An election to elect a national government should ideally be to rally people behind a common national purpose or purposes. People may divide their votes between party ‘A’ or party ‘B’ — sometimes among more than two parties — but the purpose should be common. Such division is natural and healthy, and will not leave permanent wounds.
The first few election contests in India were lopsided: Congress was the only organized political party, Jawaharlal Nehru was a colossus, and there were only pockets of resistance to the Congress’ juggernaut. The first real election between two rival and equal formations was in 1977. In the wake of the Emergency, the Opposition parties were brought under one umbrella by Jayaprakash Narayan. The Janata party’s electoral victory was decisive, but it left Indians divided. The northern states voted one way and the southern states voted the opposite way.
The division between North and South has persisted since 1977.
The Unhappy Divide
In subsequent elections too, with exceptions, the northern states voted one way and the southern states voted in a different way. In the Hindi-speaking and Hindi-knowing northern states, the rivalry was largely between Congress and BJP. Slowly but steadily, the BJP gained at the cost of the Congress. The situation in the southern states was very different. In elections held after 1977, regional parties challenged the Congress: DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Telugu Desam and YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh, TRS in Telangana, JD(S) in Karnataka, and the Communist-led LDF in Kerala. The BJP could not sneak into this crowded battleground. It did in Karnataka but with mixed results.
The success of the regional parties has worsened the distance between the North and South.
The regional parties in the southern states are deeply suspicious of the BJP. More than the Congress, it is the regional parties that paint the BJP as a party of Hindi, Hindu and Hindutva. Pride in the regional language, acceptance of all religious groups, and the legacy of social reformers have marked a distinct path for the people of the southern states. Their suspicions are fuelled by the perceived discrimination in devolution of revenues, dominance of Hindi over the regional languages, and the imposition of one set of beliefs (food, dress, culture, etc.).
Further, the BJP has injected the poison of ‘centralism’ into centre-states relationships by enacting numerous laws that reduced the autonomy of the states. The BJP has also weaponised the laws and used them openly to tame or destroy regional parties. As a consequence, the distance between North and South has, sadly, grown wider.
Agenda Revealed
The BJP’s approach to the Congress is no secret: it wants Congress-mukt Bharat, that is an India where the Congress will cease to exist as a party. The BJP’s approach to non-Congress parties is no different. It may appear to ally with a regional party for a period of time but its ultimate objective is to obliterate that party. Examples are the fate of the Janata party, Akali Dal, INLD, BSP and JD(S). It has practically obliterated the identities of the regional parties of the north-eastern states. At one time, it befriended the TMC, YRSCP and TRS but the goal was — and is — to obliterate them from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, respectively. The goal is the same in Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. DMK and the AIADMK woke up in time. Shiv Sena, NCP and JJP woke up rather late. Soon, the RLD, BJD and the TDP will realize what is in store for them if the BJP entrenched itself in the central government.
The BJP is asking the people to give the party 370 seats to advance its core agenda. Its strident Hindutva campaign will not stop with Ayodhya and Kashi. More mosques near Hindu temples will be disputed. More cities and roads will be re-named. The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 has started with the notification of the Rules on March 11, 2024. The Uniform Civil Code, experimented in Uttarakhand, will be replicated and a law passed in Parliament. The ‘One Nation One Election’ idea will be made into law by amending the Constitution. Federalism and parliamentary democracy will be further eroded and the Indian government will be closer to a Presidential system with all powers concentrated in one person.
Unfortunately, many people will actually welcome centralism because true democratic values have not been fully imbibed in our family, social or political structure. In the name of development, we will accept the rich getting enormously richer and tell the bottom 50 per cent of the people to be satisfied with a 3 per cent share of total wealth and a 13 per cent share of national income. Social and cultural subordination and oppression will continue. Economic inequalities will grow wider.
Learn from History
The above is not an imagined horror story. History teaches us that the only way to ensure freedom and development is to change the regime from time to time. European countries do it all the time. The United States has term limits. Many countries of South America and Africa have not learned the lesson and suffer under authoritarian governments. In India, we had learned the lessons but seem to have forgotten them. The examples of China, Russia, Türkiye and Iran are before us. The world is watching India’s elections.
The success of the regional parties has worsened the distance between the North and South
11
1
17.03.2024
An election to elect a national government should ideally be to rally people behind a common national purpose or purposes. People may divide their votes between party ‘A’ or party ‘B’ — sometimes among more than two parties — but the purpose should be common. Such division is natural and healthy, and will not leave permanent wounds.
The first few election contests in India were lopsided: Congress was the only organized political party, Jawaharlal Nehru was a colossus, and there were only pockets of resistance to the Congress’ juggernaut. The first real election between two rival and equal formations was in 1977. In the wake of the Emergency, the Opposition parties were brought under one umbrella by Jayaprakash Narayan. The Janata party’s electoral victory was decisive, but it left Indians divided. The northern states voted one way and the southern states voted the opposite way.
The division between North and South has persisted since 1977.
The Unhappy Divide
In subsequent elections too, with exceptions, the northern states voted one way and the southern states voted in a different way. In the Hindi-speaking and Hindi-knowing northern states, the rivalry was largely between Congress and BJP. Slowly but steadily, the BJP gained at the cost of the Congress. The situation in the southern states was........
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