Perform or perish
by Hari Jaisingh

The writing on the wall was clear even before the day of polling, November 25. The popular resentment against the ruling elite, especially in Delhi and Rajasthan, was so intense! Looking at the Congress's overall showing even in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, it is clear that more than the incumbency factor the basic issues of governance, unprecedented price rise, general deterioration in the law and order situation, misplaced priorities, etc, prompted people to register their protest against the way the business of power was being managed. In Delhi, the BJP's acts of omission and commission were glaring. Desperation in the party became obvious when it changed the Chief Minister. Ms Sushma Swaraj is a good orator and has an eye-catching image of a middle class housewife. But the trouble with her is that she talks too much and promises a lot without caring for the party's credibility. This has exposed the BJP before the discerning voter. People these days hate to be taken for granted. Nor do they wish to be taken to the emotional path of Hindutva and the swadeshi bomb. In a way, this shows the growing maturity of the electorate. The successful Pokhran blast could not even save Rajasthan for the party. To say this is not to belittle the country's feat in the nuclear field. However, any dazzling power show detached from the care and concern for the people is bound to prove unproductive in the long run. The BJP leaders at the Centre and in the states failed to prove equal to the projection made in the party manifesto. Even performance-wise, theirs was a poor show. Not that the Assembly verdict is the end of the road for the party. But unless it brings about drastic changes in its outlook and attitudes with regard to the basic issues facing the country, there cannot be much hope for its revival. The one essential element for corrective action for the party is to shake itself out of the congealed notions of the past. The BJP leadership needs to examine every aspect of India's democratic life and see the basic truths before it.

The Congress success is undoubtedly significant. All the same, it is not a positive vote in its favour. The party has won on an anti-BJP wave. Election arithmetic is, of course, a hazardous game. The poll figures tend to be riddles because they are open to a multiplicity of interpretations. But it is the figures that can provide clues to public opinion, to shifts in popular acclaim and disdain. The problem here is to get close to the clues and cut through the maze of subjective interpretations. Viewed in this light, the Congress success has been derived directly from the BJP's numerous failures as perceived by the people. Unfortunately, political parties never try to learn the lessons thrown up by the ballot box.

Looking beyond the results, it can be safely said that the country's politics is in for a major re-appraisal of where we stand and how we proceed. In the changed situation, it is doubtful whether the BJP -led government at the Centre will be able to withstand the challenge of the verdict. Much will depend upon the Congress's calculations and moves. The situation is messy. The economy is in bad shape. A loose coalition can hardly be expected to deliver the goods. Only a stable arrangement with clear-cut policies and programmes can help the country to come out of the prevailing uncertainty. And an answer to the question of stability can only come from the next general election. Howsoever cumbersome and expensive the proposition might be, this is probably the only way to keep the people's hopes alive for a better life in the next millennium. As things stand, we have to give adequate thought to the restructuring of the decision-making mechanism and ensuring time-bound results in our extremely complicated and fractionalised society. Fractions have to be balanced to make equations. Once again stress has to be laid on the strengthening of institutions and enforcing probity and accountability in the system. Viewed in a larger context, the message of today's verdict is loud and clear: perform or perish.