There is something deliciously ironical about the BJP - once as north Indian an entity as butter chicken - being propelled to power by regional groupings from the south. Amidst what seems the split verdict of the 12th general election, political parties - should they choose to recognise it - will detect a message from the Indian voter.Sheer size, a heightened sense of provincial identity and the uniform debunking of every proclaimed ideology make it impossible for any one party, any one overwhelming idea to rule all of India - at least in the immediate future. The upshot is obviously a fractured mandate, a Lok Sabha divided even more tenuously than its immediate predecessor. In the 11th Lok Sabha, the Congress and the United Front (UF) together comprised some 330 MPs. In the new Lok Sabha, the treasury and opposition benches will be almost equal in strength. It stands to reason that since the UF regime could barely function, the new House too will only produce a prolonged period of non-governance. Once again, the passage of even relatively minor pieces of legislation could be reduced to intense haggling. Once again, discord could come in the way of discussion. Once again India could sigh in anguish.It would be both facile and futile to react to this probability with cynicism. Cynicism may be an arresting option - but it cannot solve problems. The very tools of compromise and adjustment which political parties have put to use while sculpting pre-poll alliances can be even better deployed in Parliament. It is one of the beauties of democracy that, with a slight effort, an apparent weakness can become a remarkable strength. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}The seemingly bipolar Lok Sabha India is faced with has the potential to unite the nation in a manner a Lok Sabha dominated by one party may never be able to. For almost any business to be concluded successfully, the House will have to work in harmony. Consensus, oft-repeated and oft-abused as it has been in Indian politics, will have to become an article of faith. Otherwise the Lok Sabha will be paralysed as never before. Truly, beyond the common minimum programme which the ruling coalition will put into shape, what the Lok Sabha needs is a minimum common programme - one which no MP, in fact no Indian, can have any quarrel with. In effect, the new MPs can drive the Lok Sabha into a cul-de-sac. Alternatively, they can come to terms with the reality that democracy is a two way street - to be travelled on with the aid of that extraordinary engine called compromise.The incoming government could also draw from the experience of 1991. When P. V. Narasimha Rao took oath as prime minister, he too did not command a majority and was dependent on "constructive support" - "constructive non-opposition", if you prefer - from non-Congress parties. This was the period in which the word "consensus" entered the political lexicon of contemporary India. This was the moment for a bold new economic initiative. This was the time when a nation ravaged by sectarian conflict tended to its wounds. In two years, Rao had converted his legislative minority into a majority in an audacious exercise of mergers and acquisitions. This bred a complacency within the Congress government which ultimately proved its undoing. Economic reforms began to flounder, the factionalism within the ruling party resurfaced, the Opposition grew bitter and distrusting. India's honeymoon with itself was over.Now fate has bestowed upon India another opportunity to alter the adversarial paradigm of politics and governance. A leading role will have to be played by the new prime minister. For a start, he must strive to avoid the skulduggery for which the average citizen has developed such a distaste that even a politician of the profundity and merit of Rao finds himself isolated, bereft of popular sympathy. The prime minister must also emphasise the eclectic nature of policy making. The relationship between a government and its opposition is inherently complementary. This is easily forgotten in periods of brute majorities - such as the '80s, when the Congress seemed to believe the Lok Sabha was an extension of the Gandhi household. It would be wise to reinvent the wheel and bring back into currency those ideals and parliamentary conventions which the founding fathers of the Republic of India cherished. Only a Lok Sabha truly representative of India - in all its variety, contradictions and charming confusion - can do that. In sum, the era of big parties failed India. It introduced what political scientists disparage as "cabinet dictatorship". The legislature was reduced to a cipher. There was little need for informed debate or ideation as Parliament became the country's most expensive rubber stamp - the real decisions being taken in South Block. Yet, all this could be history. As the age of coalitions comes into its own, so could Parliament. This is the challenge before the 12th Lok Sabha - the challenge of destiny.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Mar 16, 1998--- ENDS ---
