The authors of September
T.V.R. Shenoy
The Indian Express
May 7, 1999
Title: The authors of September
Author: T.V.R. Shenoy
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: May 7, 1999
Despite all the advances in technology, the Orwellian Big Brother is
not always watching you. But the author scored a bullseye with Animal
Farm: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than
others". And never has that seemed more accurate, after the Election
Commission announced that the thirteenth General Election would only
take place in September-October - to the cheers of the opposition
parties.
Giridhar Gamang, chief minister of Orissa-cum-Member of Parliament for
Koraput in the late Lok Sabha needs to become a member of the Orissa
legislature very soon, necessitating a by-election. Or else, so
argued the Congress, the administration of the state would come to a
dead halt. The Election Commission has, I am told, agreed to hold a
by-election in June. What happened to the ongoing process of revising
the electoral rolls, that heatwave, and all the other excuses that
were being trotted out?
I am loth to describe this as favouritism, a charge I would not
willingly see flung at the gate of Nitvachan Sadan. But it is fair to
describe this as thoughtless behaviour. The question will undoubtedly
be asked: if Orissa cannot do without a properly qualified chief
minister, is it any more bearable to have a "caretaker" administration
ruling all of India for six months?
In all fairness, that is not a question which the Election Commission
can answer by itself. The responsibility for the timing of the
General Election lies with other entities as well, not excluding
Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Let me take you back to December 4, 1997, the first occasion on which
President K. R. Narayanan was forced to dissolve a Lok Sabha before it
could complete its term. There was one crucial difference between
1997 and 1999. Eighteen months ago, Rashtrapati Bhawan didn't content
itself with dissolving the eleventh Lok Sabha. That very day, it
ordered the Election Commission to ensure that the next Lok Sabha be
constituted no later than March 15,1998. On April 26,1999, by
comparison, there was no mention of dates.
Here is what Rashtrapati Bhawan said upon announcing the dissolution
of the twelfth Lok Sabha: "The official notifications in respect to
the date for the constitution of the new Lok Sabha will, in accordance
with the recommendations of the Election Commission, be published in
due course."
The same communique noted that "the President reached the conclusion
that the time had arrived for the democratic will of the people to be
ascertained once again, so that a government can be formed which can
confidently address the urgent needs of our people". Mark those words
"the urgent needs."
But they are not the only interesting facts to be noted. I would like
to draw attention to two facts in particular.
First, it is now quite well-established that Rashtrapati Bhawan simply
didn't even consider the possibility of elections down to April 25 at
the earliest - when Sonia Gandhi informed the President that she
hadn't made much progress despite being given additional time to drum
up support. The Election Commission, again in stark contrast to 1997,
wasn't even consulted. (A media report to the contrary was immediately
denied by Election Commissioner Krishnamoorthy; the Chief Election
Commissioner, then abroad, wasn't even called back.)
That is an unusual lapse; a General Election became a distinct
possibility from the moment that Jayalalitha withdrew support from the
Vajpayee ministry on April 14. It was careless, to put it mildly, for
the President and his advisers to assume that Sonia Gandhi could
conjure support for herself. (I do hope those advisers have been
pulled up for lack of foresight).
The second point to be noted is that Rashtrapati Bhawan wasn't alone
in being lulled into laziness; so too was the Election Commission. We
have heard a lot about the great process of revising the electoral
rolls. But did you know that the process began only on April 20 -
three days after the Vajpayee ministry was voted out?
Nor am I particularly convinced by the new-found fervour in some
parties to enrol eighteen year olds. The only new voters to pass
through the age-bar are those who celebrated their eighteenth
birthdays by January 1999. If you turned eighteen any later, sorry,
you are out of luck. In any given year, approximately two and half
million Indians turn eighteen; holding polls in late autumn means
anywhere between one and a half million to two million voters simply
won't be on the rolls.
If anything, a June election would have been less unfair. Early polls
would have meant lack of enfranchisement for only those eligibles who
came of age between January and June. By September-October, several
lakh more will be out of luck.
Revision of the rolls isn't the only excuse on offer. You can take
your pick of a whole catalogue of natural disasters everything from
heatwaves to the monsoons. Every party in the opposition will trot
out its pet excuse to hide its lack of preparedness. And this is
amazing - because it is the behaviour of the opposition as a whole
that is responsible for the whole mess.
As the Rashtrapati Bhawan communique makes abundantly clear, it was
the failure of the opposition to unite that led the President to throw
in the towel. Why did the opposition parties force the issue if they
weren't prepared to face the people?
I recall Arjun Singh going on television soon after Jayalalitha
withdrew support. The Prime Minister, he said, should resign
immediately (presumably without Parliament entering the picture). Why
is the Congress now prepared to let the same Prime Minister stay on in
office for six more months?
Jayalalitha cited national security as one of her reasons to leave the
BJP-led coalition - a theme picked up by several other politicians.
Have those pressing reasons suddenly become less important?
Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party unwittingly came up with the best
Metaphor. Comparing a General Election to a war, he said it takes
time for an army to gather its forces. True, but is there any excuse
for commanders who launch an attack, and only then start gathering
their powder?
It is a sad commentary on the leaders of the opposition, on the
Election Commission, and even Rashtrapati Bhawan that not one
considered even the possibility of a General Election. In persons in
their positions such lack of foresight is unfortunate.
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