It is a never-ending cycle. Just as the tension around the Haryana and J&K elections has ended, political parties are gearing up for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections, as also bypolls in UP and Uttarakhand. Is India addicted to the frequent emotional highs elections involve? With the leadership of national parties constantly involved in electioneering, when does it have the time for governance? There were comments on why PM Modi conducted only four rallies in Haryana during the election campaign. Well, he was busy in Jharkhand and Maharashtra for the upcoming contests. He manages to run the country despite this exhausting schedule, but how many other leaders have that commitment and energy? After all, do they not need the occasional holiday, the trip abroad, to cool off?
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has, of late, been a preferred campaigner for his party in other states. How is the state’s governance being impacted? Is the balance being maintained between delegating responsibility and retaining close control? Dehradun District Magistrate Savin Bansal is certainly taking some of the weight off the CM’s shoulders, but what about the rest of the government machinery? Particularly in a state where natural disasters are the norm rather than the exception, requiring swift response.
India’s democracy requires constant politicking by the leaders, but also good governance. The Haryana elections results, for instance, have also been shaped by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s undeniably better performance. The entire process that went into selecting him for the job indicates that the BJP is keeping a steady hand on the nitty-gritty of management, along with the drama of politics. Chief Minister Dhami will face a similar, if not so crucial test, in the coming by-election in the Kedarnath assembly constituency. The result will impact on the style and content of future governance.
Similarly, the coming bypolls in UP will give an idea of how the political balance has shaped up after the recent Lok Sabha debacle for the BJP. The Samajwadi Party is eager to take up the cudgels and has already announced its candidates for six of the ten seats up for grabs. Has the appeal of the Yogi model of governance diminished? Is the polarisation of castes advancing or is the electorate reconsidering its choices, as happened in Haryana? The choice of candidates also matters, as does the inclusion of outliers, who do not otherwise get to have a say. Its evolution at work, as the path to the future is chalked out, which is so much better than deciding matters on the battlefield.
