| Published on 10-12-2008 In General | | Viewed 1013 times | Written by Girish Nikam | | No to Terror politics, yes to Development politics |
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The last few weeks in this country has been an eye opener. When those ten trigger happy young men (were there really only ten?), landed on the shore of Mumbai and caused mayhem, the chattering classes woke up for the first time to this form of terror in their lives. So far the only terrorizing thing they had possibly encountered were in their falling stocks, or maybe the appearance of wrinkles on their faces.
But when these young gunmen entered their sanctum sanctorums and took them and other PLT (people like them) hostage, it jolted them out of their ivory tower smugness. Many took to the streets with candles et all, and spewed venom against the easiest targets of them all, the politicians, and even managed to get a few high profile scalps too.
Even as the media-induced fury started waning as days passed, and the media too moved to more current events, like elections, it also had some eye opening surprises in store. The results has come as a great disappointment to the BJP and its acolytes, who were under the impression that the 24/7 "terror serial" would bring them rich dividends. "How could the Congress win Rajasthan and Delhi?" a rather incredulous friend, a BJP supporter from Bangalore queried.
This co-relation between terror and benefit to the BJP has been the defining characteristic of the Indian media, which has rather simplistically been bought even by the Indian middle class as well as quite surprisingly even the rival politicians. Therefore such incredulous queries and also comments by even some Congress and other politicians about the results being a surprise.
That the BJP leadership was positively dismayed and depressed with their humiliating loss in Delhi and even the impressive victories in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh did not make up for it, was evident from the empty party office in the capital, after results started coming out.
It was because the party leadership had convinced itself that the Mumbai terror just before Delhi and Rajasthan went to vote would hugely benefit them. The same mistake they had done in 2004, when they launched the "India Shining" campaign and believed in its own lies, only to be devastated with what the Indian voter handed out.
This simplistic spin, which the Jaitleys and Rudys and the Prasads don't tire of spinning--- that BJP is a nationalistic party and therefore issues of national security is innately interwoven into its DNA and therefore people also support it---- has been disproved time and again. By the simple people of India, not those who screamed hoarse on the streets of Mumbai, lighting candles.
It has to be remembered that even in 2004, the BJP had adopted this spin audaciously, despite all those terror attacks during their reign. And they found that the people did not buy it. But the party just does not seem to learn! The glee one could sense in the party leadership even as the 60 hour siege was on in Mumbai and more and more bodies tumbled out of the places under siege, was almost obscene. It was this obscene mindset that they will benefit in the elections from this siege, which made them issue that advertisement with blood spilt all over and the party shamelessly seeking vote for itself.
There is no doubt that many voters also empathised with BJP as the reaction of many ordinary upper middle class voters about the results indicate.
A young upwardly mobile private bank officer was so disappointed hearing the results about Delhi. Asked why she had thought BJP would win, she immediately connected, "sir, after what happened in Mumbai, we thought it would win". But the fact that majority of people of Delhi and for that matter Rajasthan also did not think so is a testimony to how these simplistic assumptions can mislead the country.
One would have thought that after this resounding message sent by the people of Delhi and Rajasthan, the BJP would have learnt its lessons. But it apparently doesn't seem to have. Going by the instant analysis provided by the party leaders after the results were declared, a new spin is being given to us.
That terrorism is not an issue in State elections, and people seem to have voted for local issues. This is exactly what this column had said over three weeks back(http://indiainteracts.com/columnist/2008/11/25/Manmohans-temptation-to-do-a-Vajpayeeis-it-worth-it/)! However, the spin doctors of the BJP insist that they will come back with the issue for the Lok Sabha elections, as it is a national issue. But what these people should understand is that while people of this country are indeed deeply disturbed of the recurring acts of terror, they are equally convinced that any one political party claiming that only it can tackle it is not going to be bought.
The subtle message of the results of the latest round of Assembly elections is just that--- Don't try to politicise terrorism related issues.
It is evident that terrorism whether inflicted by those who are convinced that Islam can be protected only by such actions or those who think that taking to acts of terror is the best way to defend Hinduism, cause equal disturbance in the society. So for any political party to think that they can exploit one politically and ignore the other is nothing but cynical disregard to the larger population's sensitivity.
It is interesting that both in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, the two BJP Chief Ministers, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Raman Singh, refrained from such cynically manipulative election rhetoric. They refused to use terror as a partisan issue and instead concentrated on the bread and butter issues related to the State and reaped a handsome harvest.
The 3-2 Congress-BJP verdict therefore is the most sober result one could have expected. It has put paid to any plans by either of the parties to launch into any breast-beating claims of things to come in the lok Sabha elections coming summer. And more importantly to any talk of any early elections. The ordinary people of Delhi and Rajasthan have also sent a strong message to the PLTs of Mumbai that fulminating on the streets and spewing venom against politicians (generously covered by the TV channels) is not exactly the way to tackle terror. And as far as the media is concerned, it has once again bitten dust, by being way off the mark again! |
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