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A mixed bag
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that he has been unable to do much in certain areas because of the ?compulsions of coalition politics?.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose government will be completing two years in office on May 22, said in his interview to the Financial Times that he has been unable to do much in certain areas because of the ‘compulsions of coalition politics’. Although he did not name the Left Front, his target is but obvious. Evidently, he is concerned about the perception that the Left has become a stumbling block in his agenda on labour reforms and privatisation.
Singh’s subtle criticism of the Left seems misplaced though, considering that the Congress and the Left Front, despite not being natural allies, had come together to fight the communal politics of the BJP-led NDA. They came to power on a pro-poor ticket, as the common man rejected the previous regime’s ‘India Shining’ campaign — the NDA government having suffered the perception of being anti-poor.
One can understand why the PM is frustrated. He is not cast in the typical politician’s mould and finds himself at the helm of a party more adept at single-party governance which, for the first time, is experimenting with coalition politics at the Centre. But has the Left really obstructed his government on any issue mutually agreed upon and documented by him and his coalition partners in the Common Minimum Programme?
The verdict in the states that recently went to the polls may, in fact, heighten Singh’s misgivings. But they hold an important lesson for him. For the first time, a minority government has come to power in Tamil Nadu. An astute politician like M. Karunanidhi had to sacrifice his own interests to accommodate others. The two mainstream Dravidian parties today realise the worth of broadening their support base with a number of smaller parties representing various interests. Kerala has been experiencing coalition politics for several years. The CPI(M) may have chalked up an impressive victory in West Bengal but is essentially still locked in a coalition with other Left parties. In Assam too, the Congress will be forming government with the help of smaller parties. Most states including UP and Bihar, or for that matter Jharkhand and Orissa, are ruled by coalition governments.
In the absence of visible political issues and the collapse of the Congress’s umbrella-role — where competing pressure groups co-existed under one shelter — groupings on the lines of caste, ethnicity, region and religion have become more assertive and have been playing a dominant role in Indian politics since 1967. Singh will be playing out of sync if he feels that his being a ‘Congress’ Prime Minister would help him transform the Indian system. His party did not receive the mandate to rule singly. The mandate was to work with diverse partners including the Left.
Politics and governance are not two separate issues. The quality of governance is dependant on the kind of political formation that has brought you to power. Coalition politics — with sectarian interests — can sound like a divisive concept. But it is also the solution that the system throws up when no one has bothered to address these interests. Manmohan Singh should remember that it was primarily the failure of the Congress to adequately address regional and group interests that led to the emergence and growth of regional parties, in the first place.
The Left and the Congress do not have major differences on the CMP. Where the UPA government and the Left differ is on the issue of the structure of the liberal economy.
The Left, particularly the CPI(M), has its own contradictions. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has returned to power with a thumping majority on the dream of what a liberalised economy can bring to the people of West Bengal. Buddha’s liberal economics are in no way different from those that
the PM would like to pursue. But Buddha has to sell his brand of ‘economics’ to his party apparatchiks. That will not happen overnight. It will take time for the CPI(M) to modify its stance. The Left has pan-Indian appeal, but continues to be a regional outfit. It may have decisive influence in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura but its influence elsewhere is negligible. Now through coalition politics, it’s been expanding its sphere of influence.
Despite being a grouping of parties with regional strengths, the Left has managed to assert that at the national level it stands for the poor, middle-class, Dalits and the oppressed. Given the limited reach of the Left parties, it is entirely conceivable that elsewhere in the country, the Congress can position itself similarly. Its slogan ‘Congress ka haath sabke saath’ worked. If the Congress has to revive itself, it shouldn’t let its government lose the image that it has managed to restore. Identification with the masses — the silent majority — is what matters to garner votes and to govern. The regional parties have been successful at this game and the Congress has failed. Recall Rahul Gandhi’s much touted Rae Bareli campaign — it was based on his extensively travelling through the villages and identifying with the common man.
Cynics may say that campaign styles and content is one thing, the business of governance quite another. The economist may sneer at the Rs 2 per kilo rice and the promises of computers and colour TVs. But there is a vast segment of society — the silent majority — which can topple any one’s apple cart in return for these promises. That is the reality.
Manmohan Singh should keep in mind that coalitions are going to stay — certainly for much longer than the present government will. The Indian electorate has found in this a way of subverting the possible alienation that they might face in a single-party rule. Even the Congress, let alone any individual leader within, cannot afford to pursue an individual agenda that is not a part of an agreed common agenda. Singh should look to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and M. Karunanidhi to learn how to manage the contradictions between politics and governance.
