THE GREAT INDIAN CIRCUS
The anti-climactic turn of events, that led to Sonia eventually landing at Bellary to file her papers after much visible dithering, had all the trappings of a thriller. It was no doubt a spine chilling suspense for us, the viewers of this grand electoral circus, though it may not be so for the Congressmen for the simple reason that they have all lost their spines long back.
And now it appears that their leader too has had a similar affliction yesterday which was evidenced by her developing cold feet and skipping Cuddapah in the last minute at the sudden prospect of coming face to face with a reel star. To have beaten a retreat from Bellary too, where the BJP has sprung Sushma Swaraj in an equally fitting finale, would have meant an overdose of cowardice that the Cong leader can ill afford to display.
In any case it was too late in the day as the time for filing of nominations was drawing to a close and the Congmen and their leader were already fatigued by the hectic running around.
Bellary may be a Congress bastion, but the very Indian Sushma can be trusted to ensure that her un-Indian competitor stays put in the constituency for the best part of her electoral campaign. The BJP’s gambit was to pin Sonia down and give her a run for the votes, wherever she chooses to contest from and with Sushma’s candidature and the Vijayshanti bogey, the Congress has already been put on the defensive.
It will be no cake walk for Sonia and her party will have to muster every trick in the trade and of course, all resources at their command to ensure that their leader wins. Bellary for all we know will become, atleast for the next three weeks, the country’s first family’s second home with the likely advent of Priyanka, Rahul and even Wadhera on its political horizon.
A defeat for Sonia in the State that her ‘mother-in-law loved so much’ may well be the final nail on the Congress coffin, a nail that the BJP is very keen to drive home. For Sonia, Wednesday’s dreary drama is just a precursor for the tumultuous fight that lies ahead. Filing of papers itself has been so arduous!
Yesterday’s pot boiler, besides offering wholesome entertainment, does also convey quite a few messages. The moral of the story is that even the most formidable of leaders, despite their claims of unmitigated popularity and high tides of waves in their favour, need a safe passage to Parliament.
The way the leading lights of the Congress scurried around and scanned the length and breadth of the country just to find a comfortable launching pad for their leader only goes to prove the extent to which the country’s premier party is in the grip of uncertainty about their own leader’s infallibility. And if the party president herself has to hop around to find a safe constituency, imagine the plight of the lesser mortals in Congress.
Sure, Sonia’s victory means everything for the Congress, but could they not have done the scouting more subtly and with less desperation? And secondly has not their leader betrayed a deep sense of paranoia and lack of self-confidence by deliberately keeping her options open between Bellary and Cuddapah?
So, what if the BJP pits Sushma or Vijayshanthi or even Bindu Ghosh? Should the PM aspirant be so tentative as to wait for the opponent’s moves before plumping for the safer of the safest constituencies? Even assuming that she never had Cuddapah in mind, then why all these intrigues, red-herrings and wild goose chases? Well, if the intention of Sonia is to take the country for a ride by making a bid for the top slot, she has indeed begun well.
Then there is this issue of high profile politicos standing from more than one seat. Even here, they would want to ensure that all the seats they contest from are safe ones. And when they win both, though there are instances of their losing both, there is inevitably a by-election thrust on the hapless voters for no fault of theirs. But the leaders care less and instead would nonchalantly issue a terse statement thanking the people of the constituency that they choose to forego. Thanking them, forsooth!
Such callous disregard for the trouble that the people and the exchequer have been put through stems from a very basic quirk in their character. Such leaders deem themselves to be so vital for the nation that they cannot afford to take chances and fail at the hustings. Of course, we know that the nation will not be any poorer if they loose but then in the politicians’ own world of make believe they enjoy undiluted importance, which is what matters.
Their passage to Parliament is of paramount priority even if that means standing from a dozen constituencies and then dumping eleven of them if they win all. Power, and through that pelf, is their prerogative and privilege and they have to be around in the reckoning at the crucial time, come what may. They do not see it as a sign of weakness or a matter of shame to parade their eagerness and ego so blatantly.
Rather, they consider it to be a favour bestowed upon their partymen and even the voters of those constituencies. Only parasites can be so presumptuous.
e-mail the writer at
[email protected]