For all the thrill Maharashtra’s unseemly politics generated during the month-long stalemate, the outcome, even in its unexpectedness, tells the same usual story — one of opposition sloth.
Following an overnight coup, BJP’s Devender Fadnavis has been sworn in as the chief minister with Ajit Pawar, who led a faction of the NCP, as his deputy. The matter is now in the Supreme Court, which Sunday heard the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena petition against the BJP move, and asked the Narendra Modi government to produce Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s letters that brought about the government formation in Maharashtra.
Now, whatever the fate of this overnight coup, this much is clear: there is no answer to BJP president Amit Shah’s political nimbleness. And the opposition is painfully tardy.
Chanakya vs sloth
If India’s present-day opposition had a spirit animal, it would be a sloth. It has managed to prove once again that it cannot be trusted, or even expected, to fill the gaping hole in India’s political system left by the BJP’s supreme domination. Evidently, everyone standing against the BJP is as dense as a brick.
Whether it was Congress president Sonia Gandhi postponing her meeting with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, or the endless meetings that the latter had with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray over cups of chai-nashta, it all amounted to what has now become a common sight: the BJP having the last laugh.
Chanakya must be marveling at Amit Shah’s dexterous handling of the government formation in Maharashtra. At 5.47 am Saturday, the President’s Rule was revoked and two hours later, at 7.50 am, Fadnavis was taking oath as the chief minister. That’s how early and prepared the BJP was. Their early morning routine at the RSS’ shakhas seems to have paid off. The opposition, on the other hand, was still hitting the snooze button at 11 am.
Also read: Ajit and Sharad Pawar battle on Twitter, defection threat looms over Shiv Sena and Congress
Usual suspects
But this wasn’t just a day off on Saturday. The opposition is so mind-numbingly slow that forget about trying to form a government, it even postpones protests. The Congress was all set to hit the streets over the slowing economy, joblessness, farm distress, and a few other things it could put under “BJP’s misrule” from 5 November onwards. It had, amid a fair amount of ridicule, announced the dates almost a week before.
But as the days got closer, the party began to postpone and has now comfortably pushed it to 14 December. And yet somehow, we are supposed to take the Congress seriously when it waves its ‘agenda’ to bring back India’s economy from the doldrums.
But, as mentioned, there’s nothing new about what took place in Maharashtra. Being slow is in the Congress’ DNA. We saw it in Goa. And we saw it in Karnataka, where no one in the party besides D.K. Sivakumar showed any urgency in keeping the government with the JD(S) intact. The lack of vigour from Congress’ top leadership was also evident in Haryana, even though Bhupinder Singh Hooda managed to pull all the stops to win 31 seats for the party.
One could perhaps apply the idiom that ‘slow and steady wins the race’ for the opposition. But this isn’t the ’70s. The long-winded way of going about things worked during Indira Gandhi’s time, when telegrams and trunk calls were the fastest way to communicate. In the age of social media and chartered flights, it’s a crime to sit and ponder over which way to go when a chance to rule is at stake. The amount of time wasted is one of the parameters with which the voting public judges a political party today.
Also read: 5 reasons why nobody is ready to believe Sharad Pawar
The odd quick learners
Take a look at Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal’s playbook, for instance. Soon after the defeat of the combined opposition in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, TMC supremo Mamata realised that her hold in West Bengal was slipping away, and there may only be regrets after the assembly election in 2021. Suddenly, all her theatrics and vociferousness against Prime Minister Narendra Modi vanished. In fact, election strategist Prashant Kishor is now styling her much like Modi. We see pictures of her making tea circulating on social media. Someone who took jibes at the ‘chaiwala’ has learnt quickly and is doing her own version of ‘chai pe charcha’ (conversation over tea).
Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal is a quick learner too. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha election, the AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister never wasted a moment to speak against Modi and Amit Shah. But after the election, he took stock of his position in Delhi’s politics, and quickly extended an olive branch to Modi by meeting him. He also changed gears in how he promoted himself. He is no longer the man who ‘only’ opposes Modi and Amit Shah. He is now the CM who works for Delhi and therefore expects to be voted in on that account.
Also read: Do Muslims matter for Modi-Shah BJP, or India?
No answer to this
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the master planner Amit Shah, who keeps setting fresh rules for politics in ‘New India’ after 2014. The whole idea of backing his loyalists all the way – Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra’s case – or negotiating until he ensures that the BJP has got the meatier portion of the pie shows how Amit Shah keeps his stealth mode on permanently. While the Congress and the NCP bickered over the post of assembly speaker and decided to call it a day, agreeing to resume discussions the next morning, Amit Shah worked through the night and secured a deal with Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar.
The tragedy of the opposition is also the intrigues within party ranks. Fathers are opposed to sons (Mulayam Singh Yadav – Akhilesh Yadav), chachas are opposed to bhatijas (Sharad Pawar – Ajit Pawar, Akhilesh – Shivpal Yadav), brothers are opposed to brothers (Tej Pratap – Tejashwi Yadav). But Amit Shah and Narendra Modi remain rock solid as a team. Shah’s decisions are final and binding and his trusted deputies work for and not against each other. Within the opposition, until the top of the pyramid in the hierarchy doesn’t approve, everything hangs in the air – case in point, Ahmed Patel. Even he can’t take a decision until ‘Madam’ approves.
Up until a week ago, people keenly observing the Maharashtra game wondered who would blink first – Shah or Uddhav Thackeray. But Shah looked on with a poker face at an opposition that has been limping its way through elections, somewhat winning but ultimately losing state after state.
Congress needs some hard lessons in fleet footedness and mutating gene to avoid extinction. The old darbar-style decision making with leaders reclining against bolster-pillows just won’t do in the 21st century Modi-Shah politics. Many years ago, Manmohan Singh had talked about releasing the animal spirits of the Indian economy. Today, it’s time for India’s oldest political party to channel its inner sprinting leopard and shed the walrus.
The author is a political observer and writer. Views are personal.