One would have expected a better coordinated, strategy from the BJP in the on going race for the President of India. But it went wrong from day 1, when the coffin-dancer Sushma Swaraj unnecessarily ran down every probable candidate - especially the Vice President and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Hamid Ansari.
Then the BJP lost the initiative, by going into a huddle and afraid to put out their own candidate, afraid that whoever is suggested as their candidate would draw righteous flak from the Congress and its allies. An unnecessary and unasked for self-goal by the BJP.
Sensing an opportunity Jayalalitha and Naveen Patnaik moved in quickly in a display of (brash) leadership, by either instigating or proposing the name of P.A. Sangma as their Presidential choice. This is not withstanding the fact that P.A. Sangma nominated himself not chiefly as a mature, sagacious, strictly-by-the-book leader but as merely a titular figure to satisfy the aspirations of the tribal people of India.
Mamata Banerjee who could not stomach being upstaged by the 2 Chief Ministers, whom she doesn’t accept as best among equals, tried her own tango with Mulayam Singh Yadav by proposing the name of APJ Abdul Kalam and even worse, that of the PM, Manmohan Singh. If she’d thought that Mrs. Gandhi would be as vulnerable to her tantrums as the PM Manmohan Singh proved to be in the case of Railway Budget, she thought wrong. This Mrs. Gandhi showed Mamata Banerjee (and us) that she is indeed made of as good steel as the previous Mrs. Gandhi.
There is a lesson here for Manmohan Singh who now seems destined to be our PM for the next 2 years at least - If he hadn’t bowed down to the tantrums of Mamata Banerjee at the time of the Railway Budget, he and his party would not have had to face this embarrassment of what is essentially critique of ‘no-confidence’ in him.
Mulayam Singh Yadav is too wily a politician to be snagged in the tangled and impulsive web of Mamata Banerjee. He quickly distanced himself and even turned around to pass his own critique of ‘no-confidence’ on Mamata Banerjee’s judgement. An unwitting and uninvited self-goal by Mamata Banerjee.
The Congress sensed a coup, declared Pranab Mukherjee as the candidate, which effectively cooked the BJP's goose. APJ Abdul Kalam, keeping in tune with his own words that he, Kalam will only stand as a consensus candidate, threw in his hat, once Pranabda was declared as the Congress candidate. Score one for the Congress.
For the last couple of days, the BJP has no candidate of its own with APJ Abdul Kalam refusing to budge. Even worse, a couple of its allies, like Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena were ready and willing to back Pranabda. Score one more for the Congress.
Still the BJP could have retrieved the situation with a brilliant tactical move. By agreeing to back Pranabda and in return asking the Congress to favour the BJP with the first choice of Vice-President. At this juncture, the Congress would probably have gone along. If the BJP had pulled it off, the scores would have evened out with the Congress. Even better, they’d have scored a penalty goal on their upstart regional allies (or possible allies) like Navin Patnaik or Jayalalitha and even on Nitish Kumar and the Shiv Sena.
But that couldn't happen because the BJP irrationally invited Subramanian Swamy to their 'party' a few months back. To top that blunder, they allowed Subramanian Swamy to take the lead in buttonholing a suitable candidate. Allowing Swamy to read the riot act is to invite a riot - and that's exactly what has happened. After hemming, hawing, blowing hot and cold, the BJP is a pathetic sight with their decision to endorse P.A. Sangma as ‘their’ candidate. Score one more for the Congress. And a penalty goal from its regional allies, present and prospective.
Whichever way the BJP tries to paper it up - they've lost the leadership, the initiative, the upper-hand, the elder brother status vis-a-vis the state/regional parties. This is going to hurt BJP and India bad in 2014.
Unless -
If the situation arises and regional parties come together to form a Govt. at the Centre in 2014, the Congress would unleash its power broker politics in which once again it has proved it cannot be trounced.
Ever heard of the United (Af)Front government which was a hotch-potch of regional satraps lording over H.D. Dewe Gowda and later over the I.K. Gujral regimes and how it unravelled?
Go India, Go!
Then the BJP lost the initiative, by going into a huddle and afraid to put out their own candidate, afraid that whoever is suggested as their candidate would draw righteous flak from the Congress and its allies. An unnecessary and unasked for self-goal by the BJP.
Sensing an opportunity Jayalalitha and Naveen Patnaik moved in quickly in a display of (brash) leadership, by either instigating or proposing the name of P.A. Sangma as their Presidential choice. This is not withstanding the fact that P.A. Sangma nominated himself not chiefly as a mature, sagacious, strictly-by-the-book leader but as merely a titular figure to satisfy the aspirations of the tribal people of India.
Mamata Banerjee who could not stomach being upstaged by the 2 Chief Ministers, whom she doesn’t accept as best among equals, tried her own tango with Mulayam Singh Yadav by proposing the name of APJ Abdul Kalam and even worse, that of the PM, Manmohan Singh. If she’d thought that Mrs. Gandhi would be as vulnerable to her tantrums as the PM Manmohan Singh proved to be in the case of Railway Budget, she thought wrong. This Mrs. Gandhi showed Mamata Banerjee (and us) that she is indeed made of as good steel as the previous Mrs. Gandhi.
There is a lesson here for Manmohan Singh who now seems destined to be our PM for the next 2 years at least - If he hadn’t bowed down to the tantrums of Mamata Banerjee at the time of the Railway Budget, he and his party would not have had to face this embarrassment of what is essentially critique of ‘no-confidence’ in him.
Mulayam Singh Yadav is too wily a politician to be snagged in the tangled and impulsive web of Mamata Banerjee. He quickly distanced himself and even turned around to pass his own critique of ‘no-confidence’ on Mamata Banerjee’s judgement. An unwitting and uninvited self-goal by Mamata Banerjee.
The Congress sensed a coup, declared Pranab Mukherjee as the candidate, which effectively cooked the BJP's goose. APJ Abdul Kalam, keeping in tune with his own words that he, Kalam will only stand as a consensus candidate, threw in his hat, once Pranabda was declared as the Congress candidate. Score one for the Congress.
For the last couple of days, the BJP has no candidate of its own with APJ Abdul Kalam refusing to budge. Even worse, a couple of its allies, like Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena were ready and willing to back Pranabda. Score one more for the Congress.
Still the BJP could have retrieved the situation with a brilliant tactical move. By agreeing to back Pranabda and in return asking the Congress to favour the BJP with the first choice of Vice-President. At this juncture, the Congress would probably have gone along. If the BJP had pulled it off, the scores would have evened out with the Congress. Even better, they’d have scored a penalty goal on their upstart regional allies (or possible allies) like Navin Patnaik or Jayalalitha and even on Nitish Kumar and the Shiv Sena.
But that couldn't happen because the BJP irrationally invited Subramanian Swamy to their 'party' a few months back. To top that blunder, they allowed Subramanian Swamy to take the lead in buttonholing a suitable candidate. Allowing Swamy to read the riot act is to invite a riot - and that's exactly what has happened. After hemming, hawing, blowing hot and cold, the BJP is a pathetic sight with their decision to endorse P.A. Sangma as ‘their’ candidate. Score one more for the Congress. And a penalty goal from its regional allies, present and prospective.
Whichever way the BJP tries to paper it up - they've lost the leadership, the initiative, the upper-hand, the elder brother status vis-a-vis the state/regional parties. This is going to hurt BJP and India bad in 2014.
Unless -
- Jayalalitha is found guilty in the on-going disproportionate assets case;
- Mulayam/Akilesh's sheen wears off in 2 years;
- Mamata really self destructs as she threatens to do so often;
- B.S. Yeddiyurapa comes around on his knees;
- Narendra Modi finds acceptance outside Gujarat; and
- YS Jaganmohan Reddy doesn't arrive at a compromise with the Congress;
If the situation arises and regional parties come together to form a Govt. at the Centre in 2014, the Congress would unleash its power broker politics in which once again it has proved it cannot be trounced.
Ever heard of the United (Af)Front government which was a hotch-potch of regional satraps lording over H.D. Dewe Gowda and later over the I.K. Gujral regimes and how it unravelled?
Go India, Go!
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