Elections, and the aftermath

Keki Daruwalla 

People are worried about the elections. Will jingoism and sabre-rattling win the day or the siblings? Will oratory, jumlas and slogans, which have no connect with reality, carry the day or misquoting the venerable Supreme Court? Can Mayawati and Akhilesh put up a credible fight in the encounter-badlands of Uttar Pradesh against the ochre-clad, anti-Romeo monk? (He has nothing against Juliet though, the Lord be praised). 

Will the Modi wave land in West Bengal or is it facing its expiry date as forecast by Mamata Banerjee? In Tamil lands, will the hard work put in by the pro-NDA taxmen pay off, or will the raids fizzle out, as one of them did on Kanimozhi, the sister of DMK chief Stalin? Will actor Sunny Deol, son of Dharmendra of Sholay fame, stand any chance against the Congress candidate? The Congress is in power in Punjab.

Lastly, how will that newly found Joan of Arc, discovered by the BJP, Pragya Singh Thakur, the owner of the renowned motor cycle which carried the explosives that killed six Muslims and injured hundred persons in Malegaon, fare at the Hustings? Squaring up against her is the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Diggi Raja, the author of the worst-timed quote in the history of political follies, since Marie Antoinette advised the famished hordes of Paris to eat cake if they could not get hold of bread.

Most serious historians say that the Marie Antoinette quote is fake.  So, is a part of Digvijay Singh’s pronouncement, while the 26/11 was in progress. He has denied ever talking of Hindu terror. But life and elections can be tricky.

How will we ever sit down to a discourse which has some semblance of civility? I think the chowkidar and chor bit sounded pretty offensive, and some of the senior members of the Congress (where are they, incidentally) should have advised Rahul Gandhi against it. Will political life in future be as arid and barren as today’s? Are we going to live with these charges? Amit Shah and Kailash Vijayvargiya say that the Islamic State can enter West Bengal whenever it wants, and the situation could become as bad as Kashmir's. 

The word appeasement has cropped up again, as it used to when Lal Krishna Advani used to rail against ‘appeasement of minorities’. There is no appeasement now, (though there are kicks in plenty) but are things better? Are we proud of the lynching by gau rakshaks? How come a few months prior to the elections, the lynching stopped? People do not realise that Akhlaq Ahmad and Pehlu Khan may well become signposts for history, so will Assemanand, Lt Col Purohit and Pragya Thakur. History and posterity can be unforgiving. And that 56-inch chest could one day become a jest. 

In the post-election scenario, we have a host of questions to field. Can the table be cleared after the elections? Can soiled dishes be put in a sink, or placed under a tap and scrubbed with wood ash? Will the Balakot boast rage on? Only recently BJP chief Amit Shah has said if they (Pakistan) fire a bullet, we will throw a bomb! Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis is reported to have said that those doubting the damage inflicted at Balakot, should have been strapped to the rockets we landed there. It is a sad thought that our elections could one day be tilted by what Pakistan says or does? Will we slow down thumping our nationalist chests?  Will there be any dialogue with Pakistan after the elections? 

The same goes for the Kashmir valley. Any possibilities of a dialogue there? The Election Commission meekly excluded a state election in J&K, possibly that is what the Centre wanted. This is one of the weakest Election Commissions that we have had. And what is going to happen on the constant relentless drumming by the RSS and the BJP about Articles 370 and 35A? For decades, the BJP and the Jana Sangh talked of abolishing Article 370, one of its cardinal objectives, without applying their mind to the issues involved, just to lead ignorant followers up the garden path.

Whether the NDA wins or the opposing conglomeration, it is hoped one of the main tasks of the new government would be to restore credibility of institutions — Election Commission itself, the CBI after the disgraceful way its previous director Alok Varma was treated. The constabulary is watching how a terror accused can be selected by a national party to fight an election.  Some damages are irreparable.

It is regrettable that already people have started saying that whatever the result, the NDA may be asked to bat, whether it wins the toss or no.  But let’s end on a humorous note — Shotgun Sinha, a great chap, confusing Maulana Abul Kalam Azad with Jinnah! That was unbeatable.