India Wins

  • Col Tej S Dalal (Retd.)
  • India
  • May 23, 2014

 

 

The BJP claims to have won the Lok Sabha Elections 2014 with a thumping majority. Certain Regional Parties like AIADMK, BJD and TMC are also claiming to have won the elections in their own States. But, the real winner this time has been India and its people. Election 2014 has proved to be an awakening of the masses and has shattered many a myth and assumption about the illiterate and poor voters of the country. In the Fifties  the elections were based on the sacrifices and hard work of the leaders who got us our Freedom. The early Sixties brought us face to face with some stark realities – the Chinese invasion, and saw the end of the Nehru era. The ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ slogan of Lal Bahadur Shastri gave new hope and a sense of security to the common man. But Shastri’s early death brought forth many aspirants for the Prime Minister’s job. The infighting for power within the Congress led to its virtual split. A new era began with the emergence of Indira Gandhi, in the Seventies. The 1971 victory of the Indian Armed Forces led to the creation of Bangladesh and the consolidation of Indira Gandhi as the undisputed leader. ‘Garibi Hatao’ became her credo to retain power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that led to the Emergency. The Janta Dal came to power because of the follies of the Congress. It lived short as its leaders were busy in witch-hunting and forgot about governance. The Eighties brought back the Congress due to a sympathy wave (after the assassination of Indira Gandhi). People saw hope in a young and smart leader, Rajiv Gandhi, but again bad governance (Bofors, scams, misadventure in Sri Lanka) and the misuse of power ended that rule. Very few Governments had worked efficiently, offered good governance or improved the lot of the common man. It was assumed that empty slogans full of promise were enough for getting votes. If that somehow failed, money, liquor, rigging or horse trading were resorted to. The Nineties witnessed the emergence of economy and governance, through Narasimha Rao and later Vajpayee. While the former opened the doors of our economy to the outside world, the latter established good governance and infrastructure - which is equally important in boosting the economy. The people had by now realised that national and local issues could be different, leading to the emergence of Regional Parties. This also led to an erosion of the base of National Parties, and the birth of coalition governments. This status threw up some insignificant leaders as Prime Ministers. For the first time, perhaps, it gave hope to every politician that he (not she yet) could become a Prime Minister, even with the direct support of under a 100 MPs. By the turn of the century many citizenns had got a taste of the good life and everyone wanted their lot to improve. The thinking was changing. Manmohan Singh as PM was a relief from the lethargic system and corrupt politicians, and there was a hope that he would clean the System. In spite of his best intentions he could not achieve what he set out to do, mainly because of a ‘coalition’ in his own office (due to the dual power centre). It became a free-for-all scam time. The Ministers did not seem to be answerable to any one; the Babus were making hay; there was poor law and order; the ‘markets’ were dictated by the sellers; and above all there were the scamsters. Anna and Kejriwal were therefore big draws and changed the political scenario of Delhi when they set out against the corrupt system and politicians. People came out in their thousands to support their cause and this made news worldwide. Kejriwal got a surprisingly large mandate in the Delhi State Elections of 2013. The peoples’ power had been asserted. A one-man-Army had dethroned the mighty Sheila Dixit govt. in Delhi. The Indian Voter was emerging from a long slumber. He/she wanted good governance. Unfortunately, the man who gave this dream to the masses ‘fell’ for higher aspirations. He perhaps thought of doing a ‘Deva Gowda’ on the country and becoming the Prime Minister - or at least the King-maker. When the Country gave a thumping mandate to Narendra Modi, to form the govt. and lead the nation, it was not just a majority for the BJP. The youth of the nation came out of their complacency to assert their right to vote; the old came out in numbers too, maybe to apologise for the past; and the poor wanted to be equal to the wealthy and the rich, even if it was for just this one event. For the first time caste did not seem a factor, religion was not the motivating force and the pseudo threats of the country being destroyed or ruined did not matter. Voters were not impressed by family history or the past. The govt. and the ‘netas’ never bothered to see the ground realities and thought that they would fire their last salvo just before the elections. Therefore the hurry in passing bills and legislations, the tearing off of an Ordinance in front of the Press, the going for a meal (by helicopter) to the house of a poor person, and time and again reminding the nation about a riot that it wanted to forget. The nation was instead wanting to move ahead. The debate the nation wanted from the Congress was on national issues, and on what it had achieved in the last 10 years, but the Congress and its leaders only concentrated on Modi, caste and religion. Modi they could not match and the rest did not matter to the voter. The voters had seen how some ruling ‘netas’ had prospered over the years while they were still trying to ‘hatao’ their ‘garibi’ - all alone. The voters had matured, learnt from the past and had made up their minds. They voted for development, for good governance and for a man who had proved his worth. This wisdom is here to stay. Thus, the victory in the General Elections 2014 was of the common man, the Voter - and of course for India. Let no politician or political party take voters for granted hereafter. Now the onus is on Shri Narendra Bhai Modi to prove that the Nation was right.

 


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