Lessons from Gujarat Elections
By K.N. Pandita
BJP has won a landslide victory in 2007 assembly elections in Gujarat for the fourth consecutive term.
This election is an important landmark in the evolution of democracy in this country. It was the first ever election in post-independence India in which unfortunately vicious communal, clan and community sentiments were whipped up by contesting parties to denigrate their opponents; they did not hesitate even to divide Gujarat into pro and against regions like north, middle and south Gujarat.
Communal card has been vigorously played in Gujarat after the tragic incident of Godhra. Congress and the Left made Narendra Modi their pointed target for vilification. Sections of national press did not lag behind. Who did not know that this was a furtive attempt and a political gimmick to garner minority vote and goodwill?
Gujarat assembly election results have raised a number of questions. Congress-Left combine loses not a single opportunity to paint BJP a Hindu communal party. Whatever the truth, Gujarat elections have returned the “Hindu communal” party to power for the fourth time. Therefore only two situations come up for consideration. Either we accept the decision of the majority and dismiss the communal angle as absurd or we declare that democratic process fails to provide “non-communal” dispensation. This is a question which Congress-Left combine will have to address sooner or later.
It is ludicrous to attribute BJP victory to arguments like” inciting religious feelings” or “telling lies” or “misleading people: etc. It is tantamount to abusing democracy as viable political arrangement. It is hardly convincing to say that Congress was not able to educate the people of Gujarat about the dangers of what BJP and Narendra Modi preached. Does a political party understand the interests of the people more than what the people themselves understand? Such fractured argument can be interpreted as disrespect of the common sense of the masses of people called to polls.
The fact is that BJP is neither what Congress-Left combine stubbornly paints it the demonic communal party nor is Congress the only party that can provide and promote the interests of minorities in India.
A stern lesson for Congress-Left combine is that adherence to the basics of democracy doest not mean trivializing traditions of this ancient people for slogans that may sound music to the visionaries but not to pragmatists.
Congress – Left election strategy in future for Assembly of Parliamentary elections should come closer to the strategy of great stalwarts of the party who had before them economic, social and cultural issues. They spoke and worked for the nation and not for a community or a region or a person. They never put communal tag to their political opponents but contested elections on fundamental issues facing the people. They knew that doing anything otherwise would not help them in their mission.
Indian political parties need to come out of a mindset that has dogged them for quite some time especially since Babri Masjid episode. They have also to come out of vote bank syndrome that has done maximum harm to the country even if it might have brought some dividends to a few irresponsible contesting candidates.
Aberrations at tope leadership have fuelled sycophancy to a large scale. This is the bane of present Congress party in particular. The sooner this evil is nipped in the bud, the better for election prospects of the party.
A word needs to be said for the BJP before we close this analysis. Indian Muslims should refuse to be incited in one way or the other to religious susceptibility. Muslims are as good and honourable citizens of India as anybody else. BJP will become far stronger by carrying the Muslims with it on equal terms. It has to understand that a very large segment of Indian Muslims is against terrorism and religious extremism. BJP should harness this important human resource for the development of the country.
(The writer is the former Director, Centre of Central Asian Studies, Kashmir University).