Well fought saffron but Didi is the winner

Sudhir Kumar

It was not a war of wits nor was it a fist fight but it was ostensibly a war of demeanor between the Duo and the Didi. And so the metaphor ‘Humility on Wheelchair and Arrogance on Chariot’, unmistakably is spot on.

The most arrogant, acrimonious and overstretched  electoral battle post Independent India ever witnessed was the recently concluded west Bengal state assembly election. The stakes were seemingly very high for the weak & scattered opposition who reinvented an Avatar  in Didi’s defiance and her undying spirit to fight. And in endeavor to saffronise India the mighty Duo left no stone unturned  and unethically invaded it with their entire band of ministers ,party functionaries and not the least entire teethe enforcement agencies under their command. They too successfully lured a few staunch henchmen of Didi to desert her at the very crucial moment. But defiant &  indefatigable Didi stayed stoic & unnerved .

Satirical gimmicks like ‘didi.. o..didi’ and ‘khela hobe’ were not at all in good taste and sounded ultra humiliating and ridiculous as well. Political analysts were  unanimous in their observation that these absolutely  unwarranted  satires have nothing but lowered the dignity of the  high offices. It did not even least generate  positive vibes and failed miserably to make a dent in Didi’s followings. Rather these gimmicks bounced back and even disenchanted the upper echelon of saffron brigade.

Mighty saffron brigade’s aggressive electioneering at first instance  did bewilder didi. Political observers too were quite apprehensive of didi’s third successive return in power. But Didi belying all the speculation got recomposed and consolidated her followings and displayed extraordinary    willpower and political acumen to fight out.

And suddenly  big opportunity  came abruptly  in her favor when in Nandigram in the hustle bustle of supporters she mildly twisted/cramped her leg and she lost no opportunity  in feigning fracture. Her enlightened sixth sense did wonder and the event irrefutably rewrote the entire script.The incident on the spur of the moment was very hurriedly and intensively propagated to her political advantage. She succeeded  in communicating to the masses that she has fallen prey to conspiracy  of rowdy saffron brigade and got hurt.

And the master stroke of Magical ‘WHEELCHAIR’ did wonder. Didi’s shrewd move to campaign  on Wheelchair  literally  turned the table. The decision proved to be a true game changer. The move besides fetching immeasurable  sympathy to her, pushed her opponents  to the wall as well.

Her ‘outsiders’ rhetoric too worked miraculously in her favor and countered opponent’s divisive policy very effectively. Anti incumbency factor apparently relegated to backstage made her job easier. She managed to  consolidate her vote bank without  harping on her past performances and chartering futuristic action plan.

The sudden burst of menace of pandemic and state’s  apathy to act promptly, too favored her stand significantly .She could easily convince the people the callous and irrational  conduct of state sponsored election  commission to have the election  in 8 phases. Her spontaneous  appeal to election commission to reconsider and work out the feasibility  of consolidating remaining last 4 phases in view of the rising menace of pandemic sounded very logical and in public  interest. But as expected no serious thought was given and it went unheeded.

All circumstantial events combined together, had their discernible effects on the outcome of election. Mandate in favor of  Didi was exhilarating, belying almost all exit polls. Didi was truly  a crusader turned victorious.

But it was no mean achievement for saffron brigade. They too had ample reasons to cheer up and celebrate. Their tallies exponentially rose to 70 from meagre 3.performance in terms of voting percentage too was spectacular. Besides, they successfully invaded and besieged left front’s  vote bank and almost  eliminated their political influence thus making the contest two pronged. They have risen from nonexistent to a formidable rival and will constantly  keep her on tenterhooks.

Ironically the defeat  of saffron  brigade  was more rejoiced than the victory of didi. Breathless India saw a ray of hope in this defeat that at least now the government  machinery  wakes up and acts sensibly to render whatever little help to ailing/dying masses. It’s truly alarming and is like a wakeup call to  saffron brigade.

Sudden eruption of  post election violence in Bengal and government failure to act promptly  and effectively will tarnish her image and will also instigate her political  rivals to conspire .Didi must act tough  and deal with hooligans firmly or it will  thwart her commitment of good governance.

Didi should least forget the circumstances under which she wrested power from, once, invincible left front .She had to struggle persistently for more than a decade to dethrone left front  government. Her political opponents are endowed with even better organizational set up and budgetary support and have the endurance to struggle longer.If citadel of left front could be demolished single handedly by Didi then no wonder unstoppable  saffron brigade may too endeavor endlessly to wrest power.

Inevitable cold war, as expected, has begun  between the center and the state. Sudden arrest of a few ministers and a former mayor in longstanding Narada sting case by CBI has enraged Didi. Her March to CBI office and subsequent legal battle has further surcharged the already tensed atmosphere. And now CM and CS abstaining from  PM’s meeting and CS transfer to  Delhi subsequently has added fuel to fire. In a democratic and federal structure of government certain protocol has to be adhered to by the constitutional/elected head of state.

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Deliberate lapse is highly deplorable. Center desperately retaliated in sheer vengeance by transferring CS, the senior most beaurocrat of the state on the last day of his retirement. What will this arbitrary  and unilateral decision lead to in a federal structure? It is bound to have significant bearing on center state  relationships in future. There appears to be no truce in sight in near future but Didi has to break the ice and initiate reconciliatory measures in the interest of the citizens of  Bengal to whom Didi is answerable.

Battle though is not yet over but mandate is in Didi’s  favor and so ‘Well fought saffron but Didi is the winner’

(Author is Retd. Officer of IAS)