By Srinivasan K. Rangachary
Prime minister Manmohan Singh, it seems, has lost the midas touch – the effect with which he led the UPA government in the first term, scoring one success after another. Apart from leading some breakthrough policy initiatives, the Prime Minister had surprised political pundits by signing the landmark nuclear deal with the US at the cost of Left support apart from leading the coalition to an impressive victory in the 2009 general elections.
But Dr Singh, who had emerged as an icon of the Indian middle class, appears to have lost the script mid- way through UPA- II. The sheen has gone and the Manmohan Singh government is battling a flurry of scams, soaring food inflation, revolt by a section of the civil society, warring cabinet ministers causing humiliation to the government and diminishing the authority of the Prime Minister.
The ill- health of Congress president Sonia Gandhi has only compounded the PM’s woes. Unfortunately for the ruling coalition, the timing of Sonia’s absence from the action came when it was fighting to contain the Anna Hazare- led movement against corruption. Sonia’s absence forced an apolitical Singh to rely on his senior cabinet ministers to resolve the government- Hazare spat. But their failure to contain Hazare not only caused a loss of face for the government and the Congress but also ensured that the social activist continued to pose problems. It became evident when Hazare appealed for not voting for the Congress, ahead of the crucial assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The question arises why the the Oxbridge- educated Prime Minister – who is known as the architect of the economic reforms in India – lost control over the wheels.
The foremost reason is the utter lack of political management.
Singh’s lack of resolve to stop disgraced telecom minister A. Raja, the mishandling of Hazare’s agitation, rising inflation and the insensitive poverty benchmark betrays an inefficient leadership. The root cause of the problem, according to some analysts, lies in the diarchial system fashioned by Sonia in 2004. While Singh ran the government, she oversaw political management.
But the system had inherent pitfalls which have now landed the government and the party in a mess.
UPA- I had a coordination committee comprising the PM, Sonia and leaders from all coalition partners. The panel met at regular intervals to discuss key social, political, international and economic issues. But no such committee is there in the UPA- II and the politically astute Left parties have been replaced with a cantankerous Mamata Banerjee.
Another reason is the widening disconnect between the party and the PMO which has become even more telling since 2010, with some senior cabinet ministers betraying prime ministerial ambitions and some senior Congress leaders raising ‘ Rahul as PM’ slogans – all undermining Singh’s authority. Senior Congress leaders are concerned that the image deficit may adversely impact the party’s prospects in the 2014 general elections.
Singh also lacks a strong PMO, which is manned by his own hand- picked bureaucrats, most of whom lack political acumen.
The PM has no eagle- eyed official like Brajesh Mishra, who as the national security adviser ( NSA) to Atal Bihari Vajpayee managed the contradictions.
Former I. B. chief and NSA M. K. Narayanan, who had helped the government and the party in back- channel operations, has been shunted as West Bengal governor. His replacement – Shiv Shankar Menon – robbed the PMO of political guidance.
Further, the transfer of Prithviraj Chavan, MoS in the PMO, as Maharashtra chief minister was also ill- advised. Chavan, a senior leader had good rapport with 10, Janpath and had acted as a bridge between the party and the government. Chavan’s replacement V. Narayanasamy lacks political finesse.
In order to tackle the drift in the government and do some PR for the government, the Prime Minister had set up a GoM to brief the media on a weekly basis. But so far the GoM has not been able to effectively counter the propaganda against the government.
Miffed with Singh’s reluctance to interact with senior editors more often, a senior party leader said: ” The middle class is PM’s constituency. He should take care of them. We will manage the rest of the country.” Some others in the party blame it on the prime minister’s bureaucratic approach to problems.
The all- important cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) does not have a wily politician well- versed in Hindi heartland politics and who can deal with the likes of Ramdev and Hazare.Apart from the PM, the CCPA comprises Pranab Mukherjee, Sudip Bandopadhya (east), A. K. Antony, Chidambaram, S. M. Krishna and T. R. Baalu ( all south). Incidentally, it was the CCPA which had taken the controversial decision to send cabinet ministers to Delhi airport to meet Ramdev. INAV