It was a historic
moment yesterday for the UPA Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi as
her ambitious Food Security Bill finally got the nod of the Lok Sabha. But
other than it being a game changer for the 2014 elections and the biggest
social welfare scheme initiated by the UPA till date, what is more important is
the fact that she not
only got the most expensive passed but also made almost all parties,
including the BJP, desperately vie with the Congress for some credit for the
legislation. However,
what was perhaps the most interesting aspect of the
approximately nine-hour-long discussion on the bill in the Lok Sabha, were
the indications of an early build-up of a fresh political alignment that may
spice up the next parliamentary polls. The hints of new formations are
something that should concern Narendra
Modi the most, both in his
capacity as the de-facto leader of the BJP and as the face of the party’s
campaign for the next general elections.
As I’ve argued often
in my earlier articles, when it comes to the politics of India, you can’t win
on the basis of your personality and ignore the party cadres. Sadly at the end
of the day, we’re a parliamentary democracy and not a presidential system. Despite
the hype surrounding Modi and the backing of his party’s activists, the turn of
events in Parliament suggested that the BJP hadn’t cared to listen to his
opinion on the Food Security Bill. It’s perhaps the clearest indicator that the
Gujarat Chief Minister’s battles within his party aren’t over and he will need
to battle for command. BJP’s
lead speaker in the Lok Sabha, Murli Manohar Joshi, who incidentally began the
debate on the bill, did not once refer to Modi’s principal demand of a meeting
between Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and the state Chief Ministers.
However, in the politics of competitive populism, the BJP’s central leadership
apparently decided it was more prudent to support the UPA in getting the bill
passed and not do anything that could even remotely be construed as an attempt
to spike it.
However more than this what should concern our PM-in-waiting more
is the sudden political alignment which was very prudent in the parliament
while the bill was passed. The most notable one being the
Bahujan Samaj Party floor leader, Dara Singh Chauhan,
and JD(U) leader, Sharad Yadav, showering praise on Sonia Gandhi for something as trivial as her
speaking in Hindi in Parliament. The voting on the party’s amendment on the
Food Security Bill, proposing to adopt the Chhattisgarh model for PDS, became a
BJP-versus-the-rest affair in the Lok Sabha, which should also be a matter of
concern. The government on the other hand easily sailed through all amendments
suggested.
Ironically, it was
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam
Singh Yadav who seemed to have
taken a cue from Modi’s letter and slammed the UPA government for not talking
to the chief ministers, particularly when the bill listed multiple tasks for
the state governments to implement. He also pointed out the absence of criteria
to identify the beneficiaries. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J
Jayalalithaa had also expressed a similar opinion in the past. Sonia
Gandhi’s strategic assertiveness on the Food Bill allowed her to keep her nimbus
of supremacy and may or may not translate into votes, but it certainly won her
two powerful admirers. The BSP, with whom the Congress has had a rocky
relationship, and the JD(U), which seems to be leaning towards the UPA.
BSP leader Dara
Singh Chauhan began by
complimenting Sonia’s pro-poor tilt and praising her for her choice to speak in
Hindi, and not in English. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who so far has been
known for his anti-Congress stance in his opening statement said he was
“overwhelmed by Sonia
Gandhi speaking in a language,
Hindustan spoke”. Could the BSP and JD(U)’s discovery of the merits of
the Congress president translate into a stronger relationship and even a
pre-poll understanding in UP and Bihar? It may be too early to say, but
politics is an art of the impossible. Given there are 120 seats between UP and
Bihar, the two states have the capacity to change the electoral demography in
Lok Sabha and the victory in these two states will play a major role in the
formation of the next government.
For all sorts of
bouquets and brickbats feel free to leave a comment below or mail me at
author.vish94@gmail.com
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