Tuesday, March 4, 2014

16th GENERAL ELECTIONS – POLITICAL CHURNINGS IN FULL SWING ACROSS INDIA


With 16th the General Elections two months from now, a churning process has already begun in the largest democracy ie India. Churning process per se is common with elections getting closer and closer, our nation is infested with a huge number of political chameleons, a species mushrooming across India.
Enemies turn friends, friends turn enemies, many of them fence-sitters who never bother about ideologies, ethics, values and genuine democratic credentials and what all they are after is power and pelf. When the party which gains a larger number of seats is invited by the President inquiring if it is planning to form a govt. the Party which in all probability is inclined to buy time at least one or two weeks to canvas the fence-sitters and for cobbling together the much needed number of seats and parade them before the President and ensure that the coalition do have a majority in the Lok Sabha and the President gets satisfied and waves green signal to form the govt. If the main party single-handedly emerges victorious – it need not run after the fence-sitters and avoid horse-trading to form a govt, a stable government which with the flow of years is turning immaterial and impossible with regional parties mushrooming across the nation. There was a time Indian National Congress could provide stable government from its very inception until the 80’s and it gradually lost its power to form a single party govt. The one and only way left is to approach regional parties to extend a helping hand. These parties are promised plum posts in the govt and are provided huge packages they demand, for the growth and prosperity of their respective States.
These are times of regional chauvinism and they are sure to widen their influence with the approach of each election.
Be it Indian National Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party, both are unlikely to form a govt without the support of regional parties which are bothered about the welfare of their respective States and by aligning with INC or BJP, try to extract maximum from the govt of the day by arm-twisting it. Without bowing down to their demands, a govt can’t run its full course.
Recently the Left Front which do not deviate from their ideologies have brought under its banner Janata Dal (S), AIADMK, Janata Dal (U), Samajwadi Party(SP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) etc to fight it out in the General Elections by taking great pains. Except Left parties, all other parties, all regional outfits, need not be with the Left Front since what all they aspire for are plum posts in the corridors of power such parties – political chameleons - all of them without an iota of guilt or conscience switch their loyalties, either UPA or NDA, whichever emerge with the large number of seats but are far short of the required 272 + seats.
But for a number of positives our democracy has evolved into an accursed one with the political chameleons ruling the roost in the Indian political scene especially after the elections. This curse is a blot on our democracy and is likely to tarnish the image of the nation among other democratic nations across the world. 
The political churning is in full swing and a clear picture is likely to emerge within two or three months.  

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