As the 18th Lok Sabha begins functioning with the procedural necessities such as the Prime Minister, his Council of Ministers and other elected people’s representatives taking oath as members, as well as electing the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, in an historic new building, the nation looks forward to implementation of the somewhat complex electoral mandate. The ruling BJP has been granted the further opportunity to continue with its ‘national’ goals, but its larger political agenda has been somewhat curtailed. That does not mean that its NDA allies are going to be obstructive in any way – they are expected to just help ‘market’ it in a more acceptable way.
On its part, the opposition, which is mostly under the INDI Alliance banner, will continue with what it believes has got it a higher, more effective number in the lower house. The symbolism of ‘defending the Constitution’ is already being played out vigorously in the House. If done sincerely, there can be no harm, as the Government would rather prefer that energy is spent on better understanding the nature of the Indian State. There will be differences when the casteist cause is pursued because it will further deepen the divisions that led to BJP’s backslide in the crucial state of UP. More important issues of governance such as the exam paper leaks will provide greater traction to the opposition cause.
The people will only hope that, with its increased confidence, the opposition will rely more on participating in debates rather than walkouts, thereby not giving the government ‘walkovers’ on important issues. Also, rather than hysterical and personalised diatribes, the debates should be informative, enlightening the people about the pros and cons of issues.
The opposition should be aware that the BJP is already working on the ground to address the reasons for the electoral setbacks. The internal audit has been initiated by the RSS, as indicated by recent statements that have been made. Unless the opposition believes it has mastered the art of defeating the BJP and needs only to continue with obstructing parliamentary proceedings to embarrass the Treasury Benches, it needs to argue its case better. Negativity does find followers, and in highly populated India these are numerous, but not enough to bring down the government. Unless this lesson is learned, it will all be ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing’. The mandate is about more than that.
