THREE governments have been voted out – lock, stock and barrel — in an impressive assertion of the democratic system of governance. The Congress gained Kerala and the BJP West Bengal, while Tamil Nadu produced a hung assembly. Elsewhere, in Assam the BJP retained its position for the third term; and the alliance of a regional party and the BJP remained unassailable in tiny Puducherry. The Left citadel of Kerala crumbled like a pack of cards, its assembly presence reducing to one-third this time compared to the 2021 results. The chief ministers of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin, were humbled in their own constituencies, while Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan trailed in the counting till the first six rounds, after which he regained composure. Such was the resolute manner in which the democratic process unleashed a storm this time.
This bodes well for democracy. Governments must change; and so should leaders, as in the United States where law does not allow a President to hold office for more than two terms. In India, no rule binds politicians, who have formed into a class by themselves. These men go on and on till they end up in their graves. Banerjee and MK Stalin governed their states in moderately good ways and have not faced huge corruption or other scandals. Their undoing, in part, was the dynasty tilt they gave to their governance and parties– the Trinamool Congress and the DMK. Banerjee, a spinster, hoisted her nephew Abhishek Banerjee to be her second-in-command. He is believed to have handpicked the candidates for the TMC, with a view to eventually taking full control. This caused huge heartburns in the party. The Special Intensive Revision of the voters list by the election commission eliminated some 9 million “fake” names. This was mostly to the disadvantage of the TMC. A section of Muslims turned against the ruling party with a senior community leader breaking away from Banerjee and forming his own party. Time is running out for the 71-year-old leader, while the BJP used every stick in its armour to humble her.
In Tamil Nadu, young actor Vijay whipped up the aspirations of youths with the formation of a new party, Tamilaka Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and drew massive crowds. This was a manifestation of the people’s urge to see a change after they lived under the rules of the DMK and AIADMK for two generations. Stalin’s undoing was also the way he sought to promote his son Udayanidhi in the party and the ministry at the expense of other senior party leaders. While Stalin was encouraged in politics by his father M Karunanidhi, times are changing and people are more assertive now. The imperious styles of Stalin, as also Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala, too proved to be their undoing. They conducted themselves in ways fitting the Raja-Praja culture. The Congress has reasons to cheer: the party got a third southern state under its grip, while it failed miserably in Assam as also Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
