The Feel Good Factor

I’ve met many people over the years who wonder how I could be interested in something as"boring" as politics. The 2004 Parliamentary Elections was a great opportunity to prove them all wrong.Even the most tear-jerking TV serial, the most outrageous American reality TV shows, and the most outlandishRajnikanth movie would have paled in comparison to the drama enacted in the formation of a Central governmentin the world’s largest democracy.

Like many other middle-class urban Indians and NRIs, I was buoyed by the plethora ofopinion polls, including those published in Outlook, which predicted the NDA government getting 290-300seats in the Lok Sabha. I, along with like-minded friends, gloated on the achievements of Prime MinisterVajpayee and celebrated the fact that the BJP had its moderate face contesting in this elections, and that thefundamentalist Hindu Right was rightfully locked up. Even one of my friends, a die-hard Congress supporter,had resigned himself to the "fact" of an NDA victory.

The initial blows were dealt by the exit polls after the second phase of voting, and thenthe knock-out blow came from the election results. With the BJP trounced soundly in the polls, and theCongress being the single largest party at the centre, Sonia Gandhi appeared all set to become the secondfemale prime minister of India. The shocking declaration came a few days later. Saying that she has listenedto her "inner voice", Smt. Sonia Gandhi declined to become the prime minister of the country, despitebeing overwhelmingly nominated by her own party.

She had taken away the one trump card that the BJP had expected to use against theCongress, and left the nation shell-shocked. I was incredibly relieved that the country would not have aforeign-born person as prime minister, but also found myself with a new found respect for the courage andintegrity that enabled the Congress Party President to take the decision that she did. Since then allegationshave come from all quarters in the Hindu Right that did this not because of any "inner voice", butthat this is just a sordid drama to extract more concessions from allies, and that she had done this so thatthe Congress party would have better chances in coming elections by robbing the BJP of its foreign-origincard. With the swearing in of Dr. Manmohan Singh as the prime minister, I think we can put the firstallegation to rest. Now, even if the second allegation that she did this solely to increase gains for theCongress is true, how many of our own netas, after having unopposed access to the highest position inthe country, would sacrifice their own personal interests for the betterment of their party or nation?

The actions by the Congress Party in the following days further increased my respect forit, and made me less uneasy about the nation’s future. The time for regional allies to flex their muscle andextract their pound of flesh had come. Laloo Prasad Yadav was the first to do so, using his 21 RJD MPs tostake a claim to the post of Home Minister. The Congress recognized the danger in making the most corruptperson in the nation as Home Minister and rejected his claim. Laloo returned to Patna in a huff, but did notpull support for the government, and was eventually satisfied with a smaller portfolio. By doing so, theCongress Party has taken the very important step of asserting its role as the leader of the coalitiongovernment, and has communicated to regional parties that it will not be pushed around.

The new government has quite a big "feelgood" factor to it, with brilliant economistDr. Manmohan Singh at the helm of affairs and P. Chidambaram given the post of Finance Minister. From theindications given by these men, the economy will continue to boom, and by also focusing on the economicdevelopment of the rural poor, India can only shine more brilliantly than ever before. The Congress only has145 seats in Parliament, and even along with its allies, it can manage to show 217 seats. It needs the outsidesupport of the Left Parties to stay in power, and it will be a miracle if this government can last the wholefive years.

If the government collapses soon, and fresh elections are held, my vote would stillprobably go to the tried and tested leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee and the BJP. But if this government canprovide stability at the centre, continue the economic prosperity which we have been enjoying, avoid theminority appeasement which it is notorious for and further peaceful relations with Pakistan, it would haveprovided everything the Vajpayee government did, without the added baggage of the fundamentalist Hindu Right.In such a scenario, my loyalties may very well change come polling time. If nothing, the nation can onlybenefit the day we see an election where both parties competing have economic achievements to show off.

Vivek Thuppil, 20, originally from Bangalore, is currently a student at Drexel University, Philadelphia,USA.