Survival instinct

Secularism could be the cementing force. But that has yet to crystallise among the Janata Parivar that, blinded by anti- Congressism, has frequently cohabited with the Sangh

It is famously said that the socialists cannot stay together for long and that they also cannot stay apart for too long. What has been said for the global socialist movement is most apt for India. The survival instinct has got the better of the divisive and polemical ones as sections of the Janata Parivar are poised to come closer –merger may still be a premature word to use. A former Prime Minister and several pretenders to that chair are coming closer. The obvious aim is to prepare for the Assembly polls in Bihar next year and in 2016, Uttar Pradesh, where the Janata factions and the Samajwadis have steadily lost ground, as evident from the Lok Sabha polls.

Since the immediate battle is for the northern turf, the choice to rally the Janata Parivar has fallen on Mulayam Singh Yadav. But how long Deve Gowda will play second fiddle? Much of the creed that Ram Manohar Lohia and Acharya Narendra Dev preached and practised in the last century has been diluted. What remains, in essence, is anti- Congressism. Whether that is relevant when Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar are dominating the country’s political spectrum is something they would have to be ponded over, singly and collectively. Secularism could be the cementing force.

But that has yet to crystallise among the Janata Parivar that, blinded by anti-Congressism, has frequently cohabited with the Sangh. But if secularism is the platform to unite on, there is no logic to keep the Congress and the Left out of a broad anti-BJP phalanx. That may be too early to dwell on. Personal egos and turf wars cannot be resolved by a socialist/secular reunion. If Mulayam is in, his arch-rival Mayawati is bound to keep out. Then, will Mamata Banerjee, facing a mortal threat from the BJP begin to sing the socialist/secular tunes? Will Navin Patnaik want to take the plunge, too? If the Chief Ministersin- office join in, how will they deal with the BJP-led Centre for funds and projects? As the socialists/secularists come closer, there is a point that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar are most likely to seize upon. Many secular/socialists have degenerated into family parties.

Mulayam is the patriarch of the one that rules Uttar Pradesh. The Chautalas have just lost the polls in Haryana. And, in or out of power, Laloo continues to nurse his family. That said, the Modi Government’s policies are seen as pro-business, anti-worker and anti-farmer. The BJP, barely six months in office at the Centre, but on a winning spree in some of the States, has been pushing the nation to the political right and a majoritarian creed that does not augur well for the diverse and complex polity that India is. There is need and room for an alternative political discourse.