PUDUCHERRY: DECODING A COUP
Barely two months ahead of the assembly election, the Congress government in Puducherry has crumbled— somewhat like the proverbial cookie. Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy lost the trust vote in the 30-member assembly on February 22, his fate sealed by desertions from the Congress-DMK ruling alliance and the three pro-BJP nominated MLAs.
In 2016, the Congress had won 15 seats and the DMK three to form the government with the support of an Independent MLA. The BJP miserably lost all 18 seats it contested. But the Narayanasamy government’s delay in recommending three names as nominated members to the assembly cost it dearly. The Centre, which oversees Union territories, picked three BJP supporters as nominated MLAs, keeping Narayanasamy in the dark. The Congress challenged this all the way to the Supreme Court, but it proved futile.
In the backdrop of bitter spats between Narayanasamy and Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, the Centre, on February 17, removed her in order to blunt the Congress’s attack on the BJP in the assembly election. Earlier, five legislators of the Congress, including two ministers, and one from the DMK resigned in a span of a month, pushing the government into crisis.
Describing the trust vote as a “murder of democracy”, Narayanasamy said: “The three nominated MLAs do not have voting rights. The issue was raised by the government whip, but the Speaker disagreed. So we walked out of the House and tendered our resignation. The Speaker should have put the trust motion to vote. Instead, he ruled that the government had lost majority.”
The 73-year-old Congress veteran is determined to make it a fight in the upcoming election. “The BJP toppled an elected government as it wanted to use government machinery, money and muscle power to rig the election. But they will not succeed as the people have seen how the BJP hassled our government in the past five years,” he says. Adds a source close to Narayanasamy: “Any anti-incumbency against his government will now turn into sympathy. It will be counterproductive for the BJP.”
Narayanasamy’s strength comes from his loyalty to party chief Sonia Gandhi. Ironically, however, he appears to have lacked adequate support from a complacent Congress and its leadership. In fact, Rahul Gandhi was doing speaking tours in Puducherry at the height of Narayanasamy’s tug of war with Bedi.
The removal of Bedi and Narayanasamy makes room for new possibilities. “With the BJP trying to make inroads without any mass base, it is more likely that the Dravidian parties will move in to fill the void caused by the weakening beyond redemption of the Congress. Narayanasamy may get sympathy but not votes for his party,” says Prof. R. Manivannan, head, department of politics and public administration, Madras University.
Indeed, the DMK may seize the opportunity and field Arakkonam MP S. Jagathrakshakan as its chief ministerial candidate, whether it contests the poll in alliance with the Congress or goes it alone. Jagathrakshakan’s Vanniyar caste identity may help the DMK garner votes of this influential community.
The opposition All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), AIADMK and BJP could come together, but the wily AINRC chief N. Rangasamy will not let anyone come in the way of his chief ministerial ambitions.
Since joining the Indian Union in 1962, Puducherry has seen six of 10 governments fail to complete their terms. “Puducherry can ill-afford political partisanship and adventurism,” says Prof. Sachidananda Mohanty, former member of the governing board of Auroville Foundation. “Such acts are out of line with the UT’s ethos and its promise as a destination for international living.”
The ouster of Narayanasamy may see ally DMK pitch its own CM candidate in the election