People's Democracy

WITH the Election Commission issuing the formal notification, the election process for elections to the state assemblies of West Bengal, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Assam and Pondicherry, has begun. Campaigning and other related work had commenced much earlier.

The significance of these elections is obvious. For the CPI(M) and the Left the outcome in West Bengal and Kerala will be vital. The results in these states will play a role in determining to what extent the Left can intervene at the national level. Likewise the results in other states, particularly Tamilnadu, will also have a bearing on the national political situation.

It is for the first time that elections to these assemblies are being held under a BJP-dispensation at the centre, reflecting the change that has come about in the political situation, in the course of the last few years. The assumption of power by the BJP at the centre has seen the rightwing forces pursuing their agenda with renewed vigour and aggressiveness.

These elections are being held in the backdrop of increasingly aggressive positions being adopted by the RSS and its outfits. The RSS chief, Sudharshan has reiterated his call to the Christians to establish "Indian churches". Last year, in his address on the occasion of Vijayadashami, Sudharshan also called for the "Indianisation" of the Muslims. Sudharshan, reportedly stated that like the Muslims in Indonesia, the Muslims in India should accept Ram and Krishna as their religious deities. The message is clear -- the patriotism of the members of these minority communities is suspect.

The pitch is going to rise in the coming days with the VHP issuing a deadline to the NDA government for temple construction. At its so-called dharam sansad during the Kumbh Mela in January this year, the VHP adopted a resolution urging upon the Vajpayee government to remove all hurdles to pave the way for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya before March 12, 2002. In a follow up to this a VHP delegation met the Prime Minister on February 24 and requested that 42 acres of land taken over by the government during Narasimha Rao's regime, be "returned" to enable the VHP to begin construction of the gates to the proposed Ram temple.

In the realm of the economy, the Vajpayee government has pursued unbridled liberalisation and privatisation. More and more its policies are leading to impoverishment of the mass of the people. Its policies have only benefitted the corporate houses and the foreign multinationals.

The lifting of quantitative restrictions on all remaining items from 1st April 2001, is bound to have a disastrous effect on the economy. The BJP-led government has been over-enthusiastic in disbanding all checks and permitting a free-import regime much beyond and before the WTO's own requirements. Even before these curbs were fully lifted from April 1, the earlier partial lifting exposed Indian agriculture to the vagaries of the world market. Prices of agricultural commodities fell sharply. Paddy prices went down from Rs 650 to Rs 450 per quintal, groundnut prices came down to Rs 460 from Rs 1500 per quintal, and cotton from Rs 2500 to Rs 1600 per quintal. There has been a drastic reduction in the prices of coconut, rubber, coffee and a host of other items also. From Rs. 10 earlier, a coconut fetches only Rs. 2 now, the price of rubber per kg has declined by about 75 per cent and coffee by around 50 per cent.

In Punjab, peasants unable to get any price worth the name, were throwing their potatoes on to the roads. With the FCI refusing to procure wheat and rice from the peasants, the distress of the peasants has only intensified. This intensity of the anguish and distress of the peasantry is revealed by the fact that around 800 farmers in Andhra Pradesh alone were to committing suicide during the past three years.

Side by side, the WTO factor is having its impact on the industrial scene too. The worst affected, however, is the small-scale industry. The decision of the BJP-led government to take away the protection given to the small sector by de-reserving the goods reserved for it, and simultaneously permitting imports of goods produced by the SSIs, will prove ruinous for this sector.

The NDA government is determined to go ahead with its privatisation policy. After BALCO, the privatisation of Indian Airlines and Air India, VSNL, etc, are on the cards. The extent to which the government can go is displayed in its advocacy of handing over of procurement, storage and distribution of foodgrains to the private sector. After virtually dismantling the public distribution system by hiking its prices to the market level, the FCI godowns are overflowing with stocks. More than 40 million tonnes of foodgrains have piled up in the FCI godowns. The government is unwilling to give subsidised food to the poor in this country, but instead is willing to export the same foodgrains at subsidised prices. See how the swadeshis feed the videshis!

The people had always entertained doubts when well performing public sector units were being sold for a song. The BALCO deal was one such sale that was mired in controversy. The Vajpayee government was unable to explain how it could sell off a Rs. 5000 crore asset company for a mere Rs. 551 crore. Even as the controversy surrounding the BALCO deal failed to die down, the tehelka exposure came, bringing the government crashing down from the high moral ground it had taken till now.

None other than Bangaru Laxman was seen accepting money. The whole country saw the President of India's ruling party, the BJP, accepting money from a fictitious arms dealer. Had there been no camera it would have been a mere allegation. But the hidden camera exposed the hidden face of the BJP. Jaya Jaitley, his counterpart in the Samata Party also took Rs two lakh in cash, though not directly. Since she was operating from the Defence Minister George Fernandes residence and she promised to meddle in defence deals, the defence minister was also brought under a cloud of doubt. All three had to resign, the first two from their party positions and the third from the ministry.

That this malice has also afflicted the Prime Minister's office was revealed by none other than Bangaru Laxman. The disgraced BJP chief had named the principal secretary at the PMO and National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra as the key man and stated that he had been taking Mishra's help because he is there on a number of committees.

The appointment of a retired judge to head an enquiry commission is only to buy time and with such dilatory tactics, the BJP hopes that the furore will die down. The retention of George Fernandes as the NDA convenor and the promise of reinstating him after the enquiry is over, proclaim that the outcome of the so-called enquiry is pre-determined. Even weeks after the entire country saw Bangaru Laxman taking bribes he has neither been chargesheeted nor arrested. This is in sharp contrast to earlier instances when chargesheets were filed against public servants accused of accepting gratification.

It is against this backdrop that elections to these five assemblies are being held.

In West Bengal, the Left Front has been in office for twenty-four years having won five successive assembly elections. It is the policies implemented by the Left Front government in the sphere of implementation of land reforms, defending the democratic rights of all citizens and maintaining communal harmony, which have enabled the Left Front to command, mobilise and sustain popular support in the face of continuous efforts to weaken it. Before the forthcoming elections, serious efforts were made by the right-wing forces under the leadership of the Trinamul-BJP combine to create a situation whereby the Left Front government could be destabilised. Vociferous demands for invoking Article 356 of the Constitution to dismiss the government were repeatedly raised on one pretext or the other. But it is the massive support enjoyed by the Left Front that has prevented the NDA government from taking any hasty step.

As we go to the press, the Trinamul and the Congress have arrived at a broad agreement. The Trinamul, despite walking out of the NDA, has still kept its doors open for talks with the BJP. It has refused to rule out an understanding with the BJP and has failed to reply to the repeated requests from the BJP for clarification in this matter. The chairman of Trinamul's policy making cell, Pankaj Banerjee, said they were not snapping all ties with the BJP. He said, "…..for instance, in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, we are together" (the BJP and the Trinamul).

Trinamul chief, Mamta Banerjee has refused to take a firm stand against the BJP despite her leaving the government and the NDA. She still believes that if the Vajpayee government cleans its tehelka image it will be able to sustain itself. Many of her MPs are reported to have good relations with the BJP leadership. Her own statement on her relationship with the BJP and NDA is quite revealing.

"For the moment, I completely rule out going with the NDA and the BJP at the centre. But nobody can say what will happen in the future. In politics, there is nothing permanent. But I would have been happy had the BJP and the Congress been willing to fight with me against the CPI(M) in the assembly polls."

While keeping her options open, she has stated unequivocally that if the time comes she is more than willing to go back to the BJP fold.

There is also a likelihood of the Trinamul having a separate understanding with the BJP, thus conceptualising its Mahajot idea -- an all-in anti-Communist alliance against the Left Front.

Like in the past, this time too, in Kerala, the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front will be contending to win the support of the people. The LDF government has significant achievements to its credit. Through the People's Plan campaign it has devolved power to the grassroots and involved them in the planning process at the local level. Unlike the earlier UDF governments the LDF has provided a corruption-free regime The resolute defence of secular values by the LDF has enlarged its prestige.

In the build-up to the elections, the past few months witnessed an increase in the murderous attacks on the CPI(M) leaders and workers in Kannur district by the RSS. These were aimed at creating an atmosphere of violence and terror to discredit the LDF government. As during the last election, efforts are on for a covert understanding between the BJP and the UDF to defeat the LDF. The BJP has already made it clear that its main aim in Kerala would be to defeat the LDF.

In Tamilnadu, the DMK's alliance with the BJP assists the penetration of the communal forces in a state which has been traditionally free from such influences. The DMK government has ardently pursued and implemented the economic policies formulated by the Vajpayee government. It is imperative that the DMK-BJP combine be defeated as it will be a big setback to the NDA coalition. The seat understanding between the AIADMK and the non-NDA constituent parties, including the Left, will ensure that the DMK-led combination is defeated in Tamilnadu.

In Assam, the BJP is making a concerted bid to spread its communal politics. This will have a disastrous impact on the state which has a diverse composition consisting of many religious and ethnic minorities. The understanding that it has arrived at with the AGP will provide the BJP with an opportunity to spread its wings in the state.

The elections are a big challenge to the Left, democratic and secular forces. In West Bengal the Trinamul-Congress combine will be spearheading a vicious anti-Communist campaign. As has been its forte, the Trinamul campaign will not be confined to the political sphere but will resort to undemocratic and illegal methods including violence. The sordid happenings in certain parts of Midnapore district were but a curtain raiser of what the Trinamul campaign would be. The CPI(M) and the Left, while mounting an effective political campaign to expose this opportunistic alliance, will convince the people that this combination if it suceeds, will roll back the gains made by the working people of West Bengal through the struggles and the policies of the Left Front government during the last two decades.

In Kerala, the LDF will endeavour to spell out to the people that the crisis being faced in Kerala’s economy, particularly in the agrarian sector, is a result of the policies being pursued by the Vajpayee government. These policies were initiated by the Congress earlier, when it was in power at the centre. The Congress government during 1994-95 had accepted the terms and conditions of the WTO, a consequence of which is the fall in prices of agricultural commodities. The effort in Tamilnadu will be directed to see that the DMK alliance is defeated, and in Assam to defeat the AGP-BJP combine.

As has been pointed out earlier, the outcome of these elections will have a significant bearing on the national political scene. While the CPI(M) and the Left will concentrate on defending the Left bastions, simultaneously it will also rally the other secular forces in its endeavour to defeat those parties and forces which are helping the BJP to advance further. The outcome in West Bengal and Kerala will determine the extent to which the Left can intervene at the national level. The Party machinery will have to be geared to the full to meet this challenge, to ensure the Party wins massive mandates in West Bengal and Kerala and also inflict a crushing defeat on the DMK-led combine in Tamilnadu and the AGP combine in Assam.