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The last thing Indian democracy needs is a confrontation between major political
parties and the Election Commission. Unfortunately, that seems where we are
headed. All thanks to the reluctance of parties like the Congress and Janata Dal
to hold the much-deferred organisational elections mandated by, their respective
constitutions. This strange reluctance also suggests that these parties are more
comfortable with backroom manipulation whose sole aim is entrenching the hold of a
few individuals.
Congress presents an extreme case. It has held organisational elections twice in
the last 20 years. The last time it was held was in 1992. But the Congress
Working Committee so elected was undone within days. The then AICC president and
Prime Minister, Mr Narasimha Rao, took it into his head that the level of support
that some elected CWC members garnered raised possibilities of creating parallel
power centres within the organisation. So he had their elections annulled and had
them coopted instead as nominated members. But all these stratagems could not
guarantee him uninterrupted reign in the AICC. But his successor in office, Mr
Sitaram Kesri, has learnt nothing from these unedifying episodes. He had taken
over as interim president with the implicit brief that he should pave the way for
a duly elected president to take over - be it him or someone else.
Mr Kesri has done everything to the contrary. Twice he has asked the BC for
postponement of its deadlines, which was granted. Third time around he has decided
to defy the BC by setting a unilateral schedule. for organisational elections.
The Janata Dal, too, seems to be following suit with dark murmurs that the BC
should not interfere in the, internal matters of the parties. Neither party can
hope to gain public sympathy on the issue for two reasons. One, because the BC
has accommodated their requests for extensions more than reasonably. Two, their
repeated inability to honour the deadlines speaks of a lack of seriousness or
willingness to internalise the agenda of inner party democracy. And It is not
just the parties or even the BC that will be hurt in a scenario of confrontation.
The victim will be Indian democracy, no less.
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