Wanted: political leadership

It is now election time in India and with the poll dates nearing, we have witnessed,once more, the reshuffling of the political deck of cards. On either side of the national elections, termed the most massive democratic exercise on earth, happens the most massive political exercise - the realignment of the political alliances. Alliances - ruling and oppositon - that were concocted with the sole aim of capturing power, are now being reconsidered based on hitherto inconvenient ideologies and policies, carpets pulled from beneath the feet of allies, foes appear friendly and friends are seen with suspicion. All of this being done, again, with the sole aim of recapturing power or atleast be a part of the side with the most chances of doing it. This 5 year cycle of alliances falling apart, and re-emerging in a slightly different avatar, pre and post the polls, has come to be accepted as the norm. 

The multi party political system in India is a farce. If these various parties routinely come together based on similarities in their ideologies, then, as Cho has recently suggested, they might as well merge. I firmly believe that the third front is just that - a front to create an illusion of a third option that will quickly disintegrate after the polls by defections to either of the two camps. It is merely an exercise to further split the votes and gain a few seats so that their price tag will increase when it matters.  While the pros and cons of a multi party system over a bi-party system can be debated for any length of time, at a national level, we essentially have a two-party set up - the Congress & Cronies and BJP & Bunnies. But over the years, the reach of both these national parties have been eroded. At the core, the Congress and the BJP are run by an elite few from North Indian states. Combined with their weak regional presence, they can't quite connect to the whole of the country and hence the role of the so called regional parties has gained significance, giving rise, in its wake, to multiple king makers who call the shots on everything from the prime ministerial candidate to policy making and implementation. Every election therefore is virtually a test of strength of the various regional parties which in turn decides the clout that they will enjoy in running (away with) the country. 

On the one hand, the lack of reach of a national party/leader that rises above regional differences and reaches out to all and sundry, fostering a sense of nationalism is a worrisome trend. It highlights the lack of a national identity and could potentially sow the seeds for regional conflicts which could polarize the population along the lines of language, state or other trivial issues and seriously impede whatever development is possible. A case in point was the absence of action from the center when North Indians were being beaten up in Mumbai. A leader who could swiftly and decisively put down such unrests was clearly absent. A second case is the perennial conflict among southern states clamoring for depleting water resources that has never been resolved decisively. A direct consequence is that an absolute majority is a thing of the past and getting a consensus from the various components of the ruling coalition to pass any piece of legislation hinders progress. Good projects and policies can be delayed, modified (diluted) or may even be shelved as someone whose support is critical to keep the government in power is not happy. The party with the most critical mass (number of MPs), with an eye on strengthening their position in their respective states, will get to hog the best development projects and could result in pockets of growth and development across the country leading to an imbalance in the quality of life and hence see unnatural levels of domestic migration. Such a patchwork government at the center means that staying in power becomes the only goal for everybody in it and distributed development has to take a back seat. The smaller political outfits almost always play divisive politics as most of them are either caste based or cater to a specific votebank. Victory or failure always leads to unresolved tensions between the various denominations. 

On the upside, in a country like India, given its much touted diversity, the regional interests could be overlooked or neglected. The regional voices within a big party could be stifled in the bigger interests of the party retaining power or based on the clout of that individual within the party and hence give rise to a disconnect between the central government and the various corners of the land. This scenario can effectively be prevented by a ruling coalition which means that any discontented member could pose a threat to the rule and bring the orgy to an abrupt end. A strong regional party that understands the local needs and representing the welfare of a particular state can fill the gap and ensure that the state is well represented. 

Independent of the political set up, one thing is blindingly clear - the lack of strong leadership and vision. This has also been alluded to by Swarna here. As distressing as it is to admit, there is a dearth in leadership that is capable of bringing together the rank and file as a nation. When it comes to issues that affect the whole country like national security, resource sharing, foreign policy, we need to hear one clear voice, a voice that reaches out to all, a voice combined with a vision, a voice that is reasonable and powerful and that voice is definitely missing. There can be no two opinions on celebrating diversity across the nation for this is what characterizes India. But that said, unity in diversity can only be forged by a common pan-Indian identity that can be fostered by a leader or a party that is helmed by a good leader. We have candidates and king makers but what India badly needs are kings themselves. While I dream of a Sardar Vallabhai Patel II, I'll settle for an Obama for now.