Election Fever Grips
West Bengal
Nidhu Bhusan Das
Assembly elections are round the corner in West Bengal.The highlight of the elections is the understanding between two perennial rivals - Left Front and Congress.True,the leader of Left Front in West Bengal and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala CPI(M) reached understanding,tacit and explicit,from time to time at the national level,and in Kerala Congress leads United Democratic Front (UDF) against the LDF while in the Assembly polls of 2011,Congress allied with the present ruling party Trinamool Congress to unseat the Left Front in West Bengal.This worked and ended the 34-year Left rule.But the alliance was short lived,Congress walked out of the government and the live-together terminated. In Kerala,the UDF is pitted against LDF to retain power.
It appears Indian politics has learnt to jettison much vaunted ideological position selectively for gaining power,and power is important,not governance.The nation has seen the failure of such alliance and electoral or post-poll understanding again and over again.The Left withdrew support to the Congress led government of Monmohan Singh on nuclear deal issue.
True,ideology does not play a role in the electoral battle in the country and it is just a refrain in the theme-song of convenience.The race for power relies on the principle of convenience.So,Nitish Kumar did not mind reconciling with Lalu Prasad Jadav to retain power.Gandhian concept of means-and-end has been replaced by the Machiavellian scheme.
West Bengal
Nidhu Bhusan Das
Assembly elections are round the corner in West Bengal.The highlight of the elections is the understanding between two perennial rivals - Left Front and Congress.True,the leader of Left Front in West Bengal and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala CPI(M) reached understanding,tacit and explicit,from time to time at the national level,and in Kerala Congress leads United Democratic Front (UDF) against the LDF while in the Assembly polls of 2011,Congress allied with the present ruling party Trinamool Congress to unseat the Left Front in West Bengal.This worked and ended the 34-year Left rule.But the alliance was short lived,Congress walked out of the government and the live-together terminated. In Kerala,the UDF is pitted against LDF to retain power.
It appears Indian politics has learnt to jettison much vaunted ideological position selectively for gaining power,and power is important,not governance.The nation has seen the failure of such alliance and electoral or post-poll understanding again and over again.The Left withdrew support to the Congress led government of Monmohan Singh on nuclear deal issue.
True,ideology does not play a role in the electoral battle in the country and it is just a refrain in the theme-song of convenience.The race for power relies on the principle of convenience.So,Nitish Kumar did not mind reconciling with Lalu Prasad Jadav to retain power.Gandhian concept of means-and-end has been replaced by the Machiavellian scheme.
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