A new era of politics

The results of assembly election in 5 states came as no surprise. It has pushed the journey of Indian polity into the territory of a post-congress era. The long-held dream of "congress-mukt Bharat" seen and shown by BJP is fast becoming a reality. Thus, time has come for congress to take a decisive action.

When I look at Congress, I find it is not so bad as it is portrayed by the Media. It has some experienced good leaders like Shashi Tharoor, Jyotiraditya Schindhia, Ajay Maken, Sonia Gandhi, A.K. Antony to name a few. In fact, BJP minus Modi faces a serious dearth of leadership and intellect. PM himself has accepted this difficulty in finding suitable ministerial candidates within his party. Please don't count me leaders like Subramaniyam Swami who asks Indian Muslims to go to Pakistan. Also, I do not consider leaders like Rajnath Singh who considers Modi as first Indian ruler after 800 years exposing his intellectual impotency in understanding the idea of India.

A deeper analysis of political and economic paradigm reveals that all parties follow the similar economic ideology. They all cover the same ground, walking in the same direction, pacing at the same speed. Therefore from the economic point of view, it does not make much difference on which party is ruling the country. However, A rule by congress runs the risk of corruption. Similarly, a rule by BJP runs the risk of communalism. And a rule by AAP or regional parties runs the risk of popularism. Now it is up to us, which one we want to choose. Corruption or Communalism or populism.

One more striking trend in this election was the end of the brief era of coalition politics. The earliest coalition was formed in Kerala in 1967. However, this trend took roots at the national level only after 1989 election. Since then, It became a routine at both the level. As a result states like UP could never get a stable government throughout the 90's. However, technology, the internet, and new age media have changed the way elections are fought and won. Nowadays, the ballot box is a mere formality. Real elections are won and lose on the social platform and media studios. It has become a game of perception management. Whichever party manages to dominate the social media or woo national media, that party gets a wave formed which catapult it to the top. Thus, a new trend of an absolute majority has replaced the era of coalition politics.

However, We are yet to see any increased pace of reforms under this new trend. It left us wondering if the rationale of citing the coalition compulsion for the slow pace of development was a distraction tactics or a reality. Anyway, the next this train stops is at Uttar Pradesh Junction. It is said that train to Delhi goes through Lucknow. As of now, it is difficult to say which way the camel will sit in UP. Let us keep our fingers crossed and let us utilize this time to decide on the dilemma of corruption vs communalism vs populism.