By Meghana Rathore:
Ever since India officially plunged into mainstream democratic politics, the hegemonic and overarching effect of the congress party became evident. Congress developed as a mass movement and thus, was regarded as a “catch-all” party because of its wide outreach. A pervasive Congress system was in place even after three decades of gaining independence. Later, Congress hegemony came to be challenged only after the coming up of the Bhartiya Janata Party as another prominent organization. The coming up of the BJP as the second major party added on to the tumult in the political arena and congress-BJP oscillations became patent to the Indian Political system.
This inherent vying between these two major political entities has unveiled some major successes and also some stigmatic failures.
CONGRESS:
The chronicled failures of the Congress party are many, mostly of its recent tenure. It has proved sublime incompetence throughout this term which has certainly left a long lasting imprint on our memories. The past of this party has been so idyllic but recent times have exposed some major and rather monumental failures. One inherent shortcoming of this party that we all know of is the hereditary rule that has existed since forever. The leadership positions have always been held by leaders belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family line. The elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the position of Vice President of the organization is in conformation with this trend. Talking about the more recent, non-inherent failures, pertinent to the discussion are the litany of corruption cases that have been unveiled and the association of various party leaders with scams. The 2G spectrum and the Coalgate to mention a few. It’s very appalling for a party that led our nation to Independence to be associated with the most disenchanting events so far. Another front where the Congress most likely failed was in taking International issues very lightly. The case of Italian marines might ring a bell here. And then of course, one cannot possibly forget the poor handling of the brutal Delhi Gang-rape case and the massive protests that ensued owing to the same.
BJP:
Talking about our laudable opposition now, none of us would defy that BJP’s most imbecile failure lies in its ideology itself. Its inveterate aversive nature in being a secular party is where it falters majorly. Though they leave no stones unturned in proving that they are not unsecular but their amiable relations with the Sangh Parivar always come to the forefront jeopardizing all their efforts. Secularism being credential to the survival of a multi-cultural nation like India, BJP’s notion of Hindutva is a massive short coming. The 2002 Gujarat riots and BJP’s parochial attitude renders the situation worse. So, in a nut shell the Bharatiya Janata Party has not been able to emanate a sense of secularism amongst us. Coming to more recent events what has come to grasp the nation’s attention is the failure of BJP in having a strong stranglehold at its coalition. With JD (U) pulling out support, it has become quite evident. In 1996 this party perfected at coalition building. NDA was a 24 party coalition.
Thus we see that the two major parties have failed at a gamut of fronts. It would be interesting to wait and watch what the next elections have in store for us. Whether we would witness an overhaul or not is yet to be decided. Whether the oscillations still hold true or will we again instil our trust in the Congress? Let us wait and see what India is up to.