Defections redraw Punjab’s political battle lines

THE defection of seven of the 10 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, six of them representing Punjab, and their subsequent merger with the saffron party has boosted perceptions of a resurgent BJP as a party of change committed to muscular nationalism that can ensure the security of the citizens in these difficult times. This has strong resonance in the border state that has borne the brunt of terrorism for many years.

The switching of loyalties by the AAP MPs to the BJP could facilitate a possible pre-poll alliance with the Akali Dal, which is in a revival mode, with the BJP in a stronger negotiating position. This possibility will significantly alter the political dynamics in the state.

In the changed scenario, the Congress could find its prospects as the principal claimant to the anti-incumbency vote negatively impacted, in what is likely to be a fiercely contested election to the Vidhan Sabha early next year. To play its rightful role in Punjab, the grand old party will need to reinvent itself as a merit-based inclusive party, appealing to the progressive imagination of the people rather than as one encouraging casteist majoritarianism contrary to the constitutional vision crafted by its leaders.

Also, the current political logic and electoral arithmetic in Punjab demand that the Congress and the AAP reassess their political strategies, particularly in view of the post-poll exigencies, including the possibility of a fractured mandate.

Ten months is a long time in politics, and the AAP being in the driver's seat can still enlist popular allegiance through a vigorous implementation of its welfare schemes, a demonstration of just and fair governance and by addressing the pervasive perception of a deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Those who insist on writing the political obituary of the AAP may find themselves celebrating too early.

But beyond the considerations of realpolitik, there are larger issues that must be debated in the public realm. In these troubled times, marked by intense political and personal rivalries and a fragile socio-political edifice, Punjab can show the way for constructive and civilised politics that is conducive to a robust, consensual democracy. This is not an option but a necessity if major policy issues for Punjab's renewal as a progressive state are to be initiated and implemented.

Over the years, the state has had a faltering record on major development indices and its economic strength at present is among the poorest, as per the Niti Aayog's fiscal index. In the conduct of politics, no political party can ignore the grave challenges that Punjab faces. These include the pressing issues relating to environment and climate change, health and educational infrastructure, diversification of the state's economy, religious and casteist divides and the rise of identity politics, creeping extremism and a worrying law and order situation.

Clearly, visceral political and personal animosities destructive of the forging of a broad consensus on critical policy choices will not serve the cause of Punjab and the credibility of the state's political leadership. Reckless allegations against political rivals, treating them as personal enemies to be tarnished and crushed at will, have eroded the credibility of the political class as a whole, thereby denuding the democratic process of its moral legitimacy.

The absence of a meaningful public discourse on substantive issues as listed herein has robbed politics of its purpose and has exposed the failure of all political parties to mould and reflect the priorities of the nation. While democratic politics cannot escape the seduction of populism, it must concede space for principles that must survive the momentary impulses as a guarantee of social and political stability.

There are also fundamental questions about the means and ends. If the advancement of human dignity is the aspirational goal of our constitutional state, we will need to reestablish a political culture in which selfless service in its finest traditions is established as the first condition of political life. We would need to tame power to the discipline of public morality and constitutional restraints.

Punjab, the land of the Gurus and valiant warriors who fought for justice, is losing its future to the vagaries of an increasingly amoral politics where the pursuit of power for its own sake is seen as the legitimate end of politics. And so it is that we find voters and citizens being lured by all political parties with promises that are impossible to keep, tainting democratic power at its source.

The upcoming election in Punjab and the political processes that precede it should be an opportunity to vindicate the core premises of an egalitarian democracy anchored in human empathy and justice for all. This is the only true morality that must underpin our politics. Clearly, this transformational change would require jettisoning money- and muscle-driven politics in an unapologetic embrace of the constitutional ideals.

The political change in Punjab, like elsewhere, will be driven by the activism of youth, the silent but decisive resolve of the women and the intelligentsia who are charged with the duty to harness the state's moral and intellectual conscience in the service of a just and inclusive society.

Punjab deserves better. Its future must prevail. This is the state's foremost challenge and it cannot fail the test of leadership. It must find what Irish poet Seamus Heaney described as 'guerrillas of the imagination' to lead the fight against oppression and injustice. Indeed, the quality of democracy is defined by the stature of leaders and the vigil of citizens.

Let us not validate Allama Iqbal's lament: '”Nishan e rah dikhate the jo sitaron ko, bhatak rahe hain kisi mard e rah daan ke liye.” (Those who showed the way to the world are themselves lost in search of leadership).

We know that democracies are defined by the stature of their leaders and tested by the vigil of citizens.

Views are personal