Satraps arrive with a bang
As the recent assembly elections proved yet again, the
two national parties – the Congress and the BJP – are losing their
spheres of influence to the politically and socially savvy regional
parties
THE
two national parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, are
facing an uncertain future in the national polity as their geographical
and social reach has shrunk with 14 Indian States with 410 seats of Lok
Sabha having an overwhelming presence of regional forces. The two
confront each other in only 117 seats in nine smaller States without a
presence of a third force. The regional parties thus would not allow
them either a leading role in any combination that could come up for
forming the government at the Centre or allow them an opportunity to
call shots. The two parties are an anathema to regional forces founded
on ethnic aspirations of groups deprived of a share in power, as the
leadership in both the parties is dominated by urban-oriented,
western-educated professionals and middle class, leaving no space for
the emerging political class.
Regional parties have understood the basic urges and ambitions of the classes
whose causes they espouse. They are not wedded to any particular ideology
except for taking power away from urban middle class.
The
recent assembly polls give enough indication of the bleak future the
two national parties face. The Congress and the BJP could not get even
20 per cent of the seats in the new Uttar Pradesh assembly while the two
regional parties, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party,
grabbed more than 75 per cent of 403 seats. The national parties were
reduced to taking solace from their victories in the small states of
Manipur and Goa, each holding two seats in the Lok Sabha. The split
verdict in Uttarakhand has left both parties uncertain and in Punjab,
the Congress could not defeat the Akali Dal though the sentiment was
against the incumbent party. Circumstances were right but not the
leading person for the Congress.
The
Congress and the BJP could not break away from their traditional
electoral strategies of luring poor voters with crumbs of personal
benefits without any scheme for their empowerment. It clearly indicated
that neither was aware of the metamorphosis the deprived class has
undergone since the start of flow of resources to rural areas, with
agriculture and allied vocations deriving its benefits. The spread of
economic comforts led to an arousal of political ambitions. The deprived
classes could not enter the leadership structures of the national
parties as those holding controls were not willing to give them a due
share. The emergent classes had no alternative but to form their own
political set-ups.......READMORE : http://www.gfilesindia.com
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