Political Opportunism camouflaged with Popular Sanction22 Dec, 2013

From the desk of Arun Jaitley

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 The period of Internal Emergency from June 1975 till January 1977  was a great learning experience for me .  I was still a student  and one of the youngest detenus who spent 19 months in detention for having opposed the Emergency.   A key question for us in prison was how long emergency will last.  Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, consistently justified  her dictatorship, proclamation of emergency, press censorship, detentions of political opponents on the ground that it was a ‘bitter pill’ to be swallowed during the ‘era of discipline’.  She claimed that the people of India  supported it.  She was convinced that  the 20-Point programme that she announced during the emergency had a popular sanction.  There was no way of measuring this support. But her unilateral assessment guided her political decisions.  Towards the end of 1977 she announced General Election on the basis of this popular support and sanction to the Emergency.  She was routed in the election.  She lost even her own seat. 

               This is one of the dangers inherent in excessive propaganda.  Demagogues always believe their own logic to be true.  Governments  buy their own propaganda.   The UPA government had also misled itself because of excessive advertising of its so-called achievements. 

Aam Aadmi Party

The Aam Admi Party’s performance in Delhi Assembly elections was certainly  remarkable.  Its silent and systematic campaign produced results.  It succeeded in marketing an idea which was accepted by  a significant number of people.  It emerged as the number two party behind the BJP both in terms of votes and number of seats.  Delhi has produced a hung assembly.  A hung assembly is not necessarily a dead-locked assembly.  If smaller parties give support to any of the major parties, a Government is possible.  The Congress with eight seats  is the balancer in Delhi.  It has announced a conditional support for the AAP party. 

               The AAP had categorically  stated that it represents ‘alternative politics’.  It is guided by idealism.  It will neither support or accept support from either the Congress or the BJP.    Obviously if the AAP stands by its publicly stated commitment, the Delhi assembly becomes  a dead-locked assembly wherein after a reasonable time a fresh poll has to be ordered. 

How does the AAP justify a volte face    where it seems to be compromising on its commitments of alternative politics.  Obviously, political opportunism should have no place in alternative politics dictated by idealism.  The AAP  may be concerned with the fact that many MLAs including the AAP MLAs do not want an early poll.  It may even be strategizing on how to capture power, announce a few popular decisions and carve out a further positioning for itself.  For any of these strategies to prevail the AAP has to somersault from its stated position.  It has to retract its public commitments of not accepting support from the Congress Party.  It has, therefore, decided to enact a farcical referendum.  This referendum has a self-serving model.  Motley crowds are collected all over the town whose support  is sought. A question is asked whether AAP should form the government. Obviously, they are all thrilled with the idea .  In the process, a statistical wonder is produced wherein less than 30% people voted for AAP in the Election but more than 75% want it to form a government. 

               In effect, political opportunism is being masked with the idea of popular sanction behind it.  A space is being created wherein  its leaders  could argue –‘ we were not hungry for power, we would not be taking Congress Party’s support.  But we are democrats who are now bowing to the popular will of the people. It is the people who want AAP to form the Government with Congress support.’

Is this the beginning of the alternative politics or the end of it.