 |
||
|
||
|
||
Punjab is today celebrating its moment of pride. Nearly two decades
after its first brush with terrorism, democracy has made a robust
return in the state. Indeed, there cannot have been a more
overwhelming demonstration of the people's mandate than the triumph
of the Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal after a gap of 12 years in an
election with a 65 per cent turnout. Even the victory of the
Surjit Singh Barnala-led Shiromani Akali Dal in 1985, following the
historic Rajiv Longowal pact, was not as spectacular. Mr Parkash
Singh Badal, leader of the new SAD-BJP alliance, had then proposed
the name of Mr Barnala for chief minister. Today it is balle,
balle, all the way for Mr Badal, who takes over as chief minister
for the third time. The SAD-BJP alliance, which stormed to victory
winning three-fourths of the seats, has done so on the promise of
delivering a "corruption free, people-oriented government" which
will represent all Punjabis Sikhs and Hindus. But, the 1997
assembly elections in Punjab will be remembered as much for its
anti-incumbency mood as for its unprecedented mandate.
Unfortunately for the Congress, neither the restoration of
normality in the state nor the assassination of chief minister
Beant Singh made the desired impact in face of widespread charges
of corruption. The party's 'peace card' too found few takers with
reports that thousands of officers of the Punjab police were facing
trial in the various courts for excesses committed during
successive Congress regimes and the intervening periods of
President's rule.
Indeed, the Congress party has only itself to blame for its dismal
defeat. Congress president Sitaram Kesri no doubt had the party's
interest in mind when he replaced Mr Harcharan Singh Brar with Ms
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, but the changeover occurred too close to the
elections for it to have tangible effect. If anything it
intensified factionalism in the state unit leading to the party
leadership having to expel Mr Brar and some other Congress leaders.
A divided house is hardly the best state in which to face an
election. In this case, the party also lost its ally on election
eve. So sure was the leadership of being able to win most of the
seats on their own that they decided they didn't need the support
of the Bahujan Samaj Party. The upshot of all this was that the BSP
went over to the Akali Dal (Mann) even as the Congress's informal
alliance with the Communist Party of India ran into trouble over
seat-sharing. The strategy of going it all alone was decidedly
foolhardy for a party whose popularity was obviously on the
decline. More so in an era dominated by coalition politics. The
SAD-BJP alliance, which cashed in on the misfortunes of the
Congress, has now to prove that it has more to offer than its
platform of anti-Congressism. The ticklish question of the Anandpur
Sahib resolution has been shelved for the moment by the Akalis and
so has the repeated condemnation by the BJP of the Akalis burning
Article 25 of ,the Constitution. But the fact that the Akalis by
themselves command an absolute majority in a House of 117 might
prompt younger radical ,Akali leaders to assert themselves. Should
that happen, the alliance could run into rough weather,
jeopardising Punjab's hard-won peace.
|
||
|
||
|
||