Turning Verdict into Victory for India
The BJP has started allocating portfolios among the faithful. The Congress, sensing all is not well in the saffron paradise, has stepped up the attack with Sonia Gandhi leading from the front. But even as Narendra Modi sizes up his opponents (many within his party, some without) and Sonia Gandhi persuades veterans to fight the good fight that begins on April 7, whoever wins on May 16 must know this though—some things will have to change drastically if the verdict of 814 million voters has to mean a victory for India. It will begin with the restoration of the government’s credibility. Thanks to the venality of UPA ministers and the prolificity of Arvind Kejriwal’s attacks, the notion of Nehruvian sarkar that many in India inherited has been destroyed. Government is seen as an instrument of profiteering, not public service. Whichever coalition comes in—and a coalition is likely given that we have had no majority party rule since 1989—will have to work hard to make the people believe that the government exists to help them, not harm them. The primacy of the executive has to be kept on an even keel with other institutions that have taken over the vacuum, whether it’s the institution of the President, the Supreme Court, the Comptroller and Auditor General or the Election Commission.
The second challenge is to ensure the prime minister is no longer a straw man. This can only happen when power and responsibility vest in the same office. And that can only happen if the Prime Minister’s Office runs the government. For that, if indeed the BJP comes to power, perhaps instead of playing musical chairs with Cabinet portfolios, they should get down to the serious business of selecting a good principal secretary. The difference be- tween Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s PMO and Manmohan Singh’s PMO is the gap between the abilities and stature of Brajesh Mishra and TKA Nair. That is also largely the difference between the two governments.
The third critical issue, in an age of coalition governments, is the role of the states. The rise of regional parties has meant that several states are governed by parties that represent sub-national or subcultural aspirations. The new government has to find a way to channelise those aspirations without necessarily creating new states. Tailoring region-specific national schemes, taking the Centre to state capitals, and ah yes, giving requisite portfolios to allies without allowing them to turn them into offices of party profit will be an imperative. Will a new government have the stomach for such tough decisions? Much will depend on the numbers. But a lot will depend on the will.
The most important challenge perhaps will be to overcome the crisis of confidence that India seems to be in the grip of. For the first time since 1991, when we opened our doors to the world and embraced the idea whose time had come, India is looking uncertain of itself. As the great American sociologist Lloyd Rudolph, who was in India to receive his much-deserved Padma award with wife and colleague Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, told me, India’s sense of its competence, its mission and its role as the world’s largest democracy is suddenly looking tenuous. It is a loss of faith that the new voters, born after the joys of liberalisation came to India, cannot comprehend. Will the politician in power comprehend them too? Will Modi be able to defeat his own party and will the Congress beat its own legacy? Only then will we know who wins India.