Did Sheila go wrong or did the voters get it wrong?

                                               Did Sheila go wrong or did the voters get it wrong?

The rhetorical question, coming after the results  had sounded the death knell of Congress in Delhi may raise the hackles of the winning parties if it insinuates that the verdict has gone wrong. That is not the intention. This is more an attempt to understand how after three terms as a reasonably good and honest Chief Minister, Sheila has failed to earn the trust of the Delhi citizens for a fourth term. The question thus relates to where did she go wrong and how did the voters get her wrong. In fact all TV channels and newspapers have confined themselves to discussions on what Delhi defeat means for the Congress party in the 2014 General elections, but none of them has felt the need to point to the good work done by Sheila that has given a distinct facelift to Delhi. Her innovative Bhagidari scheme to promote a meaningful partnership between the Government and citizens, her Samajik Suvidha programme  to re-engineer the delivery process of service and benefits to the people so that these are accessible to them with the least inconvenience, her Ladli scheme for the protection and development of girl child, orphan Girls & poor Widow's daughter's marriage, Widow's Pension etc – all these had brought an inclusive dimension to Delhi development and yet all these have failed to win the trust of the delhi-ites. Here was a CM who was awarded the Best Chief Minister of India, by Journalist Association of India in 2008 and shortlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award but today the Media discussions (with made-to-order spokespersons) are showing her to be a failure to make a point that voters are suffering from Sheila-fatigue..

What had gone wrong? Sheila had been the target of attack after the real success of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. One of the corruption charges against Sheila Dixit blamed her for irregularities in imported equipment for street lighting in the city during the games. This and a few other charges filed by the opposition party against her were all dropped by the Lokayukta. Barring one case that is still to be decided, Sheila had had an excellent record.  She could not be faulted for corruption or inefficiency nor for tha matter any of her six ministers.. But in today’s changed social mood, anyone falsely implicated is guilty even if the courts exonerate the person.

It is no rocket science to understand that Sheila’s fall is a spin-off of the indictment meted out to the Central Government for the last three years. Hard as the BJP tried to nail the PM and the FM(Chidambaram) of corruption and paralyzed the Parliament demanding their resignations, the highest court of the land gave both of them a clean chit. For the public and the Media which today considers itself as Super Judge, the two and with them the entire Congress were seen as a bunch of corrupt crooks and the whole of India under the Congress government was seen to be for the corrupt, of the corrupt and by the corrupt.  The mud and muck thrown indiscriminately at the PM’s white Kurta Pyjama and that of the FM’s ‘mundu’(veshti) had left such a strong stain that all the waters of Jamuna could not wash them away. No wonder Sheila, the Delhi Congress Chief Minister was also wafted through the corruption wave to be swept off the polling booths though she was not a part of any of these criminalities that the Congress at the Centre had been allegedly charged.

Delhi, being the Capital and the seat of Parliament is a hotbed of political intrigues and intolerance. All the Bills relating to FDI, GST, Insurance, NCTC placed in the Parliament by the ruling party were torpedoed by the opposition resulting in (a) policy paralysis and (b) rise in price of essential commodities. Congress had no strategy to counter the opposition’s repeated attempts to make Parliament non -functional and received the ignominy of a corrupt and paralyzed administration for the major part of its second innings.  All these contributed to inflation and humungous rise in essential commodities. No one from the Congress except a belated article in Times of India by Chidambaram questioned who was responsible for stalling the FDI and causing inflation. Delhi like the rest of the country was held to ransom by traders who hoarded onions, the essential vegetable for all North Indian dishes. As the onion prices rocketed to Rs 100/kilo, the writing on the wall became clear for Sheila’s government. While the onion-less preparation spared the tear ducts of the women at home, the pathetic tears of Delhi Government caught in a tussle between the opposition and the centre flowed unabated. The stale food minus the onion aroma in the Delhi homes was hard to digest leaving Sheila and her government weak and tottery. ‘No onion, no Sheila’ became the new slogan of delhi-ites. It will be interesting to know that after the elections when I asked the onion vendor whether he intends bringing down the price since the elections were over, he replied with embarassment: ‘Haan, memsahib, kal BJP aane ke badh’( Yes, madam, tomorrow after BJP comes to power).  One does not have to be a political pundit to understand the significance of the above remark.

The arrival of AAP(Aam admi party)  further changed the political equations. For the first time, Delhi-ites came face to face with the truism ‘Two is company, three is a crowd’. Aam Admi party started with a bang, painting the entire political class black almost recalling Johnson’s comment that politics is the last refuge of the scoundrels. Having drummed up enough vitriol against all political leaders every week through strategically planned press conferences, Arvind Kejrewall did not feel the need to file a single FIR against anyone of his targeted corrupt individuals.  The idea was to shoot and scoot. With Anna Hazare having earlier laid the foundation for anti -establishment slogans, it was easy for Arvind Kejrewall to capture the hearts and souls of the youth and middle class as the Champion of morality and integrity. While the Congress and BJP were at their sparring best crossing each other on all Parliamentary bills with ‘You propose, I dispose’ strategy, AAP was working its way into the hearts of the Middle class with a slogan that they are not for change from hand to lotus, but for an alternative broom to make a clean sweep of the two main contenders. It captured the imagination of the middle class and the youth. A new trend, a new beginning, a new third force- by wearing honesty on the sleeves. But its policy to seek public views on all decisions is fraught with danger. The happenings in Egypt and now Thailand give us an index of what happens when democractic govenrnance is not only  for the aam admi but it is to be determined by the aam admi. This may result ina situation as seen in the Aesop’s Fable of the Father, Son and the Donkey.

The Congress and the BJP were fighting to stall the rise of a third front of state chieftains, but failed to notice the gradual rise of a third force in Delhi. The sweep of the broom, and the kindling of nostalgia through Gandhi-topi with ‘I am aam admi’ written on its side had already raised enough political dust. The padayatra of AAP was unique unlike the padayatras attempted by the two political parties as AAP members trudged through slums and through middleclass mohallas and struck a chord with the aam admis. Congress was still in slumber while the BJP was quick to realize that it was being upstaged as all its  strategies to stall the government from functioning had  been swept away by the broom.

They were quick to respond by aggressive campaigning and by using the social media. A pity that Congress continued to be in the anti- diluvian age, mewing from political platforms where the crowd on the dais seemed to be more than on the ground. It is a paradox that the highly educated cabinet Ministers of Dr. Manmohan Singh did not recognize the power of the social media. As for the mother-son duo, the less said the better. By the time the Congress realized it, it was too late. Sheila also suffered by being neither a Twitterati nor a blogger. Whatever was attempted feebly by the Congress was- to use the frequently used media phrase- too little and too late.

Last but not the least was the desertion of the great guns of Congress to campaign for Sheila. Sheila is to be commended that she soldiered on bravely all alone as she knew that the reluctant wannabe PM had neither the language nor the voice to inspire the poor and the marginalized classes nor the intellectual stature to make an impact on the youth and the middle class nor the rasping and abrasive vocabulary to train the guns on the opposition. Sheila’s listing of her government’s achievements was met with mute resentment as Delhi-ites have been used to state pampering and thereby demanding for more. The public could see Sheila’s great efforts at developing Delhi- the metro, the swanky bus fleet, 24x7 power supply(with electricity rates far below those of all other states in India), new universities, new schemes to keep with inclusive development.etc. But contrary to Berkley’s theory, for Delhi citizens, seeing is not perceiving as perception is always derived from sensory processes. When the olfactory senses were denied the aroma of onion, perception changed from all time high development to all time low deprivation.

Even though Sheila had given three state universities for Delhi youth, the DU’s introduction of a four year degree programme without any plan to implement the Foundation courses alienated the youth. The Ministry of HRD would not stop this madness of DU and the DU student elections were a pointer that the wind was blowing away from the Congress. No surprise, the result is predicted to be a ‘hand-wash’, and a good sweep by the broom to make it easy for the lotus to bloom. The present VC should be given the title “Vibhareeda Bhushan’

Can Congress bounce back? - a million dollar question. Yes it can if it gives up its dependence on the cow and the calf and turn to honest young politicians  with proven ability to articulate through social media and showcase its achievements, its new strategies to overcome the enforced policy paralysis and its implementable action for inclusive development. Congress has so far banked only on emotional appeal to aam admi with vague promises that got stalled at the delivery stages; he (aam  admi)now demands a more rational appeal.  It has to address itself to the restlessness of the youth and the ever-whining Middle Class.  Modi- bashing is not the answer.  Creating fear phobia among the Muslims is not the key to victory. Rahul is not a match for anyone, leave aside Modi. Congress has to name a new dynamic leader as its PM candidate whose integrity, honesty, civilized and cultured manners, intellectual strength and above all the ability to articulate can make an impact on all sections of society. Can Sheila fit the bill even if she loses Delhi? Can she get the Voters right if she is nominated as PM designate of the Congress party? Can Congressdepend on Digvijaya though at times he seems to be carried away to speak abrasively like the BJP. Can they support young faces like Scindia, Pilot,Deoras  or Jairam ramesh to connect with people of all age groups, all castes and religions? Age should not be a deciding factor to rule out Sheila or Digvijay, for even Modi is young at 67+.  Let us remember what the Bard had said:

Men(and women) must endure

Their going hence, even as their coming hither:

Ripeness is all.  Can  Congress find a leader with Ripeness?