The people of India have spoken through the ballot. And though their vote may not have been decisive, in silence they voiced their opposition to the divisiveness, the autocracy, the corruption and cheap communal rhetoric, which were being witnessed in the country. The electorate brought Modi to his knees and made him stand on crutches of TDP & JD (U). Though it may not be apparent now, Chandrababu Naidu & Nitish Kumar will extract their pound of flesh in due time. BJP and the media must stop comparing Modi’s hat-trick with Nehru’s, who had a majority of his own.
Modi will now have to depend on these two major allies for all important decisions, especially where he would have tried to ride roughshod and pass bills without discussions and consultations, as is his norm, when he has absolute majority. They will surely wear him down, as much as he wore us out during his 10 year tenure. Modi used and abused his numbers in Parliament and his aura of invincibility has been shattered.
Even God, whose messenger he boasted to be, turned His back on him. We have reasons to be happy that his wings have been clipped, his 56” chest deflated. Hopefully, we can now breathe some fresh air, having much less of his arrogance and haughtiness, which are in his DNA. It is difficult to fathom how the demagogue will manage his autocratic ways and intransigent attitude and listen to his allies taking them along. While he may have sometimes to eat humble pie, let us not exclude the possibility of it being the other way round, as the shrewdness and skills of the man should not be underestimated. He has already taken the first step of getting sworn-in with his cabinet, retaining major portfolios for BJP, without giving in to his allies’ alleged demands. Hence, it could be that he has some plans up his sleeve. He had promised to jail those involved in graft and the country would be happy if he does it. But he shamelessly does it selectively, only against his detractors and sparing those of his and allies’ parties, without any qualms, which is something he never had.
The need for unity among the Opposition parties had been long felt and it was surely worth a try, as it proved to have kept Modi under check and will help democracy work vibrantly in the country. The India Alliance deserves to be applauded for its genuine and sincere efforts to unite and make compromises, which looked impossible. For once, interests of the country were kept above one’s own. It was the country that rose against intolerance and fascism. The best results came from UP where BJP lost 5 out of 9 seats in Ayodhya, 9 out of 12 in Varanasi and most in the State. The Prime Minister himself went through some anxious moments, as he trailed even after the third round of counting and eventually won, but by less than one third of his earlier margins. UP showed the country the way to crush fanaticism and religious bigotry, which we would have thought would prevail in that populous and majority community dominated State. In Maharashtra too, where BJP was busy breaking Parties, NDA got its reward with a humiliating 17 out of 48 seats. Manipur took its revenge by rejecting both BJP candidates, after their CM’s inability to quell one year of violence and exacerbating Meitei majority sentiments and Modi’s arrogant indifference to the situation which left over 200 dead and 70,000 homeless, with several hundred houses and Churches torched or destroyed.
The power of the people and the intelligence of the electorate ought never to be underestimated.
The India Alliance must work as a cohesive, constructive and forceful Opposition. It should avoid attempts or being seen as attempting to overthrow the Government. If allies can ditch NDA, they can do it with India Alliance, as well. It is not in the country’s interest to have an unstable Government. The NDA Government is likely to be benevolent or less intolerant and will surely avoid any controversial decisions, which could risk the stability of the Government. It may, however, get some other Party members to resign and contest on its ticket, as it did and succeeded in Goa in 2017, though one wonders whether anyone will take the risk. BJP may also try what they are experts in: poaching, in order to make the allies less relevant. The Opposition Alliance will do well in allowing the Government to function effectively, offering constructive criticism, however ensuring that it does not use its old tricks to bypass the Opposition.
Though the Government may not be able to afford to displease its magnate friends, in the interest of survival, it may be more amenable to suggestions and yield to protests and agitations against destructive projects. The Government is presently dependent on its allies and the brazenness and arrogance with which Modi, Shah and our Sawant were behaving will need to be tamed. In fact, even Sawant’s chair may be rocking, though the choice of his substitute may be worse for us.
This is the time for us Goans, who have no other interest but to save our State and our people from environmental destruction and of our livelihoods, to come together and be more assertive, if not aggressive, with our demands. It is imperative that we all, who love Goa and have been raising various issues affecting us and holding protests and agitations in various parts of Goa. come under one platform and put forth our demands and, if need be, approach the leaders of NDA’s main allies, who coming from regional parties will understand and empathize with us and our problems, which are genuine and just. We must not relent until our issues are addressed sympathetically and vow not to allow Modi or Sawant, to have their way. This, in my modest way, is the urgent way forward.
(The author is a retired banker)
