It's pretty amusing how the Third Front is taking shape. Elections are round the corner and political alliances are just as likely as snow is in North America. The media has to seldom search for a breaking story, there's always one round the corner. Grabbing the greatest space are the Third Front stories-"What's cooking? Parties hosting lavish dinners", "Lalu Paswan strike a deal", "BSP will not align with any party: Mayawati", "Third Front takes rebirth yet again", "Alliance should lead to increase in seats: Pranab", "Shocked BJP blames BJD for alliance breakdown" and needless to say the list continues.
However, this particular emergence of an amalgamation of smaller parties has greater paralells with the 1977-1979 government led by Morarji Desai. The situation back then resulted due to iregularities in the administration and bureaucracy, the reigning Gandhi herself coming under the scanner. The Emergency indeed was a very uneventful event leading to circumstances abetting small fishes to capitalize on it, the big names being Morarji Desai (Congress(O)), Charan Singh (Bharatiya Lok Dal),Atal Behari Vajpayee(Bharatiya Jana Sangh) and Jayprakash Narayan (largely from the Socialist party). Now this kind of an alliance, symbolizes one that results not under a common ideology but under a strategic agenda. This kind of an approach is rather deterring as the objective is only to come to power and fulfil the immediate issues. Further on gradual bickering in the alliances would result in as much a dysfunctional government as a single party with not so pro-labour, pro-farmer policies. There lay a strategic agenda, yet again, this time to abate the powers of the two largest political parties in India.
The common ideology in the third block is simply non-existent. It is in very simple terms power politics. The TDP once a part of the NDA, is now very much in alliance with the the Third Front. The AIADMK never puts its cards on the table until the right time, leaving you constantly guessing. Once been in alliance with the NDA, their doors are now claimed to be open to the present UPA construct or even an emerging Third Front. Simlarly the SP which sided with the Congress during the Indo-U.S nuke deal has recently opened its arms to Kalyan Singh, once a very staunch right winger. The BSP appears to be eyeing the South Block, on Raisinia Hills, irrespective of the course. NCP's Sharad Pawar is no different. Mr. Pawar had this to say, "there was a feeling among the people of Maharashtra that the state should get an opportunity for the top job". Oh, I hope Raj Thackeray has no problems, it's only a job for the Prime Minister's post! Not to mention the JD(S) which is a predominant part of this Third Front is hoping for a 1996 like situation, where Deve Gowda will emerge from the ashes to be crowned.
The point I'm making here is that there is no common forward looking ground to this block. If the existent political parties are inefficient, a new party with jigsaw pieces is not the solution. We need an effective opposition, not one that is flawed in its attempts to improvise the government, but one that would support it when policies are genuinely constructive, and criticize it when policies are inpalaltable.
Ofcourse a coalition government seems more plausible in the present scenario, so parties which offer support can always read the riot act when the majority ruling party goes offtrack. The big shots will feel more accountable if they are constantly in check both by the opposition and the parties giving support from outside.
Whatever the case at the end of the day its the voter who calls the shots!
However, this particular emergence of an amalgamation of smaller parties has greater paralells with the 1977-1979 government led by Morarji Desai. The situation back then resulted due to iregularities in the administration and bureaucracy, the reigning Gandhi herself coming under the scanner. The Emergency indeed was a very uneventful event leading to circumstances abetting small fishes to capitalize on it, the big names being Morarji Desai (Congress(O)), Charan Singh (Bharatiya Lok Dal),Atal Behari Vajpayee(Bharatiya Jana Sangh) and Jayprakash Narayan (largely from the Socialist party). Now this kind of an alliance, symbolizes one that results not under a common ideology but under a strategic agenda. This kind of an approach is rather deterring as the objective is only to come to power and fulfil the immediate issues. Further on gradual bickering in the alliances would result in as much a dysfunctional government as a single party with not so pro-labour, pro-farmer policies. There lay a strategic agenda, yet again, this time to abate the powers of the two largest political parties in India.
The common ideology in the third block is simply non-existent. It is in very simple terms power politics. The TDP once a part of the NDA, is now very much in alliance with the the Third Front. The AIADMK never puts its cards on the table until the right time, leaving you constantly guessing. Once been in alliance with the NDA, their doors are now claimed to be open to the present UPA construct or even an emerging Third Front. Simlarly the SP which sided with the Congress during the Indo-U.S nuke deal has recently opened its arms to Kalyan Singh, once a very staunch right winger. The BSP appears to be eyeing the South Block, on Raisinia Hills, irrespective of the course. NCP's Sharad Pawar is no different. Mr. Pawar had this to say, "there was a feeling among the people of Maharashtra that the state should get an opportunity for the top job". Oh, I hope Raj Thackeray has no problems, it's only a job for the Prime Minister's post! Not to mention the JD(S) which is a predominant part of this Third Front is hoping for a 1996 like situation, where Deve Gowda will emerge from the ashes to be crowned.
The point I'm making here is that there is no common forward looking ground to this block. If the existent political parties are inefficient, a new party with jigsaw pieces is not the solution. We need an effective opposition, not one that is flawed in its attempts to improvise the government, but one that would support it when policies are genuinely constructive, and criticize it when policies are inpalaltable.
Ofcourse a coalition government seems more plausible in the present scenario, so parties which offer support can always read the riot act when the majority ruling party goes offtrack. The big shots will feel more accountable if they are constantly in check both by the opposition and the parties giving support from outside.
Whatever the case at the end of the day its the voter who calls the shots!
