When there is a wave in favour of or against the ruler or the main Opposition in elections, the presence of smaller parties, either in their individual capacities or as loosely-held coalitions, barely makes a difference to the end result. But these smaller outfits become important in the absence of a wave, and when there is anti-incumbency. The smaller players can alter outcomes in quite a few constituencies, either leading to gains or losses for the principal contestants. The situation in Rajasthan is that of the latter.&nbsp;

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are locked in a more or less direct fight across the state for the Assembly elections. While the Congress has been appealing for a broad-based alliance in the country to take on the Modi government in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it has decided to fight the Rajasthan poll on its own strength. Half-hearted attempts had been made to align with the Bahujan Samaj Party, but after BSP supremo Mayawati announced her decision, not to partner with the Congress, the efforts came to an end. &nbsp;

Subsequent developments have thrown up two different arrangements that seek to take on both the Congress and the BJP. Six parties, comprising most of the Left, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Samajwadi Party, have come together. They are now trying to woo the BSP and the Aam Aadmi Party into the fold since they are open to all “non-BJP and non-Congress” outfits. Meanwhile, Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal has launched the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, while veteran politician Ghanshyam Tiwari, who quit the BJP recently, has floated the Bharat Vahini Party. It is possible that the two outfits could strike a deal to contest together. So far so good. What was puzzling was the presence of leaders of the Samajwadi Party — part of the other, Left-led combine. Thus, it’s still unclear whether the Samajwadi Party will go along with the Left-led grouping or with the Beniwal-Tiwari combine.&nbsp;

But with less than a month left for the election, these parties do not have the luxury to wait to firm up alliances. The BSP and the AAP have already announced the names of their candidates for some constituencies, with both seemingly determined to contest on their own. The Aam Aadmi Party’s local unit claimed that it had sounded out various opposition leaders about a possible alliance to take on both the Congress and the BJP, but had received no encouraging response, which is why it was going alone; the party has already announced more than 60 candidates. Despite these developments, every party is still hoping for a “positive outcome” in attempts to forge an anti-BJP/anti-Congress formation.&nbsp;

The Congress believes that it is in a strong position to oust the BJP and will not need the help of smaller outfits. But it must keep in kind the 2008 situation when the Congress had fallen short of the majority mark by six seats and had to seek the support of BSP Legislators to enable the formation of a government led by Ashok Gehlot. There are more than two dozen seats where the smaller parties have considerable hold and can mar the Congress’s prospects by dividing votes and enhancing the BJP’s chances. In the 2013 Assembly election, when the BJP triumphed decisively, the BSP had still managed to muster more than seven per cent of the vote-share.&nbsp;

The indecisiveness of the new parties in striking more broad-based alliances should ordinarily have been good news for the BJP. But it is not so in the given situation. The party is actually banking on a decent enough performance of these outfits because it believes that the votes they can steal would be largely from the Congress, although it’s possible that some damage could be caused to it as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Even if the new formulations dent the Congress’s prospects, will that be enough for the BJP to pull through in Rajasthan? Nearly every poll survey so far has projected a comfortable win for the Congress. For the BJP and its Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the one hope for a turnaround is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even poll pundits acknowledge that the mood can change in the state once Modi gets into campaign mode there. The million dollar question is: Can even Modi save the BJP in Rajasthan this time around?&nbsp;

&nbsp;(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

When there is a wave in favour of or against the ruler or the main Opposition in elections, the presence of smaller parties, either in their individual capacities or as loosely-held coalitions, barely makes a difference to the end result.

When there is a wave in favour of or against the ruler or the main Opposition in elections, the presence of smaller parties, either in their individual capacities or as loosely-held coalitions, barely makes a difference to the end result. But these smaller outfits become important in the absence of a wave, and when there is anti-incumbency. The smaller players can alter outcomes in quite a few constituencies, either leading to gains or losses for the principal contestants. The situation in Rajasthan is that of the latter. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are locked in a more or less direct fight across the state for the Assembly elections. While the Congress has been appealing for a broad-based alliance in the country to take on the Modi government in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it has decided to fight the Rajasthan poll on its own strength. Half-hearted attempts had been made to align with the Bahujan Samaj Party, but after BSP supremo Mayawati announced her decision, not to partner with the Congress, the efforts came to an end. Subsequent developments have thrown up two different arrangements that seek to take on both the Congress and the BJP. Six parties, comprising most of the Left, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Samajwadi Party, have come together. They are now trying to woo the BSP and the Aam Aadmi Party into the fold since they are open to all “non-BJP and non-Congress” outfits. Meanwhile, Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal has launched the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, while veteran politician Ghanshyam Tiwari, who quit the BJP recently, has floated the Bharat Vahini Party. It is possible that the two outfits could strike a deal to contest together. So far so good. What was puzzling was the presence of leaders of the Samajwadi Party — part of the other, Left-led combine. Thus, it’s still unclear whether the Samajwadi Party will go along with the Left-led grouping or with the Beniwal-Tiwari combine. But with less than a month left for the election, these parties do not have the luxury to wait to firm up alliances. The BSP and the AAP have already announced the names of their candidates for some constituencies, with both seemingly determined to contest on their own. The Aam Aadmi Party’s local unit claimed that it had sounded out various opposition leaders about a possible alliance to take on both the Congress and the BJP, but had received no encouraging response, which is why it was going alone; the party has already announced more than 60 candidates. Despite these developments, every party is still hoping for a “positive outcome” in attempts to forge an anti-BJP/anti-Congress formation. The Congress believes that it is in a strong position to oust the BJP and will not need the help of smaller outfits. But it must keep in kind the 2008 situation when the Congress had fallen short of the majority mark by six seats and had to seek the support of BSP Legislators to enable the formation of a government led by Ashok Gehlot. There are more than two dozen seats where the smaller parties have considerable hold and can mar the Congress’s prospects by dividing votes and enhancing the BJP’s chances. In the 2013 Assembly election, when the BJP triumphed decisively, the BSP had still managed to muster more than seven per cent of the vote-share. The indecisiveness of the new parties in striking more broad-based alliances should ordinarily have been good news for the BJP. But it is not so in the given situation. The party is actually banking on a decent enough performance of these outfits because it believes that the votes they can steal would be largely from the Congress, although it’s possible that some damage could be caused to it as well. Even if the new formulations dent the Congress’s prospects, will that be enough for the BJP to pull through in Rajasthan? Nearly every poll survey so far has projected a comfortable win for the Congress. For the BJP and its Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the one hope for a turnaround is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even poll pundits acknowledge that the mood can change in the state once Modi gets into campaign mode there. The million dollar question is: Can even Modi save the BJP in Rajasthan this time around? (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Assembly elections: Will regional parties be a spoiler in Rajasthan contest?

To a lesser or greater degree as compared to other states, the caste factor in Rajasthan will be an important determinant in the forthcoming Assembly election. Every major leader, be it Vasundhara Raje or Sachin Pilot or Ashok Gehlot, is aware of the possibilities that a proper combination can result in, and is straining every nerve to get it right.&nbsp;

&nbsp;The caste issue has gained further dominance in recent months with the traditionally well-off castes upping the ante and demanding attention as well as benefits. The Gujjars, the Jat and the Meena communities — they all have grievances. And so have the Rajputs.&nbsp;

The Gujjars have been granted the Other Backward Classes (OBC) status in the state, but now its powerful leaders have been demanding a Scheduled Tribe categorisation because they feel short-changed in the OBC pie which is shared by many, including the Jats.&nbsp;

They are also cut up because they believe that their political representation is low as compared to their numbers. Besides, the Gujjars are politically hostile to the Meena community because the latter enjoys a Scheduled Tribe status and avails of the benefits that come as a result. &nbsp;

The Rajputs, on the other hand, are upset by all the attention that the Jats, the Meenas and the Gujjars have gained over the years. Historically, the Rajputs were landowners and the Jats their tenants, particularly in the then Rajputana region. In 1946, a charismatic Jat leader, Baldev Ram Mirdha, mobilised farmers and led a ‘revolt’ against the landed aristocracy which comprised the Rajputs. 
 
His Marwar Kisan Sabha demanded land reforms and declaration of tenancy rights. Once his party merged with the Congress, the latter stridently undertook some of the changes that the Sabha had sought and brought in land reforms. The Rajputs believed that they were unfairly dealt with, painted as villains and wrongly projected. But the community — like the others — had few political options and continued to support the Congress. &nbsp;

After the Congress’s landslide win in the 1998 Assembly election, the Jats expected one of their prominent leaders to become the Chief Minister, but Ashok Gehlot considered an outsider, got the honour. That is when the Jats began to move away from the Congress, and in the next Assembly poll, they backed the Bharatiya Janata Party, which got nearly three times more seats than it had in 1998. The Congress was reduced to less than half the number it had.&nbsp;

The Rajputs, who had been sulking, also seized the opportunity and went over to the BJP fold. Others followed suit. The 2013 result, which was overwhelmingly in the BJP’s favour, indicated that the party had cracked the caste code.&nbsp;

Things are different now, though it’s still not clear if indeed the carefully crafted caste alignment of the BJP has fallen apart to the party’s detriment. But there are problems, The Karni Sena, a group that claims to represent the interests of the upper castes, had recently shot into the limelight with their street protests against the release of the film, Padmavat. 
 
Given that the Raje Government is in power, it had to bear the brunt of the opposition, although it had taken the safe way out by supporting a conditional ban on the film’s release in Rajasthan and favouring dialogue with stakeholders. The Jats, Gujjars and Meenas are being assiduously wooed by the Congress, which hopes to repeat its 1998 performance in the State.&nbsp;

Mindful of the challenge, the BJP has roped in two of its prominent Rajput leaders from Rajasthan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, to project a Rajput-friendly image. It does seem to have, for the moment, cut the Karni Sena to size — a recent rally organised in Jaipur by the outfit managed to draw just a few hundred people. The Congress, on the other hand, is playing other cards, perhaps uncertain of the Rajput community’s support. 
 
It is tapping on the discontent among the Meena, Jat and Gujjar communities, combining their caste pride with rural distress. Sachin Pilot is a Gujjar, and he had lost out on a ministerial berth in a Union Cabinet reshuffle in the UPA rule, reportedly because of fear within the Congress that the powerful Meena community would be angered. On the other hand, Gehlot can claim association with both the Jat and the Rajput communities in a historical sense, though his gotra is seen to be part of the Jats. Given that multiple identifications can work, chief minister Vasundhara Raje is also not averse to flaunting it, even if she underplays it at times. She was born into a Rajput family and married a Jat; her daughter-in-law is a Gujjar.&nbsp;&nbsp;

It’s difficult for either the BJP or the Congress to annoy any of the castes in the state because they have all become dominant in recent decades. The question now is: Which caste will triumph in the chief ministerial race: The Meena, the Gujjar, the Jat, or the Rajput?&nbsp;

 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
&nbsp;

To a lesser or greater degree as compared to other states, the caste factor in Rajasthan will be an important determinant in the forthcoming Assembly election. Every major leader, be it Vasundhara Raje or Sachin Pilot or Ashok Gehlot, is aware of the possibilities that a proper combination can result in, and is straining every nerve to get it right.

To a lesser or greater degree as compared to other states, the caste factor in Rajasthan will be an important determinant in the forthcoming Assembly election. Every major leader, be it Vasundhara Raje or Sachin Pilot or Ashok Gehlot, is aware of the possibilities that a proper combination can result in, and is straining every nerve to get it right. The caste issue has gained further dominance in recent months with the traditionally well-off castes upping the ante and demanding attention as well as benefits. The Gujjars, the Jat and the Meena communities — they all have grievances. And so have the Rajputs. The Gujjars have been granted the Other Backward Classes (OBC) status in the state, but now its powerful leaders have been demanding a Scheduled Tribe categorisation because they feel short-changed in the OBC pie which is shared by many, including the Jats. They are also cut up because they believe that their political representation is low as compared to their numbers. Besides, the Gujjars are politically hostile to the Meena community because the latter enjoys a Scheduled Tribe status and avails of the benefits that come as a result. The Rajputs, on the other hand, are upset by all the attention that the Jats, the Meenas and the Gujjars have gained over the years. Historically, the Rajputs were landowners and the Jats their tenants, particularly in the then Rajputana region. In 1946, a charismatic Jat leader, Baldev Ram Mirdha, mobilised farmers and led a ‘revolt’ against the landed aristocracy which comprised the Rajputs. His Marwar Kisan Sabha demanded land reforms and declaration of tenancy rights. Once his party merged with the Congress, the latter stridently undertook some of the changes that the Sabha had sought and brought in land reforms. The Rajputs believed that they were unfairly dealt with, painted as villains and wrongly projected. But the community — like the others — had few political options and continued to support the Congress. After the Congress’s landslide win in the 1998 Assembly election, the Jats expected one of their prominent leaders to become the Chief Minister, but Ashok Gehlot considered an outsider, got the honour. That is when the Jats began to move away from the Congress, and in the next Assembly poll, they backed the Bharatiya Janata Party, which got nearly three times more seats than it had in 1998. The Congress was reduced to less than half the number it had. The Rajputs, who had been sulking, also seized the opportunity and went over to the BJP fold. Others followed suit. The 2013 result, which was overwhelmingly in the BJP’s favour, indicated that the party had cracked the caste code. Things are different now, though it’s still not clear if indeed the carefully crafted caste alignment of the BJP has fallen apart to the party’s detriment. But there are problems, The Karni Sena, a group that claims to represent the interests of the upper castes, had recently shot into the limelight with their street protests against the release of the film, Padmavat. Given that the Raje Government is in power, it had to bear the brunt of the opposition, although it had taken the safe way out by supporting a conditional ban on the film’s release in Rajasthan and favouring dialogue with stakeholders. The Jats, Gujjars and Meenas are being assiduously wooed by the Congress, which hopes to repeat its 1998 performance in the State. Mindful of the challenge, the BJP has roped in two of its prominent Rajput leaders from Rajasthan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, to project a Rajput-friendly image. It does seem to have, for the moment, cut the Karni Sena to size — a recent rally organised in Jaipur by the outfit managed to draw just a few hundred people. The Congress, on the other hand, is playing other cards, perhaps uncertain of the Rajput community’s support. It is tapping on the discontent among the Meena, Jat and Gujjar communities, combining their caste pride with rural distress. Sachin Pilot is a Gujjar, and he had lost out on a ministerial berth in a Union Cabinet reshuffle in the UPA rule, reportedly because of fear within the Congress that the powerful Meena community would be angered. On the other hand, Gehlot can claim association with both the Jat and the Rajput communities in a historical sense, though his gotra is seen to be part of the Jats. Given that multiple identifications can work, chief minister Vasundhara Raje is also not averse to flaunting it, even if she underplays it at times. She was born into a Rajput family and married a Jat; her daughter-in-law is a Gujjar. It’s difficult for either the BJP or the Congress to annoy any of the castes in the state because they have all become dominant in recent decades. The question now is: Which caste will triumph in the chief ministerial race: The Meena, the Gujjar, the Jat, or the Rajput? (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Caste politics rules the roost in Rajasthan assembly elections 2018

Ordinarily speaking, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati’s decision to not ally with the Congress for the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, should not have caused a ripple, much less led to a raucous debate it did in the media. 
 
The BSP is not considered a major force in either of the two States. In the 2013 poll, the party secured just a little over six per cent of the votes in Madhya Pradesh, while in Rajasthan it had fared even more miserably — getting less than three-and-a-half per cent. In both these instances, the BSP had done worse than it did in 2008. This, despite the fact that the Scheduled Caste population in both the States is good enough to have made Mayawati a force to reckon with; over 15 per cent Madhya Pradesh and 18 per cent in Rajasthan.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Mayawati’s flexing of muscles has alarmed the Congress for reasons that go beyond these two States. The first is that she has made a mockery of efforts to cobble together a larger anti-BJP alliance in time for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. 
 
Though she has not categorically ruled out a coalition with a Congress-led opposition for the general election, the tirade she launched against the country’s oldest national party could be relevant for 2019 as well. She called the Congress casteist and corrupt. Senior members of her party, taking a cue, added their bit, accusing the Congress of being arrogant and detached from ground realities.

Part of this outburst can be attributed to the Congress’s disinclination to entertain the high number of seats the BSP had been demanding in both the States — a number that, according to Congress leaders, was simply out of proportion to the BSP’s winnability factor. But the part reason is also about the discomfort in the BSP over ceding prime space to Congress president Rahul Gandhi in national calculations.&nbsp;

It’s an uneasiness which the BSP alone does not have. Prominent regional satraps, including Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, share her opinion. Samajwadi party spokespersons virtually backed Mayawati’s decision to go it alone in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and instead advised the Congress to show flexibility The Samajwadi Party and the BSP have already formed an alliance in Uttar Pradesh, and neither is in dire need of the Congress in the State. This bodes ill for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, a State which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The Congress is especially vulnerable here and simply cannot do much without riding piggyback on either the BSP or the Samajwadi Party or both.&nbsp;

The Congress interprets Mayawati’s decision as a snub because she pulled the rung from under its feet even as negotiations were on between the two. Besides, it felt upset that in the midst of talks earlier on, the BSP chief had unilaterally announced her candidates for two dozen seats in Madhya Pradesh. But announcing a clutch of her candidates for Madhya Pradesh was not the only indication Mayawati gave; she tied up with Ajit Jogi’s Chhattisgarh Janata Congress, the Congress’s bitter rival in Chhattisgarh, the other State which votes for a new Assembly. It didn’t help that Jogi had been a prominent Congress leader in the State once upon a time and was now determined to finish off his former party.&nbsp;

Mayawati does command more attention and consideration than what electoral statistics would suggest. Her party could not win a single Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 election. It came a distant third in the 2017 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, failing to outperform even the Samajwadi Party which had been deeply fractured as a result of a family feud. In the given situation, many expected her to gratefully accept whatever she got out of alliances. But she has surprised them all. Her confidence stems from the fact that she remains a mass leader and can tilt the scales in contests that matter — definitely so in Uttar Pradesh and also in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, though only in a few pockets. But, most importantly, the larger opposition unity project will be in doldrums minus her participation.&nbsp;

&nbsp; 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Ordinarily speaking, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati’s decision to not ally with the Congress for the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, should not have caused a ripple, much less led to a raucous debate it did in the media.

Ordinarily speaking, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati’s decision to not ally with the Congress for the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, should not have caused a ripple, much less led to a raucous debate it did in the media. The BSP is not considered a major force in either of the two States. In the 2013 poll, the party secured just a little over six per cent of the votes in Madhya Pradesh, while in Rajasthan it had fared even more miserably — getting less than three-and-a-half per cent. In both these instances, the BSP had done worse than it did in 2008. This, despite the fact that the Scheduled Caste population in both the States is good enough to have made Mayawati a force to reckon with; over 15 per cent Madhya Pradesh and 18 per cent in Rajasthan. Mayawati’s flexing of muscles has alarmed the Congress for reasons that go beyond these two States. The first is that she has made a mockery of efforts to cobble together a larger anti-BJP alliance in time for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Though she has not categorically ruled out a coalition with a Congress-led opposition for the general election, the tirade she launched against the country’s oldest national party could be relevant for 2019 as well. She called the Congress casteist and corrupt. Senior members of her party, taking a cue, added their bit, accusing the Congress of being arrogant and detached from ground realities. Part of this outburst can be attributed to the Congress’s disinclination to entertain the high number of seats the BSP had been demanding in both the States — a number that, according to Congress leaders, was simply out of proportion to the BSP’s winnability factor. But the part reason is also about the discomfort in the BSP over ceding prime space to Congress president Rahul Gandhi in national calculations. It’s an uneasiness which the BSP alone does not have. Prominent regional satraps, including Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, share her opinion. Samajwadi party spokespersons virtually backed Mayawati’s decision to go it alone in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and instead advised the Congress to show flexibility The Samajwadi Party and the BSP have already formed an alliance in Uttar Pradesh, and neither is in dire need of the Congress in the State. This bodes ill for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, a State which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The Congress is especially vulnerable here and simply cannot do much without riding piggyback on either the BSP or the Samajwadi Party or both. The Congress interprets Mayawati’s decision as a snub because she pulled the rung from under its feet even as negotiations were on between the two. Besides, it felt upset that in the midst of talks earlier on, the BSP chief had unilaterally announced her candidates for two dozen seats in Madhya Pradesh. But announcing a clutch of her candidates for Madhya Pradesh was not the only indication Mayawati gave; she tied up with Ajit Jogi’s Chhattisgarh Janata Congress, the Congress’s bitter rival in Chhattisgarh, the other State which votes for a new Assembly. It didn’t help that Jogi had been a prominent Congress leader in the State once upon a time and was now determined to finish off his former party. Mayawati does command more attention and consideration than what electoral statistics would suggest. Her party could not win a single Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 election. It came a distant third in the 2017 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, failing to outperform even the Samajwadi Party which had been deeply fractured as a result of a family feud. In the given situation, many expected her to gratefully accept whatever she got out of alliances. But she has surprised them all. Her confidence stems from the fact that she remains a mass leader and can tilt the scales in contests that matter — definitely so in Uttar Pradesh and also in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, though only in a few pockets. But, most importantly, the larger opposition unity project will be in doldrums minus her participation. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Mayawati upsets Congress calculations;  will this impact 2019 scenario?

In terms of optics, the crossing over of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh’s son, Manvendra Singh, to the Congress just weeks ahead of an Assembly election, is somewhat of an embarrassment for the BJP and a delight for the Congress. Beyond this, the development will neither greatly dent nor boost the prospects of the ruling party in Rajasthan. 
 
Manvendra Singh is not a political heavyweight in the State, and his family lineage does not count for much in today’s politics, although he comes from a caste that enjoys considerable influence there. &nbsp;

Besides, his decision did not have an element of surprise. He had been suspended from the BJP in 2014, after the party said that he had campaigned against its official candidate in Barmer. Incidentally, Jaswant Singh had rebelled against the party and contested from this constituency as an independent in the election, after the BJP denied him a ticket. It was, thus, a matter of time before Manvendra Singh exited. 
 
A year before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, in which his father was sidelined, Manvendra Singh had successfully contested the Rajasthan Assembly election on a BJP ticket from a constituency in Barmer, the family’s home ground. He held on to the Assembly seat despite being suspended from the party.&nbsp;

Having been in active politics for just under two decades, Manvendra Singh could not expand his reach beyond Barmer, and is not seen as a pan-Rajasthan figure, unlike his father who had a national prominence, given his stature in the BJP during the Vajpayee-Advani era. Jaswant Singh served in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet as Minister for Defence, Minister for External Affairs, and Minister for Finance. Throughout his tenure, he was, therefore, part of the prestigious Cabinet Committee on Security. And yet, for all these achievements, Jaswant Singh’s reach in Rajasthan was largely limited to Barmer — a legacy from which Manvendra Singh later benefitted.&nbsp;

It is true that Manvendra Singh, a former territorial Army officer, is both erudite and articulate. At one point, he was seen within the BJP as a rising young talent who could be groomed for bigger roles. But despite his father’s stature, and his own abilities, he could not make a mark in his own home State because of the presence of seniors like Vasundhara Raje. His electoral victories were attributed more to the BJP’s strong grassroots presence than to his persona. 
 
Caste considerations also came in the way since the party was looking forward to expanding its base among other dominant groups such as the Gujjars. Post-2014, after Jaswant Singh failed in his bid to get elected to the Lok Sabha as an independent — losing to a BJP candidate — the impression gained roots that Manvendra Singh had no political future as a standalone.&nbsp;&nbsp;

His decision to join the Congress has to be understood in the above backdrop. As a Congress nominee (there is every possibility of his getting a ticket from one of the Assembly constituencies in Barmer), he will have the support of an organisation with a strong presence in the State. There is also a political sense in the timing of his decision; the BJP regime led by Vasundhara Raje is seen to be on the back foot and there is already talk that it may not be able to retain power. Additionally, Manvendra Singh has the support of a local outfit, the Swabhiman Sena, with which he has been closely associated and which he claims is being hounded by the Raje Government. Needless to add, this Sena will now, at least largely, back the Congress in the coming Assembly poll.&nbsp;

While Manvendra Singh and his family’s influence does not extend significantly to all of Rajasthan, it does exist in the eight Assembly constituencies in the Barmer Lok Sabha jurisdiction, primarily among the Rajput sections of society, whose cause the Swabhiman Sena has been espousing. Given that the Rajputs have been a strong vote-base of the BJP, the possibility of the Congress using Manvendra Singh’s arrival to eat into that segment is real.&nbsp;&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

In terms of optics, the crossing over of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh’s son, Manvendra Singh, to the Congress just weeks ahead of an Assembly election, is somewhat of an embarrassment for the BJP and a delight for the Congress.

In terms of optics, the crossing over of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh’s son, Manvendra Singh, to the Congress just weeks ahead of an Assembly election, is somewhat of an embarrassment for the BJP and a delight for the Congress. Beyond this, the development will neither greatly dent nor boost the prospects of the ruling party in Rajasthan. Manvendra Singh is not a political heavyweight in the State, and his family lineage does not count for much in today’s politics, although he comes from a caste that enjoys considerable influence there. Besides, his decision did not have an element of surprise. He had been suspended from the BJP in 2014, after the party said that he had campaigned against its official candidate in Barmer. Incidentally, Jaswant Singh had rebelled against the party and contested from this constituency as an independent in the election, after the BJP denied him a ticket. It was, thus, a matter of time before Manvendra Singh exited. A year before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, in which his father was sidelined, Manvendra Singh had successfully contested the Rajasthan Assembly election on a BJP ticket from a constituency in Barmer, the family’s home ground. He held on to the Assembly seat despite being suspended from the party. Having been in active politics for just under two decades, Manvendra Singh could not expand his reach beyond Barmer, and is not seen as a pan-Rajasthan figure, unlike his father who had a national prominence, given his stature in the BJP during the Vajpayee-Advani era. Jaswant Singh served in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet as Minister for Defence, Minister for External Affairs, and Minister for Finance. Throughout his tenure, he was, therefore, part of the prestigious Cabinet Committee on Security. And yet, for all these achievements, Jaswant Singh’s reach in Rajasthan was largely limited to Barmer — a legacy from which Manvendra Singh later benefitted. It is true that Manvendra Singh, a former territorial Army officer, is both erudite and articulate. At one point, he was seen within the BJP as a rising young talent who could be groomed for bigger roles. But despite his father’s stature, and his own abilities, he could not make a mark in his own home State because of the presence of seniors like Vasundhara Raje. His electoral victories were attributed more to the BJP’s strong grassroots presence than to his persona. Caste considerations also came in the way since the party was looking forward to expanding its base among other dominant groups such as the Gujjars. Post-2014, after Jaswant Singh failed in his bid to get elected to the Lok Sabha as an independent — losing to a BJP candidate — the impression gained roots that Manvendra Singh had no political future as a standalone. His decision to join the Congress has to be understood in the above backdrop. As a Congress nominee (there is every possibility of his getting a ticket from one of the Assembly constituencies in Barmer), he will have the support of an organisation with a strong presence in the State. There is also a political sense in the timing of his decision; the BJP regime led by Vasundhara Raje is seen to be on the back foot and there is already talk that it may not be able to retain power. Additionally, Manvendra Singh has the support of a local outfit, the Swabhiman Sena, with which he has been closely associated and which he claims is being hounded by the Raje Government. Needless to add, this Sena will now, at least largely, back the Congress in the coming Assembly poll. While Manvendra Singh and his family’s influence does not extend significantly to all of Rajasthan, it does exist in the eight Assembly constituencies in the Barmer Lok Sabha jurisdiction, primarily among the Rajput sections of society, whose cause the Swabhiman Sena has been espousing. Given that the Rajputs have been a strong vote-base of the BJP, the possibility of the Congress using Manvendra Singh’s arrival to eat into that segment is real. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Manvendra Singh's induction a delight for Congress

The battle for Rajasthan is not only an electoral contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is also a fight for supremacy among the heavyweight state leaders belonging to the two parties. Their charisma and credibility will be an important factor in determining the outcome of the forthcoming Assembly election. The fact that the two national parties are the main contestants makes the role of the local leaders critical. &nbsp;

The prestige of three prominent state leaders is at stake. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje from the BJP, and Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot from the Congress. All of them have seen several political ups and downs. They have a pan-Rajasthan image. They are well-versed with the intricacies of caste combinations. They are leaders in their own right, not requiring to necessarily depend overly on the patronage of their respective national leadership to remain relevant. And, either of the three will nearly certainly head the next government in the state.&nbsp;

That said, the greatest pressure is on Vasundhara Raje because as the incumbent chief minister she has to retain the state for her party. Going purely by various poll surveys, she is on a sticky wicket. Her government’s performance has fetched ordinary ratings; her personal rating is below that of her Congress rivals; and in terms of both seats and vote-share, the BJP trails behind the Congress. There is still time for the tide to turn, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spin his charm on Rajasthan’s electorate. But it will be difficult, if not impossible to counter the negatives that have stuck on Vasundhara Raje’s image.

But why has she become so unpopular? After all, only five years before, she had stormed to power, dislodging the formidable Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot. One can only reply to perceptions to get an answer. The first concerns her inaccessibility, both to the masses and to the party’s local leaders. She is said to be aloof — even imperious — and brusque in her mannerism. The second has to do with her failure to address critical issues of unemployment and price rise. Besides, it does not help that the RSS, which contributes a large chunk of the workforce in election campaigning in the BJP’s favour, is less than enthused by her leadership. The recent by-poll losses in Alwar and Ajmer have been attributed to her failed leadership.

As if these were not enough, the chief minister has faced open rebellion from within; a prominent leader, Ghanshyam Tiwari, has floated his own outfit to take on her “corrupt regime”. Plus, there is disenchantment among nearly every influential caste group. Will these factors form a heady cocktail that will down the Raje regime, is to be seen.

But for now, it’s good news for the Congress’s Pilot and Gehlot. The former has for long been part of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s inner circle, and now heads the party’s Rajasthan unit. Besides being young and dynamic, he has the right caste qualification (Gujjar). He is a strong favourite to take over the chief ministership in case the Congress snatches power from the BJP.&nbsp;

He must be itching to avenge his massive loss to a BJP candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha election (he lost by over 1,70,000 votes). Like Vasundhara Raje, he comes from a political family — his father Rajesh Pilot was a minister in the Congress government at the Centre. However, going by current perceptions, he faces a challenge to his chief ministerial ambitions not from the incumbent chief minister but from his colleague Gehlot.

Ashok Gehlot, like Pilot, is waiting to wipe the slate of his defeat in the 2013 Assembly polls, clean. His camp wants to see him back as chief minister. In recent months, he has come to be regarded as being close to Rahul Gandhi. He had been entrusted with the task of government formation in Karnataka. More recently, he was prominently present during the Rahul-led Congress’s protest meeting outside the Central Bureau of Investigation’s office. And, in many poll surveys, he figures higher than Pilot in ratings for the state’s next chief&nbsp;minister.

The Congress believes that the combined might of the two leaders will help the party breach the finishing line first. The BJP thinks the leadership tussle between the camps of the two tall Congress leaders will work in its favour. We will know soon.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL 
&nbsp;

The battle for Rajasthan is not only an electoral contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is also a fight for supremacy among the heavyweight state leaders belonging to the two parties.

The battle for Rajasthan is not only an electoral contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is also a fight for supremacy among the heavyweight state leaders belonging to the two parties. Their charisma and credibility will be an important factor in determining the outcome of the forthcoming Assembly election. The fact that the two national parties are the main contestants makes the role of the local leaders critical. The prestige of three prominent state leaders is at stake. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje from the BJP, and Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot from the Congress. All of them have seen several political ups and downs. They have a pan-Rajasthan image. They are well-versed with the intricacies of caste combinations. They are leaders in their own right, not requiring to necessarily depend overly on the patronage of their respective national leadership to remain relevant. And, either of the three will nearly certainly head the next government in the state. That said, the greatest pressure is on Vasundhara Raje because as the incumbent chief minister she has to retain the state for her party. Going purely by various poll surveys, she is on a sticky wicket. Her government’s performance has fetched ordinary ratings; her personal rating is below that of her Congress rivals; and in terms of both seats and vote-share, the BJP trails behind the Congress. There is still time for the tide to turn, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spin his charm on Rajasthan’s electorate. But it will be difficult, if not impossible to counter the negatives that have stuck on Vasundhara Raje’s image. But why has she become so unpopular? After all, only five years before, she had stormed to power, dislodging the formidable Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot. One can only reply to perceptions to get an answer. The first concerns her inaccessibility, both to the masses and to the party’s local leaders. She is said to be aloof — even imperious — and brusque in her mannerism. The second has to do with her failure to address critical issues of unemployment and price rise. Besides, it does not help that the RSS, which contributes a large chunk of the workforce in election campaigning in the BJP’s favour, is less than enthused by her leadership. The recent by-poll losses in Alwar and Ajmer have been attributed to her failed leadership. As if these were not enough, the chief minister has faced open rebellion from within; a prominent leader, Ghanshyam Tiwari, has floated his own outfit to take on her “corrupt regime”. Plus, there is disenchantment among nearly every influential caste group. Will these factors form a heady cocktail that will down the Raje regime, is to be seen. But for now, it’s good news for the Congress’s Pilot and Gehlot. The former has for long been part of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s inner circle, and now heads the party’s Rajasthan unit. Besides being young and dynamic, he has the right caste qualification (Gujjar). He is a strong favourite to take over the chief ministership in case the Congress snatches power from the BJP. He must be itching to avenge his massive loss to a BJP candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha election (he lost by over 1,70,000 votes). Like Vasundhara Raje, he comes from a political family — his father Rajesh Pilot was a minister in the Congress government at the Centre. However, going by current perceptions, he faces a challenge to his chief ministerial ambitions not from the incumbent chief minister but from his colleague Gehlot. Ashok Gehlot, like Pilot, is waiting to wipe the slate of his defeat in the 2013 Assembly polls, clean. His camp wants to see him back as chief minister. In recent months, he has come to be regarded as being close to Rahul Gandhi. He had been entrusted with the task of government formation in Karnataka. More recently, he was prominently present during the Rahul-led Congress’s protest meeting outside the Central Bureau of Investigation’s office. And, in many poll surveys, he figures higher than Pilot in ratings for the state’s next chief minister. The Congress believes that the combined might of the two leaders will help the party breach the finishing line first. The BJP thinks the leadership tussle between the camps of the two tall Congress leaders will work in its favour. We will know soon. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL

In Rajasthan, it’s the local leadership that matters

With dates for five Assembly elections announced, all eyes are focused on the two large and politically crucial states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. However, it’s the smallest one in the list, Mizoram, which holds the key to whether the Congress will be able to retain even its depleted presence in the Northeast, or whether the Bharatiya Janata Party will sustain its recent successes in the region. The politics of the northeastern States is critical from the perspective of the country’s security, sovereignty and integrity — more than any other region with the exception of Jammu &amp; Kashmir — and Mizoram is an important element in that overall scheme of things.&nbsp;

Mizoram is the last standing citadel of the Congress in the North-East, but that bastion is under attack. Party affairs are in a mess in the State; only recently, R Lalzirliana, one of its senior leaders and home minister in the Government of Lal Thanhawla, quit following differences with the chief minister. So did former health minister Lalrinliana Sailo. The party’s local leadership has tried to play down the development, claiming that the two Ministers had to leave because of serious allegations of corruption against them. But that does not explain the widely-held apprehension in party ranks that more desertions can happen in the run-up to the Assembly election, to be held on November 28. &nbsp;

It’s not just the problems that many Congress leaders have with the local leadership led by Lal Thanhawla. There is the fear of anti-incumbency too. The Congress regime has been in power since 2008, and the fatigue factor has begun to show. Many influential leaders have been rubbed the wrong way in the last decade that corresponded with the emergence of Lal Thanhawla’s iron hand. In the earlier years, dissident leaders had no option but to swallow the insult; they had nowhere to go. The main opposition party, the Mizo National Front (MNF), had been sidelined and over the years become quite ineffective. It had won just five seats in the 40-member House in the 2013 election, while the Congress had bagged 34 seats. Things have changed since then.&nbsp;

First, the MNF led by Zoramthanga has been strengthened by its partnership with the BJP, via the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA); the MNF chief is a founder-member of the alliance. Second, the MNF is upbeat over the departure of key leaders from the Congress and would be quite happy to accommodate the rebels. Third, it is banking on the strong anti-incumbency factor. And fourth, it believes that the BJP’s recent successes in the North-East, both in an individual capacity and through alliances, will impact the mood of the electorate in Mizoram too. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The BJP is content to let events play out in its favour. It will repeat the strategy it has deployed in the other northeastern States — that of cementing partnerships with local players and taking a subordinate position whenever the situation demands. In Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the party tied up with regional outfits and outwitted the Congress in the electoral battle. In Assam and Tripura, although it swept the polls on its own, it still proceeded to form coalition regimes with regional parties. The BJP wants its NEDA experiment to keep delivering results, even if in the process it has to take a back seat in some cases. The BJP does not have a strong cadre in Mizoram, and will, like in the case of Meghalaya and Manipur, hope to ride piggyback on local allies to victory.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Incidentally, of the seven States in the Northeast, it’s the Meghalaya reminder that will trouble the Congress the most and elate the opposition equally as much. Prior to Assembly election in Meghalaya earlier this year, several leaders had quit the Congress (five among them were sitting Legislators). The party was defeated. Does a similar scenario await the Congress in Mizoram? Or is the opposition overly optimistic, given that the Congress is hardly a pushover in the state? We will know on December 11. &nbsp; 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

With dates for five Assembly elections announced, all eyes are focused on the two large and politically crucial states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. However, it’s the smallest one in the list, Mizoram, which holds the key to whether the Congress will be able to retain even its depleted presence in the Northeast, or whether the Bharatiya Janata Party will sustain its recent successes in the region.

With dates for five Assembly elections announced, all eyes are focused on the two large and politically crucial states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. However, it’s the smallest one in the list, Mizoram, which holds the key to whether the Congress will be able to retain even its depleted presence in the Northeast, or whether the Bharatiya Janata Party will sustain its recent successes in the region. The politics of the northeastern States is critical from the perspective of the country’s security, sovereignty and integrity — more than any other region with the exception of Jammu & Kashmir — and Mizoram is an important element in that overall scheme of things. Mizoram is the last standing citadel of the Congress in the North-East, but that bastion is under attack. Party affairs are in a mess in the State; only recently, R Lalzirliana, one of its senior leaders and home minister in the Government of Lal Thanhawla, quit following differences with the chief minister. So did former health minister Lalrinliana Sailo. The party’s local leadership has tried to play down the development, claiming that the two Ministers had to leave because of serious allegations of corruption against them. But that does not explain the widely-held apprehension in party ranks that more desertions can happen in the run-up to the Assembly election, to be held on November 28. It’s not just the problems that many Congress leaders have with the local leadership led by Lal Thanhawla. There is the fear of anti-incumbency too. The Congress regime has been in power since 2008, and the fatigue factor has begun to show. Many influential leaders have been rubbed the wrong way in the last decade that corresponded with the emergence of Lal Thanhawla’s iron hand. In the earlier years, dissident leaders had no option but to swallow the insult; they had nowhere to go. The main opposition party, the Mizo National Front (MNF), had been sidelined and over the years become quite ineffective. It had won just five seats in the 40-member House in the 2013 election, while the Congress had bagged 34 seats. Things have changed since then. First, the MNF led by Zoramthanga has been strengthened by its partnership with the BJP, via the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA); the MNF chief is a founder-member of the alliance. Second, the MNF is upbeat over the departure of key leaders from the Congress and would be quite happy to accommodate the rebels. Third, it is banking on the strong anti-incumbency factor. And fourth, it believes that the BJP’s recent successes in the North-East, both in an individual capacity and through alliances, will impact the mood of the electorate in Mizoram too. The BJP is content to let events play out in its favour. It will repeat the strategy it has deployed in the other northeastern States — that of cementing partnerships with local players and taking a subordinate position whenever the situation demands. In Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the party tied up with regional outfits and outwitted the Congress in the electoral battle. In Assam and Tripura, although it swept the polls on its own, it still proceeded to form coalition regimes with regional parties. The BJP wants its NEDA experiment to keep delivering results, even if in the process it has to take a back seat in some cases. The BJP does not have a strong cadre in Mizoram, and will, like in the case of Meghalaya and Manipur, hope to ride piggyback on local allies to victory. Incidentally, of the seven States in the Northeast, it’s the Meghalaya reminder that will trouble the Congress the most and elate the opposition equally as much. Prior to Assembly election in Meghalaya earlier this year, several leaders had quit the Congress (five among them were sitting Legislators). The party was defeated. Does a similar scenario await the Congress in Mizoram? Or is the opposition overly optimistic, given that the Congress is hardly a pushover in the state? We will know on December 11. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Mizoram polls more crucial for Congress than BJP

In later years, those desirous of visiting the Supreme Court of India’s landmark verdicts that enforced gender equality and the Right to Live with Dignity can find plenty of material if they only delve into September 2018. The gush of judgements has left most people dazzled and some disgruntled. Reactions varied, from uninhibited praise to outright disapproval. Nonetheless, the apex court’s performance gave people in general an occasion to reiterate their faith in the judiciary.&nbsp;

In some instances the court demolished established traditions, in another, it overturned its earlier verdict — because those rulings had failed in the constitutional test. Seizing upon the convenience at hand, political parties have reacted differently. So have social organisations and activists of varied hues. &nbsp;

There were three verdicts last month, which were of a social-churning nature to the extent of ensuring gender justice, and they are perhaps all the more significant because they have set the tone for an India where equality and a life with dignity are not to be confined to statute books, but be seen where they are needed the most. They are important also because they have come despite stiff resistance from vested groups — social, religious and political. Some of them are already preparing to seek judicial reviews against the orders.&nbsp;

The first pathbreaking ruling to come was the court’s decision to decriminalise same-sex relationships. The LGBT community had been for years waging a battle against the provisions of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that had turned them into criminals over their sexual orientation. In 2009, the Delhi High Court had shown the way by striking down the criminality clause, in the Naz Foundation case. 
 
The High Court had said that the Section relating to criminality violated Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. But its efforts went in vain as the Supreme Court restored the criminal provision. Early last month, the court showed courage in overturning its own verdict on the ground that the criminalisation part of Section 377 violated the right to equality and the right to live with dignity — both enshrined in the Constitution as fundamental rights. It can now be proudly said that India is no longer on the list of 70-plus nations that criminalise same-sex relationships.&nbsp; 
 
The second historic ruling of a social kind was another instance of decriminalisation: That of adultery. The apex court knocked down Section 497 of the IPC on the grounds that the provision had not treated men and women equally, that it was arbitrary, and that it was violative of the right to equality and the right to equal opportunity to women. One of the judges on the five-judge Bench, Justice RF Nariman, stated that it violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The judges agreed that adultery can be a civil offence, and be cited as a reason for divorce etc.&nbsp;

In the third instance of a similar kind, in the last week of September, a five-judge Bench through a majority verdict, directed that the venerated Sabarimala temple in Kerala be opened up for women of all ages. Certain provisions of the Kerala Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which apply to the Sabarimala temple, banned women of menstruating age from entering the shrine, reigned supreme until now. &nbsp;

It does seem that the Supreme Court has with a messianic zeal, decided to break old, though far from rusty, shackles. These three judgements were preceded by another historic court ruling, rendering as unconstitutional the practice of instant triple divorce (by the male, of course) among Indian Muslims. One does hope that more such verdicts will follow, and contribute to the creation of as equal a society as is possible.&nbsp; 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp;

In later years, those desirous of visiting the Supreme Court of India’s landmark verdicts that enforced gender equality and the Right to Live with Dignity can find plenty of material if they only delve into September 2018.

In later years, those desirous of visiting the Supreme Court of India’s landmark verdicts that enforced gender equality and the Right to Live with Dignity can find plenty of material if they only delve into September 2018. The gush of judgements has left most people dazzled and some disgruntled. Reactions varied, from uninhibited praise to outright disapproval. Nonetheless, the apex court’s performance gave people in general an occasion to reiterate their faith in the judiciary. In some instances the court demolished established traditions, in another, it overturned its earlier verdict — because those rulings had failed in the constitutional test. Seizing upon the convenience at hand, political parties have reacted differently. So have social organisations and activists of varied hues. There were three verdicts last month, which were of a social-churning nature to the extent of ensuring gender justice, and they are perhaps all the more significant because they have set the tone for an India where equality and a life with dignity are not to be confined to statute books, but be seen where they are needed the most. They are important also because they have come despite stiff resistance from vested groups — social, religious and political. Some of them are already preparing to seek judicial reviews against the orders. The first pathbreaking ruling to come was the court’s decision to decriminalise same-sex relationships. The LGBT community had been for years waging a battle against the provisions of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that had turned them into criminals over their sexual orientation. In 2009, the Delhi High Court had shown the way by striking down the criminality clause, in the Naz Foundation case. The High Court had said that the Section relating to criminality violated Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. But its efforts went in vain as the Supreme Court restored the criminal provision. Early last month, the court showed courage in overturning its own verdict on the ground that the criminalisation part of Section 377 violated the right to equality and the right to live with dignity — both enshrined in the Constitution as fundamental rights. It can now be proudly said that India is no longer on the list of 70-plus nations that criminalise same-sex relationships. The second historic ruling of a social kind was another instance of decriminalisation: That of adultery. The apex court knocked down Section 497 of the IPC on the grounds that the provision had not treated men and women equally, that it was arbitrary, and that it was violative of the right to equality and the right to equal opportunity to women. One of the judges on the five-judge Bench, Justice RF Nariman, stated that it violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The judges agreed that adultery can be a civil offence, and be cited as a reason for divorce etc. In the third instance of a similar kind, in the last week of September, a five-judge Bench through a majority verdict, directed that the venerated Sabarimala temple in Kerala be opened up for women of all ages. Certain provisions of the Kerala Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which apply to the Sabarimala temple, banned women of menstruating age from entering the shrine, reigned supreme until now. It does seem that the Supreme Court has with a messianic zeal, decided to break old, though far from rusty, shackles. These three judgements were preceded by another historic court ruling, rendering as unconstitutional the practice of instant triple divorce (by the male, of course) among Indian Muslims. One does hope that more such verdicts will follow, and contribute to the creation of as equal a society as is possible. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Dazzling array of Supreme Court verdicts enforces gender justice and dignity 

A few days ago, a clutch of senior Congress leader had petitioned the President of India against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the use of "intimidating" language. Modi had said that his opponents should be willing to pay the price for taking him on. It appears the Congress had reasons to feel threatened.

It took him head-on in the course of campaigning of the Karnataka Assembly election and has now paid the price. The party has been toppled from power, and in a most decisive manner. Neither the entire might of the Congress nor the Rahul Gandhi-Siddaramaiah combines could save the party from the humiliating defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party has dealt it.

Mathematically speaking, exit polls had thrown up no clear winners and had suggested a hung House. Even if that had happened, it would have been a political defeat for the incumbent Congress regime and moral win for the BJP. But as it has turned out, both mathematically and politically, the BJP has registered a convincing triumph.&nbsp

The blow for the Congress is especially painful because it had done everything it could by the book — and away from it — to retain control of the only other major State it ruled in the country apart from Punjab.&nbsp

It had highlighted the questionable track record of the BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, lack of job growth in the central rule of Prime Minister Modi, problems of demonetisation and the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (Gabbar Singh Tax, in Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s words), and touted developmental work done during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s tenure.

But most importantly, the Congress played the divisive card, fully assured that this, if everything else failed, would fetch results. It sought to wean away the Lingayat community — traditionally committed voters of the BJP — to its side by suddenly announcing for it a minority religious status. It played the Kannadiga identity card by announcing a separate flag for Karnataka and pushing for the Kannada language in public places such as Metro stations.

It surreptitiously took the assistance of fringe organisations such as the Popular Front of India (PFI). It vigorously supported the celebration of the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, again in a bid to attract minority votes. It spread the lie that the Modi Government had scrapped, or had plans to scrap, the law that provided protection to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

All of these attempts not only failed but also backfired. The BJP's excellent showing in the Lingayat-dominated regions shows that the community, instead of being impressed, had been wary of the opportunistic manner in which it was being wooed by the Congress. Community members also took exception to the Congress move of dividing the community by planting the minority status seed.

On the other hand, the non-Lingayats joined hands against the Congress’s Lingayat outreach and voted for the BJP. In the end, the BJP benefitted from both Lingayat and non-Lingayat votes. This is most evident in the party’s good showing in the Vokkaliga belt where otherwise the Janata Dal (Secular) dominated.

The Congress's fear-mongering tactics collapsed in the Scheduled Castes-dominant area as well. At the time of writing, trends in this belt were clearly in the BJP’s favour, thus demonstrating that the Congress had failed to impress the Scheduled Castes with its narrative of the BJP being anti-Dalit. The likes of self-appointed Scheduled Castes leader Jignesh Mevani, who incidentally waded into Karnataka’s politics on the Congress’ behalf, failed to make a mark.

On the other hand, the Congress's attempt to polarise people using the Muslim factor boomeranged. The more it became known that the party was hobnobbing with the likes of the PFI, the more the non-Muslim voters rallied behind the BJP. This is obvious from the BJP's performance across the State — from Mumbai-Karnataka to Hyderabad-Karnataka to coastal Karnataka to central Karnataka to Bengaluru — and even Old Mysuru where traditionally the BJP has not been strong.

This is a repeat of Uttar Pradesh, where the minority appeasement politics of the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress ended up consolidating Hindu votes in the BJP's favour and Gujarat, where the Congress's pro-Hardik Patel drive angered the non-Patels and drove them into the BJP's lap. And here too, a large section of the Patels and an overwhelming number of non-Patels backed the BJP.

There is one element in the result that should gladden the BJP, and it is that the party has done remarkably well in the rural regions — nearly two-thirds of the Assembly constituencies in the State are 'rural.' The party has been grappling with an anti-farmer image nationally — real or perceptional — but the voters of Karnataka clearly do not endorse this image. The task was made easier for the BJP by the Siddaramaiah Government's poor track record since Karnataka had registered among the highest farmer suicide incidents due to rural distress.

Some quick larger inferences need to be drawn from the Karnataka outcome.&nbsp

The first is that Prime Minister Modi’s charisma remains intact — his carpet-bombing of the State in the last 10 days of campaigning contributed in a large measure to the BJP’s victory.&nbsp

The second is that BJP president Amit Shah’s election management, down to the booth level, is unparalleled.&nbsp

The third inference is that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is simply unable to evolve into a credible leader — one who can win elections, and one who is always the loser in a Rahul versus Modi narrative.&nbsp

The fourth is that the Congress is now weaker than before to lay claim to helm a joint opposition to take on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha election.&nbsp

The fifth inference is that with this win, the BJP will proceed with greater vigour to create an imprint in the south, especially in Kerala where it will be on its own though with the help of small regional outfits, and in Andhra Pradesh where the Telugu Desam Party has left the NDA.&nbsp

The sixth is that regional parties opposed to the BJP can now more forcefully distance the Congress from its scheme of things and move ahead to forge some kind of ‘third front’ unity.

The BJP has reason to celebrate, but there are equally bigger battles ahead. Later this year, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan go to polls, and if the party does not do well, it could lead to a dilution of the Karnataka impact. Let’s not forget that the Hindi belt is crucial to the party’s prospects of returning in 2019.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The blow for the Congress is especially painful because it had done everything it could by the book — and away from it — to retain control of the only other major State it ruled in the country apart from Punjab

A few days ago, a clutch of senior Congress leader had petitioned the President of India against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the use of "intimidating" language. Modi had said that his opponents should be willing to pay the price for taking him on. It appears the Congress had reasons to feel threatened. It took him head-on in the course of campaigning of the Karnataka Assembly election and has now paid the price. The party has been toppled from power, and in a most decisive manner. Neither the entire might of the Congress nor the Rahul Gandhi-Siddaramaiah combines could save the party from the humiliating defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party has dealt it. Mathematically speaking, exit polls had thrown up no clear winners and had suggested a hung House. Even if that had happened, it would have been a political defeat for the incumbent Congress regime and moral win for the BJP. But as it has turned out, both mathematically and politically, the BJP has registered a convincing triumph. The blow for the Congress is especially painful because it had done everything it could by the book — and away from it — to retain control of the only other major State it ruled in the country apart from Punjab. It had highlighted the questionable track record of the BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, lack of job growth in the central rule of Prime Minister Modi, problems of demonetisation and the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (Gabbar Singh Tax, in Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s words), and touted developmental work done during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s tenure. But most importantly, the Congress played the divisive card, fully assured that this, if everything else failed, would fetch results. It sought to wean away the Lingayat community — traditionally committed voters of the BJP — to its side by suddenly announcing for it a minority religious status. It played the Kannadiga identity card by announcing a separate flag for Karnataka and pushing for the Kannada language in public places such as Metro stations. It surreptitiously took the assistance of fringe organisations such as the Popular Front of India (PFI). It vigorously supported the celebration of the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, again in a bid to attract minority votes. It spread the lie that the Modi Government had scrapped, or had plans to scrap, the law that provided protection to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. All of these attempts not only failed but also backfired. The BJP's excellent showing in the Lingayat-dominated regions shows that the community, instead of being impressed, had been wary of the opportunistic manner in which it was being wooed by the Congress. Community members also took exception to the Congress move of dividing the community by planting the minority status seed. On the other hand, the non-Lingayats joined hands against the Congress’s Lingayat outreach and voted for the BJP. In the end, the BJP benefitted from both Lingayat and non-Lingayat votes. This is most evident in the party’s good showing in the Vokkaliga belt where otherwise the Janata Dal (Secular) dominated. The Congress's fear-mongering tactics collapsed in the Scheduled Castes-dominant area as well. At the time of writing, trends in this belt were clearly in the BJP’s favour, thus demonstrating that the Congress had failed to impress the Scheduled Castes with its narrative of the BJP being anti-Dalit. The likes of self-appointed Scheduled Castes leader Jignesh Mevani, who incidentally waded into Karnataka’s politics on the Congress’ behalf, failed to make a mark. On the other hand, the Congress's attempt to polarise people using the Muslim factor boomeranged. The more it became known that the party was hobnobbing with the likes of the PFI, the more the non-Muslim voters rallied behind the BJP. This is obvious from the BJP's performance across the State — from Mumbai-Karnataka to Hyderabad-Karnataka to coastal Karnataka to central Karnataka to Bengaluru — and even Old Mysuru where traditionally the BJP has not been strong. This is a repeat of Uttar Pradesh, where the minority appeasement politics of the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress ended up consolidating Hindu votes in the BJP's favour and Gujarat, where the Congress's pro-Hardik Patel drive angered the non-Patels and drove them into the BJP's lap. And here too, a large section of the Patels and an overwhelming number of non-Patels backed the BJP. There is one element in the result that should gladden the BJP, and it is that the party has done remarkably well in the rural regions — nearly two-thirds of the Assembly constituencies in the State are 'rural.' The party has been grappling with an anti-farmer image nationally — real or perceptional — but the voters of Karnataka clearly do not endorse this image. The task was made easier for the BJP by the Siddaramaiah Government's poor track record since Karnataka had registered among the highest farmer suicide incidents due to rural distress. Some quick larger inferences need to be drawn from the Karnataka outcome. The first is that Prime Minister Modi’s charisma remains intact — his carpet-bombing of the State in the last 10 days of campaigning contributed in a large measure to the BJP’s victory. The second is that BJP president Amit Shah’s election management, down to the booth level, is unparalleled. The third inference is that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is simply unable to evolve into a credible leader — one who can win elections, and one who is always the loser in a Rahul versus Modi narrative. The fourth is that the Congress is now weaker than before to lay claim to helm a joint opposition to take on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha election. The fifth inference is that with this win, the BJP will proceed with greater vigour to create an imprint in the south, especially in Kerala where it will be on its own though with the help of small regional outfits, and in Andhra Pradesh where the Telugu Desam Party has left the NDA. The sixth is that regional parties opposed to the BJP can now more forcefully distance the Congress from its scheme of things and move ahead to forge some kind of ‘third front’ unity. The BJP has reason to celebrate, but there are equally bigger battles ahead. Later this year, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan go to polls, and if the party does not do well, it could lead to a dilution of the Karnataka impact. Let’s not forget that the Hindi belt is crucial to the party’s prospects of returning in 2019. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Karnataka election result is a defeat for divisive politics

When was the last time that results of elections to (three small) northeastern states seized the collective attention of the nation, with even the national media running round-the-clock coverage of the outcome? When was the last time that three states which send just five members to the Lok Sabha assumed so great a significance? There was no last time because this is the first occasion the phenomenon has been witnessed. There are sound reasons for this turn of events, which are also the major takeaways.

The first is that the Bharatiya Janata Party&rsquo;s bandwagon continues to roll in the North-East. The momentum which began with the party&rsquo;s win in Assam and with the formation of its Governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, has been maintained. Nearly all of the region is now painted saffron. This is a major achievement for a party which had a negligible presence in this part of the country just over a year ago. The second is that the Church card which non-BJP parties tried to play in these States collapsed, with the people emphatically rejecting the attempt. The Congress failed to mobilise the overwhelmingly Christian population in both Nagaland and Meghalaya to give it a mandate.

The third takeaway is that the power of alliances should never be underestimated. If the BJP has made such enormous gains in the North-East, it is largely because of its astute alliance management. The fourth is that the only second Left bastion in the country has abandoned the communists and gone to the Right &mdash; indeed, it is the first time that the BJP has toppled a Left regime in the country. The fifth is that the Congress has been reduced to a bit player, with only Meghalaya as the saving grace &mdash; and here too it&rsquo;s unlikely to form the next Government. And the sixth and last takeaway is that the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) helmed by the BJP is set to play an even larger role in the coming months in the region.

The contest in Tripura was expected to be close, and that is how it appeared in the initial hours of counting. But after the postal ballots were done with and the tribal region votes began to be counted, the BJP surged ahead dramatically.

Although party leaders maintain they had expected to win, even they must have been taken aback by the enormous scale of victory. A few things went wrong for the Left Front. The first is anti-incumbency. Having ruled for more than 20 years, the communists had lost drive, got complacent and taken the people for granted. Development had suffered and the new demography of voters that had emerged had no connect with the Left ideology &mdash; whether social or political or economic. The Left Front might still have got away with all this, had the BJP not smartly stepped up its presence to exploit the situation. Arguably, the Congress could have been the alternative, but the party&rsquo;s national leadership has made a general mess of its North-East strategy. Besides, most voters believe that the Congress is a reluctant rival to the communists whose support it takes at the national level on many issues.

If the Congress was seen as a reluctant rival in Tripura, it was not even in the race in Nagaland, having contested just 18 of the 60 seats. Various permutations and combinations are being worked out in the State, but none needs to factor in the Congress. So, whether the Naga People&rsquo;s Front (NPF) forms the Government or the BJP-National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) does, it&rsquo;s a win-win situation for the BJP, because the NPF is already part of the larger NDA that rules the Centre.

Meghalaya is the only State that the Congress ruled when the election was held. But there is every indication it will not be able to return to power here, given that the National People&rsquo;s Party (NPP) headed by members of the PA Sangma family could tie up with the BJP, along with a few others pitching in.

If the BJP is celebrating, the Congress is busy spinning the results to suit its narrative. For instance, Congress representatives have been saying that the party&rsquo;s performance has been nothing different from what existed five years ago. It was not in power on Tripura; it will not be now. It was not in power in Nagaland; it will not be now. It was an important player in Meghalaya; it still is so. In other words, the Congress appears content with status quo while the BJP continues to eat into its space. Is this how it will read the outcome if it loses in the coming polls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where too it is not in power?

There are lessons both in victory and in defeat. The Congress needs to pull up its socks. It learnt nothing from the Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh fiasco. The victorious BJP must realise that alliances matter and that it must do more to communicate effectively with partners across the country - allies that are unhappy with it. There is another lesson for it: The talks of inclusive development and not divisive agenda works. The Congress paid the price for bringing Church politics in the narrative. The BJP kept beef politics aside, for example, and focussed on people-centric issues such as corruption, infrastructure etc. The North-East results may or may not set the tone for 2019, but they are pointers of some importance.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The momentum which began with the party’s win in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, has been maintained. Nearly all of the region of north-east India is now painted saffron.

When was the last time that results of elections to (three small) northeastern states seized the collective attention of the nation, with even the national media running round-the-clock coverage of the outcome? When was the last time that three states which send just five members to the Lok Sabha assumed so great a significance? There was no last time because this is the first occasion the phenomenon has been witnessed. There are sound reasons for this turn of events, which are also the major takeaways. The first is that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s bandwagon continues to roll in the North-East. The momentum which began with the party’s win in Assam and with the formation of its Governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, has been maintained. Nearly all of the region is now painted saffron. This is a major achievement for a party which had a negligible presence in this part of the country just over a year ago. The second is that the Church card which non-BJP parties tried to play in these States collapsed, with the people emphatically rejecting the attempt. The Congress failed to mobilise the overwhelmingly Christian population in both Nagaland and Meghalaya to give it a mandate. The third takeaway is that the power of alliances should never be underestimated. If the BJP has made such enormous gains in the North-East, it is largely because of its astute alliance management. The fourth is that the only second Left bastion in the country has abandoned the communists and gone to the Right — indeed, it is the first time that the BJP has toppled a Left regime in the country. The fifth is that the Congress has been reduced to a bit player, with only Meghalaya as the saving grace — and here too it’s unlikely to form the next Government. And the sixth and last takeaway is that the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) helmed by the BJP is set to play an even larger role in the coming months in the region. The contest in Tripura was expected to be close, and that is how it appeared in the initial hours of counting. But after the postal ballots were done with and the tribal region votes began to be counted, the BJP surged ahead dramatically. Although party leaders maintain they had expected to win, even they must have been taken aback by the enormous scale of victory. A few things went wrong for the Left Front. The first is anti-incumbency. Having ruled for more than 20 years, the communists had lost drive, got complacent and taken the people for granted. Development had suffered and the new demography of voters that had emerged had no connect with the Left ideology — whether social or political or economic. The Left Front might still have got away with all this, had the BJP not smartly stepped up its presence to exploit the situation. Arguably, the Congress could have been the alternative, but the party’s national leadership has made a general mess of its North-East strategy. Besides, most voters believe that the Congress is a reluctant rival to the communists whose support it takes at the national level on many issues. If the Congress was seen as a reluctant rival in Tripura, it was not even in the race in Nagaland, having contested just 18 of the 60 seats. Various permutations and combinations are being worked out in the State, but none needs to factor in the Congress. So, whether the Naga People’s Front (NPF) forms the Government or the BJP-National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) does, it’s a win-win situation for the BJP, because the NPF is already part of the larger NDA that rules the Centre. Meghalaya is the only State that the Congress ruled when the election was held. But there is every indication it will not be able to return to power here, given that the National People’s Party (NPP) headed by members of the PA Sangma family could tie up with the BJP, along with a few others pitching in. If the BJP is celebrating, the Congress is busy spinning the results to suit its narrative. For instance, Congress representatives have been saying that the party’s performance has been nothing different from what existed five years ago. It was not in power on Tripura; it will not be now. It was not in power in Nagaland; it will not be now. It was an important player in Meghalaya; it still is so. In other words, the Congress appears content with status quo while the BJP continues to eat into its space. Is this how it will read the outcome if it loses in the coming polls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where too it is not in power? There are lessons both in victory and in defeat. The Congress needs to pull up its socks. It learnt nothing from the Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh fiasco. The victorious BJP must realise that alliances matter and that it must do more to communicate effectively with partners across the country - allies that are unhappy with it. There is another lesson for it: The talks of inclusive development and not divisive agenda works. The Congress paid the price for bringing Church politics in the narrative. The BJP kept beef politics aside, for example, and focussed on people-centric issues such as corruption, infrastructure etc. The North-East results may or may not set the tone for 2019, but they are pointers of some importance. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: BJP's bandwagon continues to roll in NE

There are three certainties in the outcome of the Nagaland Assembly election. The first is that the Congress will not form the Government. The second is that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not form the Government on its own. And the third is that one of the two main regional parties of the state will emerge with the largest number of seats.&nbsp;

This situation may appear to be even-handed for both the national parties, but it&rsquo;s not so. The Congress is at a distinct disadvantage vis-&agrave;-vis the BJP because it is a loner in the State. The BJP has tied up with the formidable National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). Moreover, it&rsquo;s open to doing business with the other major contender, the Naga People&rsquo;s Front (NPF). It would be a miracle if either of the two regional outfits align with the Congress, even if for opportunistic reasons, after the results are out on March 3.

The reason why neither the NDPP nor the NPF sees the Congress either as a threat or a potential partner is simple. The Congress is contesting just 18 out of the 60 Assembly seats. Apparently, it ran out of both money and candidates. &nbsp;This is indeed dismal for a party that has given three chief ministers to the State &mdash; and also given that Nagaland&rsquo;s demographic profile (with nearly 90 per cent of the population being Christian) is considered just the right one for the party&rsquo;s &lsquo;secular&rsquo; image.&nbsp;

The BJP, on the other hand, is better placed, with its present alliance and with the prospect of a different tie-up if the occasion demands. At 20, it is also contesting a slightly higher number of seats than the Congress, with the NDPP having its nominees in the rest. And, although it is subordinate to the regional party, the BJP has been aggressive in its campaigns, with the party&rsquo;s top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning there. The contrast with its national rival is evident. The Congress has virtually thrown in the towel, with no national leader of substance bothering to canvas for the election.

The start of the Congress&rsquo;s downfall can be traced to some five years ago. It had won eight seats in the 2013 Assembly election (having fought on 56 seats) and emerged as the main Opposition. This was bad enough numerically. But less than two years later, worse followed. All of these eight MLAs crossed over to the NPF. Various local factors can be attributed to this migration, but there was also a failure at the Congress&rsquo;s central leadership level to effectively handle the dissatisfaction of its State representatives. It&rsquo;s a failure similar to that we have seen repeatedly in other northeastern States, with Arunachal Pradesh and Assam being two prominent instances.&nbsp;

By contrast, the BJP has been gaining ground since around the same time. It had just one Legislator from the 11 seats it contested, but its tally shot up to four when three Nationalist Congress Party MLAs switched to its side. The party has also played smart. It realised the futility of making a dent on its own. The NPF was the obvious candidate to woo. The NPF had won 38 seats and secured 47 per cent of the total votes in the 2013 Assembly poll. Not only did the BJP align with the NPF, it very recently decided for tactical reasons, to &lsquo;temporarily&rsquo; dump it in favour of the NDPP. The NPF, though, remains part of the NDA grouping at the Centre.

The flip side of the rise of the two regional parties is the political instability that has besieged Nagaland. This should be food for thought for the voters when they troop to the polling booths on February 27. The State has had four chief ministers &mdash; and thus as many regimes &mdash; since May 2014. The main reason for the fluidity has been the infidelity of the MLAs. The NDPP&rsquo;s formation received a fillip when senior NPF leader and former Chief Minister Neiphu Rio joined its ranks. Since then, the NDPP, which began as a breakaway faction of the NPF, has emerged as a strong entity, with more arrivals from the original party, and Rio is the chief ministerial candidate in case the NDPP-BJP coalition wins.

But the NPF is not a spent force yet. Aware of the crisis it faces, the party has sought to stem the tide by giving tickets to just 10 of the 48 sitting Legislators. It has also made light of the desertions, saying that those who left had become liabilities for the party.&nbsp;

Besides political instability, the other issue which has troubled voters of the state for years is the failure of governments, both in the State and at the Centre, to end the civil strife. They are curious and even anxious to know more about the framework agreement which the Centre has finalised after talks with the insurgent Naga group, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah). The framework agreement had been inked by the two parties some two years ago, but its details are still under wraps. The Prime Minister said at a rally in the State that the political solution in the pipeline would be &ldquo;honourable and well-deserving for the people of Nagaland&rdquo;. A few local parties had threatened to boycott the February 27 election in protest against the Centre&rsquo;s failure to make the details public, but that call fizzled out. However, the Centre and the incoming State regime will not be able to avoid the contentious issue for long.&nbsp;

Nagaland&rsquo;s all-round development and inclusive growth will depend on both political stability and a broadly acceptable Naga accord. Minus one of these, the potential for socio-economic disruptions will always linger. The BJP-led regime at the Centre will have nobody to blame but itself in case the failure happens even after Kohima gets a government that is aligned with it.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Nagaland’s all-round development and inclusive growth will depend on both political stability and a broadly acceptable Naga accord.

There are three certainties in the outcome of the Nagaland Assembly election. The first is that the Congress will not form the Government. The second is that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not form the Government on its own. And the third is that one of the two main regional parties of the state will emerge with the largest number of seats. This situation may appear to be even-handed for both the national parties, but it’s not so. The Congress is at a distinct disadvantage vis-à-vis the BJP because it is a loner in the State. The BJP has tied up with the formidable National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). Moreover, it’s open to doing business with the other major contender, the Naga People’s Front (NPF). It would be a miracle if either of the two regional outfits align with the Congress, even if for opportunistic reasons, after the results are out on March 3. The reason why neither the NDPP nor the NPF sees the Congress either as a threat or a potential partner is simple. The Congress is contesting just 18 out of the 60 Assembly seats. Apparently, it ran out of both money and candidates. This is indeed dismal for a party that has given three chief ministers to the State — and also given that Nagaland’s demographic profile (with nearly 90 per cent of the population being Christian) is considered just the right one for the party’s ‘secular’ image. The BJP, on the other hand, is better placed, with its present alliance and with the prospect of a different tie-up if the occasion demands. At 20, it is also contesting a slightly higher number of seats than the Congress, with the NDPP having its nominees in the rest. And, although it is subordinate to the regional party, the BJP has been aggressive in its campaigns, with the party’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning there. The contrast with its national rival is evident. The Congress has virtually thrown in the towel, with no national leader of substance bothering to canvas for the election. The start of the Congress’s downfall can be traced to some five years ago. It had won eight seats in the 2013 Assembly election (having fought on 56 seats) and emerged as the main Opposition. This was bad enough numerically. But less than two years later, worse followed. All of these eight MLAs crossed over to the NPF. Various local factors can be attributed to this migration, but there was also a failure at the Congress’s central leadership level to effectively handle the dissatisfaction of its State representatives. It’s a failure similar to that we have seen repeatedly in other northeastern States, with Arunachal Pradesh and Assam being two prominent instances. By contrast, the BJP has been gaining ground since around the same time. It had just one Legislator from the 11 seats it contested, but its tally shot up to four when three Nationalist Congress Party MLAs switched to its side. The party has also played smart. It realised the futility of making a dent on its own. The NPF was the obvious candidate to woo. The NPF had won 38 seats and secured 47 per cent of the total votes in the 2013 Assembly poll. Not only did the BJP align with the NPF, it very recently decided for tactical reasons, to ‘temporarily’ dump it in favour of the NDPP. The NPF, though, remains part of the NDA grouping at the Centre. The flip side of the rise of the two regional parties is the political instability that has besieged Nagaland. This should be food for thought for the voters when they troop to the polling booths on February 27. The State has had four chief ministers — and thus as many regimes — since May 2014. The main reason for the fluidity has been the infidelity of the MLAs. The NDPP’s formation received a fillip when senior NPF leader and former Chief Minister Neiphu Rio joined its ranks. Since then, the NDPP, which began as a breakaway faction of the NPF, has emerged as a strong entity, with more arrivals from the original party, and Rio is the chief ministerial candidate in case the NDPP-BJP coalition wins. But the NPF is not a spent force yet. Aware of the crisis it faces, the party has sought to stem the tide by giving tickets to just 10 of the 48 sitting Legislators. It has also made light of the desertions, saying that those who left had become liabilities for the party. Besides political instability, the other issue which has troubled voters of the state for years is the failure of governments, both in the State and at the Centre, to end the civil strife. They are curious and even anxious to know more about the framework agreement which the Centre has finalised after talks with the insurgent Naga group, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah). The framework agreement had been inked by the two parties some two years ago, but its details are still under wraps. The Prime Minister said at a rally in the State that the political solution in the pipeline would be “honourable and well-deserving for the people of Nagaland”. A few local parties had threatened to boycott the February 27 election in protest against the Centre’s failure to make the details public, but that call fizzled out. However, the Centre and the incoming State regime will not be able to avoid the contentious issue for long. Nagaland’s all-round development and inclusive growth will depend on both political stability and a broadly acceptable Naga accord. Minus one of these, the potential for socio-economic disruptions will always linger. The BJP-led regime at the Centre will have nobody to blame but itself in case the failure happens even after Kohima gets a government that is aligned with it. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Nagaland's political instability is the biggest challenge to BJP, Congress and others

In normal circumstances, neither the Congress nor the Bharatiya Janata Party would fret much over the electoral outcome of a small state such as Meghalaya. Both have larger national goals to achieve, and an assembly election in this northeastern state, which contributes just two seats to the Lok Sabha, should be no big deal for either of the national parties. But these are not normal circumstances. They are so far from normal that the parties&rsquo; tallest leaders, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, have addressed public rallies there and aggressively wooed the voters.

What makes the situation so important?&nbsp;

For the Congress, Meghalaya represents one of the very few states in the country that it still rules. A loss here would be a double body blow. First, it would concede yet another state to the BJP. Second, it would embolden the BJP to pursue its political dominance in a region where until a couple of years ago, it was on the margins. The Congress has already lost vast ground across the country to the BJP, and while it is hoping to recoup in the coming State elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan &mdash; and retain Karnataka &mdash; that possibility remains in the realm of speculation for now.&nbsp;

The party has been reduced to such a state that even small wins in small states are to seized upon with glee. It has already lost Assam, where the BJP handed over a drubbing in the last assembly election. The Congress had failed to form governments in both Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. It has little prospect of doing well in Tripura, where voting has already taken place. Meghalaya, then, is its only hope in the North-East.&nbsp;

As far as the BJP is concerned, the battle for Meghalaya is an opportunity for the party to expand its footprints even more dramatically in the region. If it wins, it will have hit two birds with one stone: snatching yet another state from the Congress, and reinforcing its ambitious plans for the North-East through its special purpose political vehicle, the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which it heads.&nbsp;

The BJP does not have smooth sailing, though. The challenges are many, but the foremost is the demographic profile of the State. Meghalaya may derive its name from Sanskrit, meaning the &lsquo;abode of clouds&rsquo;, but this is not going to come to the party&rsquo;s aid. Instead, the religious composition can cloud the BJP&rsquo;s chances in the state.

More than 80 per cent of the population is Christian, and the religious affiliation is spread across the most predominant Khasi and Garo communities. The Hindu faith is the major one among minor tribes such as the Hajong and the Koch. Christians are not known to be the most ardent admirers of the BJP anywhere in the country, and it remains to be seen if the voters of this faith go against the currently prevalent trend elsewhere in the country.

BJP leaders, both at the national and state levels, believe they can reverse the situation in Meghalaya through appeals in favour of development and against parochial considerations. They also feel that the sting can be later managed through post-poll understandings with regional parties which are not just more rooted to the socio-cultural ethos of the state but also command a significant amount of loyalty among the Christian community. For instance, while the National People&rsquo;s Party (NPP), founded by the late PA Sangma, is contesting on its own, the possibility of its aligning with the BJP after the election in government formation, cannot be ruled out. The NPP is fighting the electoral battle on its own for tactical reasons &mdash; it does not want to alienate the section of its voters that is uncomfortable with the BJP.

Meanwhile, the BJP&rsquo;s cause has been somewhat helped by the migration of leaders in the past months away from the Congress. Besides, the party has kept away from contentious issues like the beef ban, which it belligerently promotes in other parts of the country, and even that of illegal migration with a view to appeasing the non-tribal voters.&nbsp;

The Congress is, on the other hand, banking on the very issue that is a challenge for the BJP &mdash; the demographic composition. It has over the years build a solid support base among the Christians and is not hesitant to exploit it. During one of his recent trips to the state, party president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of trying to &lsquo;purchase&rsquo; the loyalty of the Church there.&nbsp;

Interestingly, while a good part of the local BJP leadership in Meghalaya has come from other parties, the Congress too established its base in the state in a similar fashion some 40 years ago, when an influential organisation, the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), merged lock, stock and barrel, with the national party. The APHLC had spearheaded the formation of Meghalaya as a separate entity. From then on, the Congress had been on a roll, at times tying up with regional outfits to govern.

The 2018 election will, in many ways, be its first real test in many years. Given how the BJP upstaged the Congress in Manipur despite not even being the party with the largest number of seats, the state Congress leadership does not want to take chances with a hung assembly and is going all out to secure a clear majority.

In this regard, there is much at stake for the local leadership led by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. Not only is he contesting from two constituencies, but his wife too is seeking re-election. Besides, the Chief Minister&rsquo;s brother and the brother&rsquo;s wife too, are contestants. To be fair to the Chief Minister, his is not the only family in the fray; the NPP too is involved in family politics. If all goes well for the Congress, the dynasty issue will not be relevant; if the party fares badly, then he will have to take the rap for brazenly promoting his family.&nbsp;

In the midst of all these calculations, are the real issues of development. Here, while the Congress is on slippery ground, the BJP cannot take it for granted that the promise of inclusive development and growth will necessarily lure voters to its side. Road connectivity in shambles, the primary education system in rural Meghalaya is creaking, basic healthcare in far-flung regions is poor, the power supply is erratic in small towns and villages, agriculture which is the mainstay for a large section of population is in a bad shape, and there is a grave scarcity of potable water. It can be argued that these malaises are not unique to Meghalaya. Even other states, including BJP-ruled ones, suffer similarly. The question is: Will voters buy the reasoning?&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

BJP leaders believe they can reverse the situation in Meghalaya through appeals in favour of development and against parochial considerations.

In normal circumstances, neither the Congress nor the Bharatiya Janata Party would fret much over the electoral outcome of a small state such as Meghalaya. Both have larger national goals to achieve, and an assembly election in this northeastern state, which contributes just two seats to the Lok Sabha, should be no big deal for either of the national parties. But these are not normal circumstances. They are so far from normal that the parties’ tallest leaders, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, have addressed public rallies there and aggressively wooed the voters. What makes the situation so important? For the Congress, Meghalaya represents one of the very few states in the country that it still rules. A loss here would be a double body blow. First, it would concede yet another state to the BJP. Second, it would embolden the BJP to pursue its political dominance in a region where until a couple of years ago, it was on the margins. The Congress has already lost vast ground across the country to the BJP, and while it is hoping to recoup in the coming State elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — and retain Karnataka — that possibility remains in the realm of speculation for now. The party has been reduced to such a state that even small wins in small states are to seized upon with glee. It has already lost Assam, where the BJP handed over a drubbing in the last assembly election. The Congress had failed to form governments in both Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. It has little prospect of doing well in Tripura, where voting has already taken place. Meghalaya, then, is its only hope in the North-East. As far as the BJP is concerned, the battle for Meghalaya is an opportunity for the party to expand its footprints even more dramatically in the region. If it wins, it will have hit two birds with one stone: snatching yet another state from the Congress, and reinforcing its ambitious plans for the North-East through its special purpose political vehicle, the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which it heads. The BJP does not have smooth sailing, though. The challenges are many, but the foremost is the demographic profile of the State. Meghalaya may derive its name from Sanskrit, meaning the ‘abode of clouds’, but this is not going to come to the party’s aid. Instead, the religious composition can cloud the BJP’s chances in the state. More than 80 per cent of the population is Christian, and the religious affiliation is spread across the most predominant Khasi and Garo communities. The Hindu faith is the major one among minor tribes such as the Hajong and the Koch. Christians are not known to be the most ardent admirers of the BJP anywhere in the country, and it remains to be seen if the voters of this faith go against the currently prevalent trend elsewhere in the country. BJP leaders, both at the national and state levels, believe they can reverse the situation in Meghalaya through appeals in favour of development and against parochial considerations. They also feel that the sting can be later managed through post-poll understandings with regional parties which are not just more rooted to the socio-cultural ethos of the state but also command a significant amount of loyalty among the Christian community. For instance, while the National People’s Party (NPP), founded by the late PA Sangma, is contesting on its own, the possibility of its aligning with the BJP after the election in government formation, cannot be ruled out. The NPP is fighting the electoral battle on its own for tactical reasons — it does not want to alienate the section of its voters that is uncomfortable with the BJP. Meanwhile, the BJP’s cause has been somewhat helped by the migration of leaders in the past months away from the Congress. Besides, the party has kept away from contentious issues like the beef ban, which it belligerently promotes in other parts of the country, and even that of illegal migration with a view to appeasing the non-tribal voters. The Congress is, on the other hand, banking on the very issue that is a challenge for the BJP — the demographic composition. It has over the years build a solid support base among the Christians and is not hesitant to exploit it. During one of his recent trips to the state, party president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of trying to ‘purchase’ the loyalty of the Church there. Interestingly, while a good part of the local BJP leadership in Meghalaya has come from other parties, the Congress too established its base in the state in a similar fashion some 40 years ago, when an influential organisation, the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), merged lock, stock and barrel, with the national party. The APHLC had spearheaded the formation of Meghalaya as a separate entity. From then on, the Congress had been on a roll, at times tying up with regional outfits to govern. The 2018 election will, in many ways, be its first real test in many years. Given how the BJP upstaged the Congress in Manipur despite not even being the party with the largest number of seats, the state Congress leadership does not want to take chances with a hung assembly and is going all out to secure a clear majority. In this regard, there is much at stake for the local leadership led by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. Not only is he contesting from two constituencies, but his wife too is seeking re-election. Besides, the Chief Minister’s brother and the brother’s wife too, are contestants. To be fair to the Chief Minister, his is not the only family in the fray; the NPP too is involved in family politics. If all goes well for the Congress, the dynasty issue will not be relevant; if the party fares badly, then he will have to take the rap for brazenly promoting his family. In the midst of all these calculations, are the real issues of development. Here, while the Congress is on slippery ground, the BJP cannot take it for granted that the promise of inclusive development and growth will necessarily lure voters to its side. Road connectivity in shambles, the primary education system in rural Meghalaya is creaking, basic healthcare in far-flung regions is poor, the power supply is erratic in small towns and villages, agriculture which is the mainstay for a large section of population is in a bad shape, and there is a grave scarcity of potable water. It can be argued that these malaises are not unique to Meghalaya. Even other states, including BJP-ruled ones, suffer similarly. The question is: Will voters buy the reasoning? (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Will Meghalaya prefer BJP over Congress's Mukul Sangma?

The other day, a former senior bureaucrat attached to the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, told a news channel that Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had informed the Chief Minister about archaeological evidence of the pre-existence of a temple where the Babri mosque stood. This was roughly a fortnight before the disputed structure was demolished. The bureaucrat was referring to the findings of an archaeological exercise conducted just months before. A more detailed excavation was done in 2003 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the Allahabad High Court&rsquo;s instructions.

Interestingly, both of these explorations had dug out evidence of a Hindu structure that once existed. The findings had set off a furious debate between the pro-temple organisations on the one hand and the pro-mosque lobby consisting of the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and Left-liberal historians on the other. Now, given that the Supreme Court has said that it would hear the matter as a title deed case and not delve into the faith aspect, the archaeological material could play a crucial role.

Indeed, even the Allahabad High Court, while going into matters of faith, had relied heavily on the ASI&rsquo;s 2003 findings. &nbsp;The High Court&rsquo;s order was subsequently stayed by the apex court, but the archaeological findings haven&rsquo;t gone anywhere. The fire may now be re-ignited.

The pro-mosque lobby has consistently questioned the credibility of the ASI&rsquo;s findings. The fact is that the ASI did the excavations in 2003 under the supervision of the court. The court had appointed a panel including two junior judges and three archaeologists to maintain a close vigil on the excavation. And yet, the findings were discredited merely because they indicated the existence of a Hindu structure. It must be remembered that the 2003 excavation was more elaborate than the one in the early 1990s because it was done post-demolition.

Many findings were noted, and the most significant one was that well before the mosque came to be constructed, there had been large-scale structures of non-residential type (religious in nature) right up to the present level of the disputed site. Some 50 pillar bases were excavated; walls were discovered; a circular shrine with a water chute towards the north, that is meant to drain out water after offering to the deity, was found. The High Court had asked the ASI to excavate to determine &ldquo;whether there was any temple or structure which was demolished and the mosque constructed on the disputed site&rdquo;. Left historians, perhaps, already apprehensive that the 1992 findings would be reinforced, strenuously objected on the ground that the court seemed to be giving &ldquo;tacit judicial recognition&rdquo; to the belief that a monument could be destroyed on grounds of its having been built over another religious structure.

As more and more material emerged through the excavations that pointed to the pre-existence of a temple &mdash; or at the very least a Hindu structure, Left historians and the pro-mosque lobby stepped up their opposition. What then was witnessed was a sequence of desperate arguments. They had to respond somehow after the ASI report concluded that the findings were &ldquo;indicative (of) remains which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India&rdquo;. In short, the mosque had not been constructed on vacant land and that the remains found belonged to Hindu structures.

The dilemma before the pro-mosque organisations was: What was now to be done in the face of such evidence gathered through an exercise closely supervised by the High Court? One Left historian, Irfan Habib, was quick off the mark. Even before the ASI had submitted its final report to the court, he alleged that the ASI appeared to be bent on &ldquo;finding what those in powers wish it to find &mdash; the remains of a temple&rdquo;. He then went on to make a bizarre claim: That another mosque had immediately existed where the Babri structure later came up. Undaunted by the outlandish claims, he suggested that the pillar bases and bricks (which were evidence of a Hindu structure) were &ldquo;easy to assemble&rdquo; and that the bricks could have been &ldquo;arranged by the ASI excavators to provide evidence&rdquo;. Having already made up his mind, it wasn&rsquo;t surprising that Habib dismissed the final report as an &ldquo;unprofessional document, full of gross omissions, one-sided presentations of evidence, clear falsifications and motivated inferences&rdquo;.

There were other Left historians too who endorsed Habib&rsquo;s outrage. But the High Court did not share their prejudices, also because the excavations had been done under its supervision and there had been no reason for any objective evaluator to doubt the exercise&rsquo;s credibility.

Just one more instance should suffice to demonstrate the desperation of the Left historians and their patrons. The excavations had revealed details of the Ram Chabutara (the site of which the High Court eventually awarded to the pro-temple groups in its verdict). These historians had all along insisted that the Chabutara had been constructed soon after the 1857 revolt, quite ignoring the description of a Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler, who had visited the place between 1766 and 1771. The priest had written in detail about the structure, and his writings matched the earliest form of Ram Chabutara.

The Left academics&rsquo; strategy has been clear and consistent. First, deny the evidence. If that becomes difficult, explain it away as one that fits with anything but the pre-existence of a Hindu structure. When even that fails, blame the ASI team for &lsquo;planting&rsquo; evidence to bolster a &lsquo;pre-conceived&rsquo; agenda driven by the rulers of the day. As the apex court takes up the issue from March 14, we may see the resurgence of the same old stance.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
&nbsp;

PM Narasimha Rao and CM Kalyan Singh were aware of archaeological evidence of the pre-existence of a temple where the Babri mosque stood.

The other day, a former senior bureaucrat attached to the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, told a news channel that Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had informed the Chief Minister about archaeological evidence of the pre-existence of a temple where the Babri mosque stood. This was roughly a fortnight before the disputed structure was demolished. The bureaucrat was referring to the findings of an archaeological exercise conducted just months before. A more detailed excavation was done in 2003 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the Allahabad High Court’s instructions. Interestingly, both of these explorations had dug out evidence of a Hindu structure that once existed. The findings had set off a furious debate between the pro-temple organisations on the one hand and the pro-mosque lobby consisting of the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and Left-liberal historians on the other. Now, given that the Supreme Court has said that it would hear the matter as a title deed case and not delve into the faith aspect, the archaeological material could play a crucial role. Indeed, even the Allahabad High Court, while going into matters of faith, had relied heavily on the ASI’s 2003 findings. The High Court’s order was subsequently stayed by the apex court, but the archaeological findings haven’t gone anywhere. The fire may now be re-ignited. The pro-mosque lobby has consistently questioned the credibility of the ASI’s findings. The fact is that the ASI did the excavations in 2003 under the supervision of the court. The court had appointed a panel including two junior judges and three archaeologists to maintain a close vigil on the excavation. And yet, the findings were discredited merely because they indicated the existence of a Hindu structure. It must be remembered that the 2003 excavation was more elaborate than the one in the early 1990s because it was done post-demolition. Many findings were noted, and the most significant one was that well before the mosque came to be constructed, there had been large-scale structures of non-residential type (religious in nature) right up to the present level of the disputed site. Some 50 pillar bases were excavated; walls were discovered; a circular shrine with a water chute towards the north, that is meant to drain out water after offering to the deity, was found. The High Court had asked the ASI to excavate to determine “whether there was any temple or structure which was demolished and the mosque constructed on the disputed site”. Left historians, perhaps, already apprehensive that the 1992 findings would be reinforced, strenuously objected on the ground that the court seemed to be giving “tacit judicial recognition” to the belief that a monument could be destroyed on grounds of its having been built over another religious structure. As more and more material emerged through the excavations that pointed to the pre-existence of a temple — or at the very least a Hindu structure, Left historians and the pro-mosque lobby stepped up their opposition. What then was witnessed was a sequence of desperate arguments. They had to respond somehow after the ASI report concluded that the findings were “indicative (of) remains which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India”. In short, the mosque had not been constructed on vacant land and that the remains found belonged to Hindu structures. The dilemma before the pro-mosque organisations was: What was now to be done in the face of such evidence gathered through an exercise closely supervised by the High Court? One Left historian, Irfan Habib, was quick off the mark. Even before the ASI had submitted its final report to the court, he alleged that the ASI appeared to be bent on “finding what those in powers wish it to find — the remains of a temple”. He then went on to make a bizarre claim: That another mosque had immediately existed where the Babri structure later came up. Undaunted by the outlandish claims, he suggested that the pillar bases and bricks (which were evidence of a Hindu structure) were “easy to assemble” and that the bricks could have been “arranged by the ASI excavators to provide evidence”. Having already made up his mind, it wasn’t surprising that Habib dismissed the final report as an “unprofessional document, full of gross omissions, one-sided presentations of evidence, clear falsifications and motivated inferences”. There were other Left historians too who endorsed Habib’s outrage. But the High Court did not share their prejudices, also because the excavations had been done under its supervision and there had been no reason for any objective evaluator to doubt the exercise’s credibility. Just one more instance should suffice to demonstrate the desperation of the Left historians and their patrons. The excavations had revealed details of the Ram Chabutara (the site of which the High Court eventually awarded to the pro-temple groups in its verdict). These historians had all along insisted that the Chabutara had been constructed soon after the 1857 revolt, quite ignoring the description of a Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler, who had visited the place between 1766 and 1771. The priest had written in detail about the structure, and his writings matched the earliest form of Ram Chabutara. The Left academics’ strategy has been clear and consistent. First, deny the evidence. If that becomes difficult, explain it away as one that fits with anything but the pre-existence of a Hindu structure. When even that fails, blame the ASI team for ‘planting’ evidence to bolster a ‘pre-conceived’ agenda driven by the rulers of the day. As the apex court takes up the issue from March 14, we may see the resurgence of the same old stance. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: What decides Babri Masjid's fate on March 14

Author

Zee News Rajasthan

Editor

Rajesh Singh

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