A poetic solution to political misfortune

Lok Sabha member Anbumani Ramadoss of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), who has declared himself as a chief ministerial candidate in the coming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, is proving to be an indefatigable campaigner even though it is well known that the polls will be dominated by the two Dravidian parties — the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Speaking on the assumption that he has won the election, an undeterred Dr Ramadoss has been busy rolling out his roadmap for the state during his election rallies and interactions with the public.

In fact, the PMK leader’s speeches have become a great source of entertainment as he gives a detailed account of his government’s policies, how these will be implemented and the targets which his government will achieve every month. Bursting with ideas and energy, Dr Ramadoss has made it clear that the era of freebies for the people as well as netas will end when he comes to power. Coming down especially hard on fellow politicians, Dr Ramadoss has declared that MLAs will not be able to play rookie any longer and that it will become compulsory for them to attend all Assembly sessions, failing which they could even lose their official accommodation. The aspiring chief minister’s strict dos and don’ts for legislators have predictably left many bemused, particularly since Dr Ramadoss himself is not known to attend Lok Sabha sessions regularly. Nevertheless, the show goes on.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi surprised everybody when she agreed to be the chief guest at the annual kavi sammelan organised in memory of the party’s wellknown dalit leader Jagjivan Ram on his birth anniversary on April 5. Although she was originally slated to stay for half an hour, she spent nearly two hours at the programme and appeared to appreciate the renditions by well-known poets like Rahat Indori and Ashok Chakradhar. The Congress president’s presence sparked a lot of speculation since this was the first time she had attended a kavi sammelan, a fact pointed out by several speakers.

Many reasons have been cited for Mrs Gandhi’s presence: The most obvious being that this was part of the Congress Party’s outreach to dalits. However, it is also being said that she has been advised to cultivate poets and satirists because they are disillusioned with the Modi government, because they believe the prevailing atmosphere of “intolerance” in the country is stifling their creativity.

Mrs Gandhi has been given to understand that they can help in turning the tide in favour of the Congress as poets and humourists played a key role in discrediting the United Progressive Alliance government through their works in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Biju Janata Dal are known to enjoy a cosy relationship in Delhi, but the two parties are engaged in a bitter political battle back in Orissa. The BJP’s state unit was quick to hit out at the Naveen Patnaik government in Orissa after it opened a number of model schools in rural areas which are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education and offer English as the medium of instruction. Taking a dig at the chief minister, the BJP’s state unit declared that the new schools had been deliberately affiliated to the CBSE and not the state board which uses Oriya language as the medium of instruction because Mr Patnaik does not know Oriya.

If the BJP has a grouse with the Orissa government, the BJD also has its grievances with the Centre. It is particularly upset with the Modi government for changing the funding pattern of welfare schemes which now require the states to shell out more than what they did earlier. This has posed a serious problem for state governments run by regional parties: How do they ensure that the Modi government does not walk away with all the credit for a programme like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana now that the states are also making a substantial financial contribution to it

After taking Delhi by storm and emerging as a serious contender for next year’s Punjab assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party has now zeroed in on Goa as its next target. According to reports from the state, the fledgling party’s foot soldiers have already started work in Goa which, according to the AAP, is ready to embrace the newcomer as the electorate is thoroughly disillusioned with the two national parties. Known for their extensive outreach and micro-management, AAP volunteers move around quietly and end up surprising the competition. This is exactly what happened in Delhi as both the Congress and the BJP were convinced that the AAP was a discredited force. It’s the same story in Punjab. Confident that it will emerge as the automatic beneficiary of anti-incumbency against the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government, the Congress was convinced of its victory. However, it is now scrambling to compete with the AAP. And now Goa appears to be heading in the same direction. While the BJP and the Congress are slugging it out, AAP workers are gradually eroding their support base.

The writer is a Delhi-based journalist