Election verdicts in four important states, two in the east and two in the south, have proved yet again that Indian democracy is resilient and robust. Despite the usual complaints, alleged rigging, SIR deletions, and bad losers the Indian voter has emerged as the real hero and Indian democracy the ultimate beneficiary.
Just think of some of the unexpected twists and turns. Who would have expected a complete outsider like film star C Joseph Vijay to sweep Tamil Nadu so decisively? Even when he hardly campaigned or held rallies, let alone spoke to the press. Totally unknown Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidates won handsomely. On the other hand, even the sitting chief minister and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo M K Stalin lost.
In West Bengal, the ousting of Mamata Banerjee and the rout of her Trinamool Congress fortress signals a tectonic shift. And the turnout? A stupendous almost 93 percent. Kerala once again demonstrated its customary pivot from the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Assam rewarded Himanta Biswa Sarma’s assertive Hindutva politics with a thumping return.
But there is something most commentators have missed. All four of these elections have been in border states. It is the peculiar politics of the borderlands, along with their special and specific contingencies, that make these results so significant. It is this angle that I wish to explore, albeit in a snapshot manner. And also offer some gratuitous advice to the governments in waiting, as any public intellectual worth their salt ought to.
In Kerala, voters opted for stability, choosing the tried-and-tested switch from LDF to UDF. Tired of one, flip to the other. Keep Hindutva out. Never the same game south of the Vindhyas, the BJP must wait it out. In Tamil Nadu, too. Instead of bickering over who would be CM, the Congress has a huge opportunity to reinvent itself. Deliver decent governance, establish good relations with the Centre, refrain from milking, or should we say bilking, the state for party needs elsewhere. Come on, Congress; get your act together. Show the rest of India what you can do in ‘God’s own country’.
Tamil Nadu is a border state, too. It is also the hotbed of Dravidian politics. Will Vijay break with this past or continue it? Will he steer a middle course, watering down DMK’s brand of Dravidian anti-Sanatanism? Will he be more centrist instead of anti-Hindi, anti-North Indian or even anti-Hindu?
What about the state’s vital political links with Sri Lankan Tamils? We have already lost former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to extra-national extremist ties. Tamil Nadu is also deeply connected to the large Tamil diaspora in Southeast Asia. Such ties, in the past, have directly or indirectly fuelled Dravidianism; now Vijay can use them to promote development and commerce.
Vijay, of course, is Christian. The first one to be Tamil Nadu’s CM. A portrait supposedly of Jesus Christ was flashed in one of his early campaign roadshows. Will the powerful church, not to mention foreign lobbies, influence him and his policies? Or will he be inclusive and faith-agnostic? And what about Tamil Nadu’s traditional social justice agenda? Translated in simple terms, this is another word for caste and reservation politics, even anti-Brahminism.
Isn’t it time Tamil Nadu moved away from this toxic legacy? The answer is a decisive ‘Yes’. If Vijay wants to showcase himself and TVK as a viable alternative to both the Dravidian majors and the BJP’s Hindi-Hindutva agenda, he should demonstrate a genuine, I dare say, dharmic secularism. Along with carrying on, even improving on the governance front and the business-friendly policies of his predecessors.
Vijay’s opportunities are also unprecedented. If he keeps his charisma intact and builds a strong, supportive grassroots organisation, he might succeed as spectacularly as he has won. With a team of competent advisors and top-notch administrators, of course. Tamil Nadu can be a beacon not only of heritage and culture, but of talent and technology in the new South.
Now let’s move east. Both Assam and West Bengal are border states too, with sizeable and growing Muslim populations. In West Bengal, the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh and its aftermath helped hugely in consolidating Hindu voters for the first time. Islamic radicalism, accompanied by brutal attacks on Hindus in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim regime, raised alarm bells on our side of the border. Exacerbated, of course, by the Babri-masjid rhetoric of Muslim politicians in districts such as Murshidabad.
Now, as the BJP has been boasting, Hindutva has returned to the land of its birth. The land, not only of Chandranath Basu who coined the term, but also of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the former president of the Hindu Mahasabha and of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. As well as, another hero of Bengal, Subhas Chandra Bose. And of savants and visionaries such as Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo.
The BJP’s choice of the birthday of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore for the swearing-in, complete with the prime minister, home minister, leading cabinet ministers and 20 CMs on display, makes for a historic event. Tagore, the undisputed and beyond controversial symbol and spirit of modern Bengal, underscores the tremendous cultural, even civilisational opportunity that Suvendu Adhikari’s stint as chief minister affords. Bengal can once again join the mainstream of Indian politics and intellectual life, even lead it as it did for over a hundred years.
But a word of advice: no doubt, rangdhanush is once again Ramdhanush in Bengal, but Adhikari would do well to make development, rather than ideology, the driver of change. Bengal must once again become an industrial and competitive business hub. The Bhadraloks will come back of their own accord.
Lastly, Assam, led by one of India’s most astute younger leaders, the ‘dabang’ Himanta Biswa Sarma. A political mastermind, he knows when and how to game vote-bank politics. Under his ‘tough-guy’ image is a well-read, smart politician who enjoys the support of both the prime minister and home minister. Third time lucky? No, third time tested and proved.
Critics will frame these outcomes through partisan or ideological prisms. Yet the deeper truth lies in the triumph of Indian democracy in an era of great global and regional uncertainty. Subversive migration, transnational identities and geopolitical flux notwithstanding, we are a republic continually recalibrating, with our border great states ensuring the centre holds.
Makarand R Paranjape | RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE | Author and commentator
(Views are personal)
(Tweets @MakrandParanspe)
