Political battles for survival across the globe
Elections are in the air. In far-off America, incumbent Donald Trump’s second term hinges on whether his aging but formidable Democrat challenger Joe Biden can pull it off in swing states, particularly Pennsylvania. It looks like a nail-biting finish. Just as in the heartland state of Bihar, where incumbent Nitish Kumar, though propped up by Modi’s BJP, is suddenly facing an unprecedented challenge from young Tejashwi Yadav, who’s aiming to be like Korak, the son of Tarzan, replaying the deeds of his redoubtable father Lalu Prasad, with an umbrella coalition with the Congress and Left. Strikingly, whether in the US or in Bihar, the fight seems to be structured around survival issues—what policy will mean for subsistence.
Election winds are blowing in other parts of India as well, and it’s existential for politicians too. In Madhya Pradesh, ousted CM Kamal Nath is locked in a survival battle not so much with his formal opponent, the incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but with a Congress renegade, Jyotiraditya Scindia. In Karnataka too, some heavy campaigning just got over in Sira in Tumakuru district and RR Nagar in Bengaluru rural. The result may have no tangible impact on either the B S Yediyurappa government or the fortunes of the Congress or its state chief D K Shivakumar.
Nonetheless, it appears to have an aura of a survival battle, with both sides leaving no stone unturned. A victory would of course reconfirm BSY as an undisputed pan-Karnataka leader, not just a Lingayat chieftain, and may willy-nilly signify that DKS cannot stop the GoP’s slide, though judging his batting on a bad pitch may be unfair. Political signifiers aside, a deeper truth is common to all: Wealthy oligarchs and their satraps run the core democratic activity. Elections can only be fought and won by those with deep pockets. Ordinary folks can only be active as voters—else they are passive recipients.