The water shed of 1967:
After 1967 General elections when the Congress Party lost its
power in a number of States, it became reasonably clear that the days of single party
government were numbered. Before the elections, the idea that there could be every
combination of communists, socialists, Swatantra and Jan Sangh in the same government was
inconceivable. But, realising the political trend which appeared to be a compulsion in a
multiparty system, the RSS in its meeting of Pratinidhi Sabha (April 1967) felt that
"the present coming together of the several parties will help understanding one
another and wipe out the animosity" (Organiser, April 19, 1967). Late Deen Dayal
Upadhyay, the ideologue of the then Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) looked upon the alliance
with non Congress parties as a tactical move to consolidate and expand the party base as
long as the party itself is not in a position to attain power on its own.
A large number of BJS delegates under the leadership of Balraj
Madhok expressed their dissent during Delhi Session against any compromise with its
anticommunist principle of the party. However, with the stand taken by Deen Dayal Upadhyay
and supported by Vajpayee, the BJS became a partner to non-Congress coalition government
in a number of States. The slogan-"if Congress is malaria, the communists are
plague" raised by Madhok was rejected by the party. Vajpayee then was in favour of
any alliance to keep the Congress out of power. Not that he was for any compromise with
the communists but his campaign for cooperation with the socialists who favoured working
with the communists was a clear indication that his priority was to weaken the Congress
and occupy space left by the latter. Thus from 1967 onwards, this line of Vajpayee
continued to be the tactical line of the party. The merger of the BJS with Janata Party in
1977 was also one such tactical move. The party never gave up its core agenda of unity
among Hindus to attain political power in the country. Despite the fact that BJS was the
largest constituent of the Janata Party in 1977 it was willing to work under other smaller
groups. In 1980 when their dual membership with RSS was challenged by the Janata party, it
broke away to form the BJP. The Sangh Parivar ( not BJP) gave indirect support to Congress
led by Rajiv Gandhi in 1984 Lok Sabha elections with the sole aim to push like minded
Hindus into the Congress. Though the party got a major set back in 1984 elections, it
recovered with an electoral alliance with non congress parties and secure 85 seats in 1989
Lok Sabha poll. The party supported the non-Congress government from outside and did not
join the government because of its experience in 1977. By 1998 it became the largest party
in the Lok Sabha. Vajpayee’s move despite opposition internally for accepting the
united Janata Dal in NDA was a part of his tactical line to push the Congress out of power
in alliance with non Congress parties. If the BJP has succeeded in occupying noticeable
political space in South as well as in West Bengal, the credit goes to the tactical line
of the party engineered and pushed through by Vajpayee.
Coalition government is inevitable:
What Vajpayee had foreseen in 1971, has now become a reality.
Frequent collapse of coalition governments since 1996 has opened a new phase in the Indian
political system. No political party in the country is now thinking in terms of a single
party government at the centre. A year back, the Congress was talking in terms of fighting
the election on its own but it had to be realistic and make a compromise. It has joined
RJD in Bihar and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu as junior partner of the alliance. A party with 114
years of history and identification with Independence movement is now forced to fight the
electoral battle for its survival in alliance with other parties.
Frequent elections provide the cause and occasion for
fragmentation of major political parties. It is difficult to accommodate all the equally
deserving aspirants as candidates of the party in the election. Those who do not get party
tickets try to work against the interest of the party. The political parties have failed
to build up an emotional loyalty amongst the members. They leave the party purely for the
sake of winning the elections and later sell themselves to the highest bidder. This is not
a healthy sign for democracy.
Elections are fought like big business houses making attractive
advertisements to sell their products. Instead of real issues, they float non issues for
temporary gains and this is the reason why the voting percentage is gradually declining
which is another unhealthy symptom in democratic polity.
Bharathiya Jan Sangh, in its central executive committee meeting
(Baroda- September 1967) emphasised that "An imperative condition for a coalition
government is that , the units should scrupulously confine themselves to the agreed
minimum programme, refrain from trying to cast the entire government in their respective
moulds and avoid playing to the gallery." There is nothing wrong in this. No
political party should have any objection to it. To avoid the stress and strain is the
main challenge of coalition politics in day to day governance of the country. There is
need for the partners of the coalition to develop a coalitional culture.
However, there is a difference between electoral and governmental
alliance. The partners during electoral alliance have the sole aim of defeating their
opponents, but their attitude changes once they form the government. If individual
interests dominate the governmental alliance, the coalition gets shaky. The action of
coalition partners should be to stick to the promises made by them at the time of
electoral alliance. Though every partner is free to expand its political base, it should
not be the exclusive objective and immediate priority. Apart from coordination at the
ministerial level, there could also be a similar committee at the organisational level for
redressal of any misunderstanding among the constituents. Cohesion and determination of
the parties to stay together are the basic factors necessary for the stability of the
coalition.
The National Democratic alliance which is contesting the election
on the basis of a joint manifesto has already projected Vajpayee as its Prime ministerial
candidate with an advantage over its rival the Congress alliance which does not have a
common minimum programme. The BJP being a major partner kept its core agenda of Hindutva
in the "moratorium." Though this compromise is hardly a guarantee to stability,
the situation may improve if the political leaders irrespective of their political
allegiance are serious in restructuring constitution if need be and restructuring the
functioning of parliament itself for stability
India is a country of social coalition. The virtue of tolerance
is inbuilt in Indian ethos. Governance by a national coalition will not be a problem. Late
Dr. Radhakrishnan defined democracy as "progress of all, through all, under the
leadership of the wisest and the best." Let us hope and wish that the coalition
government formed after the 13th Lok Sabha election is led by the wisest and
the best.
R.Upadhyay
12.9.99
(R.Upadhyay is a Regional Adviser to SAAG. email
address- ramashray60@yahoo.com)
