MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY POLLS

Defeat Communal Combine

DESPITE fervent pleas by the BJP and the Shiv Sena to postpone the election dates in Maharashtra, the Election Commission has stuck to its original announcement of holding the elections to the state assembly on October 13. The BJP/RSS are treating these elections as the peg for their illusory hopes of returning to power at the center in the near future. Given this, they are leaving no stone unturned to win these elections by hook or by crook (more by the latter). They have adopted a variety of strategies to achieve their objectives.

First, a plethora of issues are being raised with the sole objective of rousing communal passions and heightening tensions in the run up to the elections.  The VHP has mounted the unsuccessful campaign to demolish the tomb of Afzal Khan in Satara. Uma Bharati’s tiranga yatra, though evoking little response, is nevertheless screaming stridently in Maharashtra. Simultaneously, attempts are being made to whip up communal passions by distorting historical facts concerning the role of Savarkar in the freedom struggle and in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Clearly, the communal combine is putting into practice their understanding that their political existence is crucially, if not entirely, dependent upon communal polarisation. 

Such efforts, however, seem to be cutting little ice amongst the voters in the state. That communal polarisation and consequent tensions are detrimental to the livelihood of crores of people, as demonstrated in Gujarat, seems to have been firmly established in the minds of the voters. On all major policy issues concerning economic policy, which adversely affect the living conditions of the vast majority of the people, the BJP has been – both when in office and out of office – the champion of all anti-people policies. Given this track record, realising that they cannot shore up people’s support to their policies, the BJP-Shiv Sena are desperately seeking to whip up communal passions.

On this score alone, they need to be decisively rejected for the sake of our country’s unity and its secular democratic foundations as well as for the welfare of Maharashtra and its people.

Fearing such an outcome, the communal combine is working on a second strategy of trying to seek a division amongst the secular vote.  In the past, it had, on occasions, succeeded in forming governments on the basis of such a strategy.  By seeking to engender such a division, they are hoping that inspite of not receiving the support of a majority, they will still nevertheless be able to form the government. Many of the non-BJP allies of the NDA, not only the likes of George Fernandes & Co., are being roped in to achieve this objective. With the BSP, the Samajwadi Party, Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Jansakti Party, on the one hand, and other non-BJP NDA allies, on the other, declaring that they will contest a large number of seats, the BJP-Shiv Sena are hoping to gain from the possible division of the secular vote.

To what extent such a strategy will succeed depends crucially on the efforts of the Congress and the NCP to thwart such a possibility. Being the parties running the incumbent coalition government in the state, the Congress and the NCP will have to take the lead in working out appropriate tactics to reduce the division in the secular votes to the minimum. However, as we go to press, the Congress and the NCP have not yet been able to iron out differences amongst themselves in the first place. This is unfortunate since the process of nominations has begun and will end on September 22.

Under these circumstances, given the utmost necessity to defeat the communal combination in these elections and to eliminate all hopes that the RSS/BJP may be entertaining to return to power at the centre, the CPI(M) has adopted the line of working for the least division amongst the  secular votes. The CPI(M) has released a list of 18 constituencies (out of a total of 288 constituencies) where its candidates would contest. The CPI(M) has appealed to all the secular parties to support its candidates in these constituencies while it would extend support to those secular candidates in all other constituencies who are in the best position to defeat the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. In the coming crucial week, we hope that all efforts will be made by all concerned to prevent the BJP from gaining as a result of this possible division in the secular vote. 

Finally, the people in Maharashtra will decide how to vote not only on the basis of their experience of governance during the last five years but also on the basis of the assurances that the parties would give to protect and improve the livelihood of the people. If this be the criteria, then the people of Maharashtra will have to rise to the occasion to prevent the communal forces from staging a come back in these elections. The elections to the Maharashtra state assembly cannot be allowed to be used by the BJP/RSS as a peg to undermine the present government at the centre in their effort to stage a come back. 

 (September 15, 2004)