Recently, the sudden breakdown of Mahagathbandhan in the state of Bihar and the homecoming of the Bihar CM rocked the mainstream media and gave severe headache to many. Soon, the corrupted ex allies of the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar along with their news traders went in overdrive labelling Nitish Kumar as a betrayer of the secular and democratic forces. Since then the news traders have been busy blaming him for not obeying the electoral mandate and projecting a convicted criminal alongwith his family as some sort of hero and the only hope for the future of this Nation.
What the major media houses being loyal servants of the Lutyens’ coalition won’t tell you is that this latest move by the Bihar CM has debunked the myth of the Modi led Government being a fascist Government and has dealt a death blow to the possibility of a pseudo secular grand alliance at least upto 2024.
In this article we deal with the major reasons as to why the NDA remains a major ‘democratic’ force and why the grand alliance is nothing but a sinking ship.
Gaining Political power is not tantamount to dictatorship:
Ever since, the BJP started conquering new frontiers and dismantling Congress strongholds the mainstream media started portraying BJP as the Nazi Party of Germany. What they don’t tell you is that the BJP has never made any attempt to dismantle India’s strong Constitutional framework which ensures that no matter who is in power the Nation is to be governed in accordance with the fetters and restrains imposed by the Constitution of India.
At the same time, PM Narendra Modi has been compared to Indira Gandhi several times with naïve threats that PM Modi might usurp the powers vested in all democratic organisations and become an absolutist. What they don’t tell you is that the BJP has never made any attempt to dismantle India’s strong Constitutional framework which ensures that no matter who is in power the Nation is to be governed in accordance with the fetters and restrains imposed by the Constitution of India. (The Repetition is intentional)
After all, the BJP has not gained power by means of coercion but it has been democratically installed at the Centre and in several states. The ultimate sovereignty rests with the People of India and the expanding BJP bears testimony to the fact that it reposes great faith and confidence in the electorate.
Nitish Kumar ’s decision to merge with BJP is a consequence of his sharp political acumen.
He understands that just because BJP has acquired political power does not mean it is going to become exceedingly authoritarian or dictatorial. He doesn’t mistake popularity for Nazism he just wants to reap the benefits of siding with the stronger and the more acceptable party.
Failing religion and caste equations:
The pseudo secular alliance has been campaigning for political power in a similar mode for decades now, at the national or regional level, together or separately their focus has been on dividing the already divided Hindu vote and uniting the Dalit and Muslim vote base. Post 2014 these parties have started working in strong cohesion on this overused strategy with certain modifications. Every time elections are around the corner they build up an allegedly tense atmosphere at times overplaying a tragic incident and at other times raking up purely imaginary events in order to project BJP as some sort of monsters. Name calling is resorted to and the BJP is projected as some sort of Dalit oppressor and Muslim slayer. The election results though tell a different story and the BJP not only seems to be garnering and retaining Dalit vote but also making inroads into Muslim majority constituencies such as Deoband in UP.
The pseudo secular alliance survives merely on extensive propaganda now. Their farcical claims and allegations against the BJP are far from ground realities and that is why their campaigning rarely translates into votes.
Graft charges:
One of the major reasons behind the 2014 victory were the innumerable graft charges against the incumbent UPA Government which failed to give any cogent defence for the same. Now, the same has come back to haunt Lalu even as his long time enemy turned friend left him midway. The graft charges against Congress proved to be last nail in the coffin for it and reduced it from a National party to a second fiddle supporter of the regional parties. The failed alliance is still underplaying the role of graft charges in their constant defeats but the electorate is inclined to vote against them during every election due to their involvement in corruption related cases.
Conclusion:
Nitish Kumar’s decision is not a game changer only for Bihar’s politics but it will have a stern effect on National politics. It is only going to add up to PM Modi ’s popularity and is going to thwart any attempts of projecting Modi as the Indira Gandhi of the twenty first century.
This single event of 2017 will change the Prime Minister Modi ’s image from an authoritarian to someone who is willing to take you along if you want to contribute towards your region’s development.
It is not in dispute that India is a democratic Nation and its democracy must deepen day in and day out. The democratic ethos of this country must be immortalized and a democracy can’t survive without an opposition. But it is equally true that the Opposition must be a worthy opposition. The current proposition where opposition is nothing but a bunch of convicted criminals and the undeserving kins of the ministers of the previous generations and calls for replacement by new faces competent enough to criticize the Government on material issues and contribute towards the development of India.
