Indra’s Drishtikona (Viewpoint)

Exit Polls of General Election after 2 phases out of 4

Posted : April 29, 2004 at 6:06 pm [IST]

Shares have crashed. Sensex is down by 200 points in one day- the worst in last 30 years. Total loss estimate is around Rs.5000 crore

If exit polls are even remotely accurate and the election results give India a hung parliament, the country is going to be the real loser. The citizens of this country could choose to give a clear mandate to one of the two national parties. However, with so much local affection for the regional parties and the strength of some caste-based parties in some states, it seems the mere thought of a party getting a clear mandate is nothing short of a pipe dream. How unfortunate that would be both personally and for the country in general

A hung parliament will set the country down the wrong path, when others - China, Thailand, Malaysia are racing towards attaining developed nation status. I am not sure who to blame. Not that pointing finger at others will help. We’re all in it together. So, in some ways I am to be blamed too. And I am willing to take my share and do my bit as a “responsible” citizen of this great nation. I sure hope others follow suit.

Maybe it’s an inherent weakness in the very foundations and belief systems of our country which continues to encourage the likes of Rabri Devi and her husband to take a state such as Bihar back to the Stone Age. Or may be, it’s just something as simple as too many people, illiterate with little education, little or no prospects, little or no time to “think” about their neighbours let alone the nation and yet holding the “key” to the future course of this nation. May be it’s something atypical to the way we “think” as a race. Whatever it is, the intellectuals and well-wishers of this nation can only hope and pray that the actual results are different.

One wonders what would happen if the mandate goes against the likes of Chandra Babu Naidu in Andhra or Krishna in Karnataka. It sure will be interesting to see if the alternative selected by electorate would prove more effective in solving their problems. This country is “slowly” but “surely” on a path of recovery. A broad-based recovery takes time. The electorate needs to realize this and give the deserving candidates another chance. No one can solve the problem arising out of draught in a short time.

Programmes such as constructing good roads linking all villages, setting up power plants to provide uninterrupted electricity, digging and activating irrigation canals to take care of the draught are the “right” things for the country and requires time. Lots of it actually.

In my humble opinion, the current administration is moving our country on the right track. No one said or expected it to be easy. In fact, I would not be exaggerating at all if I concluded that at times our road to recovery will appear more painful than attaining freedom from our years of slavery. It’s not impossible. It can and MUST be done. And we “all” need to do our part to make this happen.

See here’s what I don’t like: If the mandate is not clear or, god forbids, the current ruling party loses, it will deal a huge blow to all the “good” work begun by this current administration. A Congress alliance with the type of parties it has cobbled together hardly appears capable of pushing through the programmes and reforms that the country needs and deserves. More often than not, making the “right” decisions is analogous to making “bold” and sometimes even unpopular decisions. Do I think the Congress alliance can deliver? Let’s think about it.

To be fair, let’s analyse the constituents of this alliance. It includes the CPI (M) party, a party that will never allow any reform in labour laws or continuance with disinvestment. NCP will not cooperate unless they are offered key ministries and perhaps deputy prime minister ship. DMK will also ask for its own pound of flesh. RJD will likely allow autocracy in its state. Will that be in the national interest? Who will be the PM? Will Sonia be the right person to represent India on world forum? While the world might publicly appreciate this nation’s generous disposition towards it’s citizens (native or foreign-born), they will most likely laugh behind our back at such a development. Not that I really care what the world thinks. However, we definitely want a government that functions, that improves our future, our fortune.

India deserves great things, deserves to morph from being a perennial “developing” nation into a “developed” one. Maybe even a superpower. A country that works with one and all to eradiacte poverty at all levels both within and outside our borders, that ensures quality of life for all class of people, that removes red tape and ensures law and order that keeps the country together. I have a dream too.

- Indra

Category: Indian politics |