the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi with 404 seats could be defeated in the election. V P Singh’s popularity grew tremendously in the run-up to the election of 1989. His earthy metaphors, laced with caustic sarcasm, touched an emotional chord with the people in huge rallies all over the country. When Singh headed a National Front government, a new era of coalition politics was ushered in.
After the imposition of Emergency, JP was jailed. After coming out of incarceration, JP addressed a huge rally in Patna that signaled the change that was to come in 1977. Undoubtedly, he was the big force behind the rise of the Janata Party. In fact, many people said that in the 1970s, he commanded a charisma similar to that of Mahatma Gandhi. He had once declined a cabinet berth offered by Nehru. During the Emergency, JP launched a nationwide movement against Indira Gandhi and called her the fountainhead of corruption. Indira challenged JP to face her in the election. JP forged an opposition alliance and thus the Janata Party was born. In the election that ensued, Gandhi’s Congress was defeated.
Cut to the present and, with a general election looming on India’s horizon, the question that begs an answer is whether the opposition has in its ranks a charismatic leader who can take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi with full confidence and vigour in April-May this year?
Since Modi took charge of the reins of power, the opposition has been caught in the seemingly never-ending quest to find a leader who can match the stature of JP and V P Singh. Be it the current Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge or Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the opposition appears to be lacking clarity and decisiveness in the crucial task of choosing a new leader who can be given the responsibility of forging unity and leading the seemingly disparate constituents of the opposition ahead of the make-or-break hustings. For instance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has already irked Congress by offering just two seats. In Uttar Pradesh, bitter rivals Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati would face a tall challenge from a well-entrenched BJP unless they close ranks with each other as well as with other opposition parties if they are to offer a viable challenge to the BJP.
In Punjab, Akali Dal is yet not in a mood to join hands with both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi party (AAP). AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, on the other hand, has kept the cards close to chest. In Tamil Nadu, will it be AIADMK or DMK which can join the coalition front at the Centre. It will be interesting to see whether the INDIA alliance would shine this time around or would it meet a fate similar to that Vajpayee’s India shining campaign in 2004.