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Jockeying for power

The first phase of polling is over. More than one-third of the 545-member Lok Sabha has been elected, although the winners are still hidden in the ballot boxes which will be opened only on October 5. It is the longest period any Election Commission has taken since Independence to announce the results.

The inordinate delay is not as disturbing as is the sabotage by partymen of their candidates. It seems political parties had expected it. That is the reason why they delayed the publication of the candidates's lists. The apprehension was that those denied tickets would turn dissidents. This is exactly what happened in several cases.

The worst examples of sabotage have been in the Congress. They are being cited in the durbar of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Some party leaders, for instance, worked against Dr Manmohan Singh who contested the election from South Delhi. They are quite indiscreet in their remarks that they wanted to end once for all the talk that Sonia may nominate him as prime minister if the Congress came to power.

The sabotage of BJP candidates has been much less in comparison. The RSS has been able to impose discipline after the revolt in Madhya Pradesh where effigies of Uma Bharti were burnt the day she filed her nomination. Again in Rajasthan, where some key leaders were alienated over the distribution of tickets, Sangh sanchalaks worked hard to persuade them to work for the BJP candidates.

I did not realise until I visited some state capitals how many BJP candidates were Congressmen until recently. The reverse is also true, but not to that extent. If a Who's Who of politicians is compiled, it will show how staunch partymen changed colours. Overnight.

Arun Nehru was a vehement opponent of the BJP. For him to join the BJP is to turn back on all that he believed in or apparently stood for. The family too feels let down. S Jaipal Reddy was a committed socialist whose anti-Congressism was sharpened during the Emergency. It seems a membership of Parliament is all he wants. Either he had no commitment earlier or he has compromised on principles to get a Congress ticket. Either way, Reddy has not enhanced his stock with the public.

The worst betrayal has been by small parties. They reached an understanding on supporting a particular candidate. But they ditched him/her at the last moment. Such examples have been laughed away as "friendly contests." But it confirms the impression that every party is determined to increase its strength in Parliament, by hook or crook.

It shows more than ever before that power has come to be concentrated in Parliament. Social movements are effective up to a point. But they have to knock at the door of the state legislatures or Parliament if they want their demands to be conceded. All other avenues for redress are blocked. This phenomenon can have a dangerous fallout. If and when people find out that their elected leaders do not deliver the goods, they may think of other ways of redressal.

The increasing violence in the country is indicative of the disappointment leading to desperation. The effort by criminals to become members of Parliament or state legislatures is evidence of how these insitutions are important for them. They confer sanctity which helps them cover up their misdeeds.

This being the case, voters should have the right to reject a candidate. When the result is announced, the number of "nos" should also be declared. The Sevagram Initiative Group proposed to the Election Commission that the ballot paper should have a column to register 'no'. The Commission rejected the suggestion on the ground that it had no such authority and that only Parliament could frame rules on such matters. If this is so, the next Lok Sabha should take up the proposal on a priority basis.

I wish the EC had at least agreed to the posting of non-official observers at key centres. Most bureaucrats, whether from Delhi or elsewhere, are not beyond influence. The explanation that the EC gave is that Parliament should amend the Representation of the People Act to provide for the appointment of non-officials as observers. I think the Commission is trying to pass the buck. When it can nominate bureaucrats, why not non-officials, who will give credibility to the polling process?

There are so many deficiencies in the electoral system. But one good thing about the current general election is that there is less of religion, although the caste factor remains as explosive as before. Secular elements, although far from united, have started joining issue with the fundamentalists.

It is not my case that the Muslims do not suffer due to discrimination or suspicion. Only recently many Muslims in Mumbai faced a government order to prove their citizenship. The raid by the Intelligence Bureau -- it rarely does so directly -- on an Islamic institution in Lucknow, without the knowledge of the respected Muslim head, suggested suspicion. But the reaction of non-Muslims and the media was so strong that the authorities had to beat a hasty retreat and apologise.

The communalists are on the defensive now. The upward line in the graph of Hindu-Muslim rioting has dipped abruptly after the Mumbai killings. The declining trend is also visible from the number of communal riots. It is not an earthshaking development, but it is worth noting that when Yusuf Khan entered films in the forties, he had to adopt a Hindu name. Dilip Kumar. So did Meena Kumari in the early fifties. But Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan did not have to do so. They are not less sought after because they are Muslims.

RSS chief Rajendra Singh sent word to the government to exempt Sarfarosh from entertainment tax. The film, not complimentary to Pakistan, extols the commitment of Indian Muslims to the country. The film's producer had not even applied for exemption. Such a public demonstration on the RSS's part may be part of its strategy. It still has to understand that anti-Muslim feeling in a pluralistic society is counter-productive.

One can see the equation between Hindus and Muslims taking shape. The Muslims are not afraid of being swamped culture-wise as they were at one time. The secular policy, after all the beatings, is getting strengthened. What has probably contributed most to the importance of Muslims is the election. They have become arbiters. Even the BJP has realised that it cannot retain the gaddi at the Centre if it does not have Muslims on its side. Muslims number 10 to 12 per cent in a country of 1,000 million people. They can affect the outcome in some 200 Lok Sabha seats.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has ticked off RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya. Vajpayee has said the BJP, as a party and not as a member of the National Democratic Alliance, is committed to the three issues: non-construction of the Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid once stood, non-abolition of Article 370 which assures special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and non-adoption of a Uniform Civil Code. Muslims and others have seldom doubted Vajpayee. What about L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi who tolerate Vajpayee's views in the present circumstances, but not follow him?

Kuldip Nayar