Democracy cannot, and should not, be a free-for-all. Unfortunately, periodic chaos marks the styles of functioning of democracy even in the West. This is evident in both the US and UK, the leading lights of the democratic system apart from India. Consider the manner in which the Election Commission of India delayed a decision on the review of recognition of the national and regional statuses of political parties for four years by citing the excuse of the Covid19 uncertainties. Fact is that Covid19 had nothing to do with this, and it was simply a drag. The election commission failed to discharge one of its principal duties by citing this excuse. This is the way every governmental system in this country functions today. Coming to the crux of the present discussion, the CPI, the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party have lost their ‘national party’ status while the AAP of Arvind Kejriwal has gained national status as per the classification announced by the EC on Monday. The CPI deserves this knock on its head, a grand fall from it being the principal opposition in the 1950s. Overall, this scenario could change in future, depending on the rise and fall of political parties after every general election, the next being in 2024.
For one, the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee and NCP of Sharad Pawar are parties formed and run on individual whims and sans any specific ideological commitment. These parties are principally prominent in just one state each – West Bengal and Maharashtra respectively. Nor do Pawar and Banerjee have the right to claim a fan following of any significant level in any other state as is amply proven in recent elections. Attempts by these parties to spend money and buy support for them in some other states did not help much, other than for their marginal presence there. Former AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, for another, went and started a branch of his party in the Andaman Nicobar Islands Union Territory some years ago to claim a national status for his party. His aim then was reportedly the PM’s post, but he fell by the wayside and is licking the wounds inflicted on him by a charismatic YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in his native turf. NCP is in Kerala at the sweet will and help of the CPI-M by way of a quid pro quo for the help the left party gets from Pawar in Maharashtra. Like in every sector, the need for reforms in politics and governmental functioning is a matter of urgency. Any tiny regional party aspiring to rule the nation is by itself an unacceptable proposition.