We live in interesting times. These words are borrowed from what is believed to be a Chinese curse, which is used against enemies to wish turbulence and turmoil upon their lives. I prefer to think of ‘interesting times’ as a blessing compared to boring times, of which there are too many. I find the times we have been living through for the past few months interesting because they seem to herald change in a political landscape that has been drearily unchanged for very long.
Last week almost all our political parties decided to use Gandhi Jayanti as a launch pad for separate campaigns to unseat the Chief Election Commissioner. In Delhi, there was noise and chaos at Jantar Mantar, because of the government’s decision to deny permission for large gatherings at this famous protest site. Of course, there were supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party, but sadly so were Aam Aadmi Party leftovers and sundry commies, who have suddenly surfaced to ride on the cockroach wave and recover ground with a generation of Indians they failed to woo in the past.
So, as a political columnist with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, I watched and watched. What I found fascinating was the contrast between the calls to action by the INDIA bloc and by the Cockroach Janta Party. It gave me an unexpected insight into why the opposition parties have failed spectacularly to get support from ordinary people and why the cockroaches have done so much better. India’s most important opposition leaders gathered in a closed room, where cameras were allowed in for a photo before deliberations began.
As I saw the lineup of political princelings and princesses all seated together, I found myself wondering if they realised how bored Indian voters are with the kind of electoral feudalism they represent. And how much better the Cockroach leaders looked as they wandered about the streets of Mumbai, stopping to talk to people and urging them to come to their rally. It was the sort of thing all politicians did when I first became a reporter, but now, it is only the ‘cockroaches’ who understand how important it is to mingle with ordinary voters. And this is before they have entered politics or started a political party. If they do, it is my fervent hope that they do not become like politicians that we already have.
India’s voters have limited choices. On one side there is that team of political heirs who inherited their political parties, ideas and privileges from indulgent parents. This genre of politician is what Prashant Kishor famously called ‘potted plants’ in an adda at The Indian Express. Personally, I prefer to think of them as political businessmen. Their reason for embarking upon the noble task of ‘serving the people’ is mostly to take over the family businesses they have inherited. It surprises me not even slightly that they have failed so shamefully to win elections since the Modi era began.
On the other side is the BJP that inevitably has lost its way because of being in power too long. This party believes it will continue to remain in power because of the ‘charisma’ and ‘visionary leadership’ of Narendra Modi. So, what they offer in every election now is just those things while going through the motions of following his lead. On Gandhi Jayanti, senior ministers and other acolytes could be seen with brooms in hand, sweeping up spaces where there was no garbage. Had they been sincere about honouring Gandhiji, at least they would have tried to do their sweeping in filthy places that, sadly, are far too many in our fair and wondrous land.
This hypocrisy has become their leitmotif. When it was decided that the Prime Minister’s birthday would be celebrated with a month of ‘seva’, they pretended to be doing real social work in villages and slums, but as soon as the cameras lost interest, so did they. I would not be exaggerating even a little when I say that the BJP has become almost as undesirable for voters as the INDIA bloc because although they bang on about how much India has changed, the ordinary voter knows that it has changed mostly in the glossy and very expensive promotions we see on television.
The gall of BJP chief ministers is remarkable. They pose against a backdrop of magnificent highways and factories, declaring that states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have been transformed. If the money wasted on advertising were spent on real things like schools, hospitals, and cleaning our rivers, India would truly be transformed, but this has not happened and nor is it likely to. This is why the ‘cockroaches’ have found it so easy to connect with the people where the opposition leaders have failed.
The response of the Prime Minister and the chief of the RSS has been to try to communicate with this generation of restless, angry young Indians, to try and speak to them on Instagram in Gen-Z words and gestures. But so far this has not worked in their favour because the young people they are trying to reach are much smarter than voters once used to be. And, they have shown with their campaigns for better governance, better schools and better elections that they understand these things well and what to reject. Interesting times, would you not say?
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