By Brij Bhardwaj
Are we heading for a mid-term election? This has become a subject of debate after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh accused the opposition, particularly Bhartiya Janata party, of trying to destabilise the Government so that the present term of the UPA Government could be cut short and fresh poll held in which the main party in opposition BJP could come to power. An unlikely scenario, but the fact that UPA led Government has suffered several blows and is virtually in limbo at present can not be ignored.
The unfortunate part is that many of the wounds are self inflicted and the UPA Government is suffering not because of what the opposition is doing or has done, but because the UPA leaders in the first instance allowed the former Telecom Minister A Raja to amend twist and flout all norms while granting licences for allotment of Two G spectrum. He not only ignored the advise to follow the auction route while allocating the spectrum which was given at 2001 prices in 2008 but also changed the dates for applications. He also gave arbitrary permissions to companies by allotting them spectrum even after the due date had expired.
In doing so he ignored Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s advice to make the process of allotment fair and transparent but also paid no heed to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s advice to follow the auction route. The Finance Minister and Prime Minister can be accused of not having insisted that the licences issued arbitrarily should be cancelled when the scandal first broke out. What followed subsequently is a sad story of UPA Government of acting only under pressure of Supreme Court and under the onslaught launched by opposition after the irregularities were pointed out in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report presented to the Parliament.
All through this Government appeared to be doing too little and too late and the result is that the controversy surrounding the scam continues to haunt them even though a former Minister, senior bureaucrats, top officials of industry are behind bars and Supreme Court is monitoring the probe being carried out by the CBI. The question being asked is if this could lead to cutting short the term of UPA Government and a fresh poll. This looks unlikely at present as no political party is ready for elections.
To start with, the main opposition party BJP despite its tall claims is yet to put its house in order to get into election mode and it has no candidate for Prime Ministership. An intense struggle is going on in its ranks for occupying the top place. There are claimants like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and old war horse L.K Advani who is about to start on one more Yatra to make his party aware that he is not keen to retire yet from active politics. BJP also is yet to establish itself as a major force in U.P which is necessary for it to improve its strength in Lok Sabha. It is also short of allies as most of them who supported them in their dream run when Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister have deserted them.
The situation is no better for UPA. Congress Party continues to rely on Sonia Gandhi’s charisma who is yet to recover fully after she had undergone major surgery. Dr Manmohan Singh who was a winner in the previous poll looks like a tired old man unable to control his Ministers who by their actions have managed to tarnish his image for integrity and honesty. His reputation as an economist who transformed Indian economy through liberalisation has also suffered for his failure to handle problems posed by inflation and rising prices of food items.
Many in the party were hoping that before the poll time, Rahul Gandhi will be able to establish himself in the image of his father and lead the charge when elections are held in 2014 . The young Gandhi made an impact in U.P to start with, but his subsequent attempts at reviving fortunes of party in Bihar or other States have just not worked. As such there is little enthusiasm in the Congress for either change of leadership or going for fresh poll. In addition there is an ever present factor of fear among the members of Lok Sabha who would always like to push the date of elections as far as possible given its uncertainties and expenses involved. So despite some shouting matches on T.V channels, exchange of charges, the prospect of a mid term poll appear to be a distant possibility unless UPA led Government pulls some more surprises and inflicts few more blows to bring about its own destruction. [NPA]