THE GREAT INDIAN CIRCUS
All Dals, particularly Janata Dals, are infectious diseases. So very contagious that the moment a third party or a politician gets in contact with it, he immediately shows symptoms of the split syndrome, that is characteristic of the Dals.
And before one knows what is happening, the virus spreads and in a jiffy, you see the entire political scene littered with Dal particles and the fragments of the victim that had hitherto remained wholesome.
Look at the effect the Dal is having on the BJP. In fact, even before the Dal actually announced its prospective contact with the BJP, the latter’s leaders lapsed into a fit of delirium. Of course, the atmosphere itself was thick with the pungent smell of a Dal epidemic doing the rounds and it was highly possible that a few of the BJP top brass might have innocuously taken a whiff of the infected air.
But when the bug actually bit them the effect was both instantaneous and catastrophic. No sooner was the affliction diagnosed as a certainty and having come to stay, the mammoth BJP now stands divided many times in as many states and with several voices making diagonally opposite noises. The malaise appears complete.
The bacteria was activated after the murky Dal waters were stirred by the likes of Hegde and Fernandes, who all of a sudden remembered their origins as Dalists and were struck by a bout of birth pangs. Till then, though all the virus were very much active, their effect was confined to splitting and afflicting other Dal colleagues and whatever happened below the sewage lid never really affected other parties.
But with the aforementioned duo opening the can of worms in a fit of euphoric nostalgia combined with an urge to up their ante within the coalition, the innumerable bacteria waiting for release are now out with a vengeance.
One can only pity the BJP. Having braved its opponents with panache and riding the crest of a sympathy plus popularity wave caused by its tragic downfall and the Kargil war respectively, the NDA now faces the disturbing prospect of a cancerous upthrust from within, that can eat into its very basics, at least in two states.
Understandably, the BJP leaders in Karnataka and Bihar are aghast. And of course, there is this very pertinent question to reckon with: Why at all did these Dal leaders vote against the confidence motion April last? They could have at least saved the nation the agony of a general election, before they migrated in toto from the secular world. Well, such queries are sure to fall on deaf ears as some of the indignant BJP leaders are realising to their chagrin.
In fact, not one of the ‘then-secular-now-communal’ Dal leaders like Sharad Yadav or Paswan have bothered to answer that question. On the contrary, they are now keen to show themselves as more saffron than the Sangh itself … probably because they have perceived that to be the colour of the day.
Of course, every one of them is also careful to couch his self-interest in some legitimate rationale or other like for instance Laloo-Rabri jungle raj in Bihar, which is a very valid alibi. In Karnataka the situation for the local BJP is all the more frustrating, for having fought Patel’s alleged misrule all these years, they have to now put up with the ignominy of defending the same.
The Janata Dal’s woeful wheel of misfortune has come several circles, though one cannot say it has travelled very far. In any case, if current indications are to be believed, the wheel is likely to be shelved for life and new symbols, probably spokes of a broken wheel, are likely to be allotted to the different factions of the Dal in different States. That probably would solve the BJP’s predicament of having to contend with the notorious wheel within the NDA.
The freezing of the wheel would mean that instead of the Dal alumnus merging into the Dal, the current Dal factions would mutate into the constituents of the NDA in the respective States. Thus, the Patel Dal would be a part of Lok Shakthi in Karnataka and Sharad-Paswan combine(?) would be a part of Samata. This indeed is a face-saver and a lifesaver, too, for the BJP and is a far better option than getting run over by the reckless wheel.
The three wise men at the EC can be expected to display some immunity to the Dal virus, though one cannot also totally be complacent to the effect the Dal can have on that seemingly impregnable institution. May be it is coincidence, but one cannot totally miss out on the fact that the EC announced rescheduling of poll dates within minutes of the Dal leaders walking in and out of the Nirvachan Sadan.
No one is suggesting anything, but it was our belief that when the EC first announced poll dates after prolonged deliberations it had done its home work quite well. It probably required a visit from our infectious friends to make the ECs review even firm decisions, something that is commonplace in the Dal world where nothing is final till it happens. After all, the EC too has had a turbulent past and now has three bosses- a situation ripe for a Dal virus attack.
Our only worry is that, with a few more encounters between the ECs and the Dalists in the offing, and the Dal virus in hyper mode, we should not be ending with a ‘split’ election commission! Then that may really be the dying Dal’s parting kick.s disastrous association at a future date but by then instead of it holding the wolf by the tail, the latter would be at its(TMC) throat!
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