The support and effort to get Rajiv killers out of jail, though outrageous to many, fits perfectly into TN’s political scheme. Here tiger-riding is a populist past-time, particularly during poll-time and no politico would miss an opportunity to score a goal or two. But the striking unanimity amidst all political players here, a unanimity that has evolved most in the post-Prabhakaran era, also goes beyond possible poll gains and straddles the realms of sentiment.
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The week started ominously enough. The bankers’ strike on Monday and Tuesday was quickly followed as in a relay by two days of strike by Central Government staff of TN. But then all that pales in comparison to the paralytical strike that the Centre itself has lapsed into, what with a rowdy Parli and a dysfunctional administration looming over us.
The nastiest thing about dynastic politics is the way inheritors take the people and party for granted. Their self-obsession is such that their divine right is deemed sacred and secure, beyond question. The only issues that need settling are either the timing and tactics in case of a sole heir or ‘heir’-splitting over power, in case of two or more. Needless to add, the original sin of emboldening the inheritor and encouraging their audacities lies with the patriarch, or for that matter, matriarch. What needs to be added, on balance, is that the inheritor may also play the Bhasmasura act on his blood benefactor!
Sivaji Ganesan or Sardar Patel do not need sculpting in stone to sustain themselves in people’s memories. Their immortality has been sealed for posterity in more stable, secure and superior portals. Indeed, several past greats who have been put up for public view in the last few decades often for petty political purposes, would have squirmed at a such suggestion in their life time.
I have always wondered where politicos derive their energy and motivation from. A well paying vocation that actually pours as you move up the slippery sleazy ladder probably accounts for that. If scandals and defeats and court cases do not deter them, surely the stakes are worthy enough and as a result, pockets have got deep enough to weather all those incidental experiences and expenses. The parallel thickening of the skin also acts as a failsafe insulation. Small wonder we see so many fossils defying normal evolutionary rules and survive in all glory.
The euphoria is such that many pollsters and political punters are already predicting that the Broom Party shall top the sweepstakes at the national hustings in May. Suddenly, Aravind Kejriwal has been pitchforked as a possible PM, on par and in some ‘scientific surveys’ of about a 1000 odd people in a few chosen pockets, even ahead of the ‘other’ wannabe, Namo!
It is a small, tentative step up a slippery slope. Still it calls for some cautious elation. That the jinxed Lokpal which has been stranded in the streets, entangled in bureaucratic red tape, buried many a time in political quicksands and defied consensus even amidst its champions has ultimately crossed the legislative threshold is itself an achievement.
Let me take the easy and lazy way out this time by resorting to some cut and paste journalism. I shall reproduce below some sections from this column written during the run up to the formation of AAP. Despite the possible irritations that an ‘I told you so’ smirk evokes, I will still do this because the issues discussed are even more relevant now.
Some suspense always lingers during the time lag between voting and counting. Not so with the recent elections to five State assemblies. Sure, it is never a good idea to deem a future result as a foregone conclusion. But there is one strong reason why not just ‘scientific’ opinion/exit polls but even random guesses could turn out to be, er, approximately accurate: Congress! The disenchantment is so high that none bothered to survey Mizoram where the party might win!