Planning poll fronts

With the BJP on a trip of its own and elections to the next Lok Sabha looming ahead, efforts have already begun to give shape to political formations that can play a role in the next Government at the Centre. Till Narendra Modi was officially catapulted to lead the BJP’s election campaign committee, the NDA – which had formed governments at the Centre in the past – was very much in the running as an alternative to the UPA.

This is no longer the case because no political party will take the risk of going to the hustings with a man whose fingers have been tainted by Godhra at the helm of their post-election political outfit. The minority community plays an important role in the nation’s politics, more so in some areas than in others, and no party is willing to get on its wrong side.

First salvo

Not surprisingly, therefore, the first salvos have been fired on the issue of a post-NDA scenario with some political leaders suggesting a “federal front” and others a “third front”. The first thing we should keep in mind is that there is no ideology involved here, no “ism” which is going to determine the shape of the political groupings likely to emerge in the course of the next twelve months. Even a person as scholarly and circumspect as the Prime Minister has at last said in public that manoeuvring among political parties is fully dependent on evolving political situations and should not be seen as being cast in stone. It is only the numbers that matter, and political parties or groupings will do whatever has to be done to ensure they enjoy the fruits of power at the end of the poll process.

If this is acceptable as a guide to the political future, it follows that even the Trinamool Congress may find itself in the same boat as the CPI(M) though it is not likely that the two parties will enter the poll arena as committed partners. An alignment is more likely after the elections results, one tested formula being the “support from outside” variant.

Moral conscience

It is in this setting that Sitaram Yechury’s comments on the Left’s role in any third front should be seen, specifically the view that “the moral conscience of the country is the Left and no alternative without it is possible”. This view probably does not call for comment because, generally, no one has the right to usurp the high moral ground and proclaim oneself leader. Secondly, it is a reflection of the Indian electorate’s lack of discernment in view of the fact that it has not been able to choose the right set of politicians to lead the country over the last fifty years, when the “moral conscience” of the country has been very much in play. It is either this or the fact that the “moral conscience” being talked about here has itself become so diluted as to be no longer recognisable as having anything to do with “morality”.

Social justice and fairness have many facets, all of them together forming the matrix of the “moral conscience” of the country. Economic exploitation of labour is important, but there are other forms of exploitation too that need the focussed attention of authority to build a better society. Seen from this perspective, it is improper to suggest that the “moral conscience of the country is the Left”. It is just one of the props of that “conscience”, and it would be so much easier for people engaged in getting political parties together for the coming elections if the claim was underplayed for the moment. In short, the Left comprising socialists, Communists, Maoists, et al are all necessary for the country just as are the other political groupings.

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