Prof. Ujjwal K Chowdhury
Today, India needs an alternative vision of governance, and not just huddling together of a few disparate parties or leaders of the Opposition.
The victory of the candidate of the ‘united Opposition’ in Kairana and Noorpur in UP, soon after success of combined opposition candidates in Phulpur and Gorakhpur recently, and the failure of BJP to ‘manage’ a majority in Karnataka, unlike in Goa or Northeast, have emboldened the opposition parties to think of an anti-Modi force across India.
They have showcased their strength and unity in Bengaluru when Kumaraswamy took his oath to office of the Chief Minister of Karnataka. But this entire coming together is based merely on anti-Modiism, and is just of leaders and parties as of now, and not of policies or a Common Minimum Program, and it cannot survive the test of time when dust settles in Karnataka. And it is evident in Karnataka itself with regards to distribution of portfolios.
Congress strategists are fast developing a template in which the party will give an upper hand to regional allies in their respective states, and will take the upper hand in Lok Sabha seats allocation in return. The goal is to unite the 69% non-BJP voters across India, since BJP, in its best show in India in 2014, had got just 31% votes, but came to power based on first-post-the-post with Opposition parties eating away into each other’s electoral constituency.
But sadly, all talks on alternatives are about parties to collaborate and the top leader/s. There is hardly a talk on alternative politics or politics of an alternative India vision.
Today, India needs an alternative vision of governance, and not just huddling together of a few disparate parties or leaders of the Opposition.
What alternative options on the table?
Congress with its partners are the first natural choice. But a national party with just 44 MPs in Lok Sabha and ruling only 3 states is not in any bargaining position. Second is the talk of federal front of Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, in which she is ready to bring in every non-BJP party including Congress. Third is the talk of people’s front of K Chandrasekhara Rao,Chief Minister of Telengana, which believes in a united opposition alliance minus Congress. Fourth is the talk of Andhra CM N Chandrababu Naidu to have the patriarch former PM H. D. Devegowda of JD(S) lead a united opposition government at the centre.
What’s wrong with these alternatives?
The fallacy in all three alternatives above is that they are party and leader combos and none a combination of ideas and alternative governance vision. An alternative in this context has to be the alternative in substance or content and not just in form with a similar content as earlier.
If not, then naturally the positioning of BJP and the Modi-Shah dispensation shall be, “All want Modi out, I want corruption out and development in.” The Opposition would lose even before the game starts. And, in all probability, the Opposition shall have to put forward a leadership that can stand in front of the stature of PM Modi, manufactured or otherwise.
United Opposition against PM Indira Gandhi after the emergency of 1976-77 first succeeded to defeat her and come to power under the banner of Janata Party and then disintegrated soon before the end of half of their tenure into half a dozen splinter groups, with no common agenda, and the electorate disdainfully defeated them in midterm polls.
Pursuit of a united Opposition must begin with each constituency being given to that non-BJP party which has shown the best strength in it for an one-to-one electoral fight, based on the average of results in all Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls in that constituency in the last five years. This needs a serious curbing of the big-brother attitude of Congress to begin with, and in some cases, of regional satraps.
Then what is the right alternative?
First, uphold the Indian Constitution. The alternative force cannot just be of parties, but of an alternative world-view, of a common minimum program, and of an alternative approach to governance. First, pledge to protect the Indian Constitution and its basic tenets. So, commit to true secularism where the state does not negate any faith but also does not become party to any faith.
Neither Hindutva nor Muslim appeasement. Pledge to uphold socialistic welfare economy as envisaged in the Constitution, because the marginalized people, with their per capita income far below the subsistence level, cannot survive unless supported with minimum access to food, clothing, housing, public health and minimum assured education. Pledge to protect democracy and hence leave media, entertainment, culture and education to be run not by bureaucrats but by professional experts.
And, above all, pledge to protect legislatures by not short circuiting their sessions, and to protect the independence of judiciary by not interfering in their recruitment, postings, promotions and processes. Safeguarding democracy also needs to be through police reforms, administrative reforms, judicial reforms, and electoral reforms, and through an all-out implementation of the institution of the Lokpal, apart from protecting the independence of the constitutional positions (e.g. EC, CIC, etc).
Uphold rights of all communities without any appeasement
Second, all communities need to be assured that India is theirs, but they need not be appeased too. The Sachhar Committee report shows the lack of socio-economic and educational development among the Muslim minorities and their representation in positions of power and responsibility. Situation is exacerbated today with a visible alienation of them from the political mainstream.
Also, if forest rights are not given to the tribal users of minor forest produce as per the forest dwellers’ act on minor forest produce, and land rights are not given to the tillers, there cannot be visible change in the country-side and no end to Naxalism.
Then, social assimilation will need distinct ways and means to empower women as well, particularly ensure their security in public places, raise conviction in cases of assault on women, and enhance their socio-economic participation.
Bring Forth an Alternative Economic Vision for India
Third, United Opposition must promise a slew of economic measures, including viable Minimum Support Price and implementation of MS Swaminathan recommendations for agriculture, gradual recovery of all NPAs (specially in cases of willing defaulters), banking autonomy with SOPs on banking operations insulating them from political interference with RBI independence ensured, recovering black money in land, jewellery and foreign assets, and encourage investments in education and health with tax holidays and other benefits.
This plan also shall underline a fair share of funds between Centre and States, respect for economic federalism specially in the provisions of the Finance Commission, and execution of truly one nation one tax system through a uniform GST. Interestingly, it is important to increase investment in education and health upto 20% of the total national budget, which is around half today.Investment in health insurance and not on public health infrastructure does not good to the man on the ground. Finally, there has to be a development plan for each LS constituency.
Win the Battle of Perception
Modi stands tall in the battle of perception. It is ‘There is No Alternative’, a tall man of 56 inches chest against an army of political dwarfs, and the perception of no personal corruption of Modi as against motley group of corrupt forces. The image built assiduously by the new BJP narrative is about a united Hindu led India versus motley group of casteist and communal forces, etc. Falling into the same narrative, which the compromised media shall assiduously promote, will be suicidal for the opposition.
The only way to combat it is to put forth an alternative qualitatively different narrative, and before the dominant BJP narrative takes further roots. Like, one tall arrogant dictator versus people’s grassroots leaders. Like, selective chasing of corruption by Modi government while all corruption charges on BJP functionaries go un-investigated (like the alleged PDS and Rafael scams). Like, one religion-high castes dominant narrative versus united India at the grassroots approach. Like, arrogant elite governance versus consensus striving for bottoms up governance. The alternative narrative has to be on these lines exposing the doublespeak of Modi-Shah dispensation.
Only a collective leadership of the united Opposition, named People’s Federal Alliance (PFA), with a distinct Common Minimum Program and approach can make this United Opposition a reality on ground. Their over-arching vision has to take India to a more holistic sensitive people-centric development oriented future devoid of an overdose of rhetoric and aggressive emotions.
Lot needs to be done on this front to make it see the light of the day, and not merely a chimera. However, the leadership will still remain a vexed issue. And one option is to find a veteran outside the usual, like Yashwant Sinha to lead the united Opposition, a tall leader whom the BJP and its ideological mentor, RSS, cannot counter bitterly as others. He can be the Jayprakash Narayan for the opposition Janata Party which staged an upset defeat of Indira Congress after emergency in 1977.
(The Author is currently the School Head, School of Media, Pearl Academy, Delhi and Mumbai. He has been earlier the Dean of Symbiosis and Amity Universities. The views expressed are strictly his personal.)
