In serious films the directors provide comical interludes to keep the audience cheerful till the end of the movie. In one such Tamil film, the comedian who is rich in the village always go around with his minions who go the places of his visit and prepare some persons to shout slogans in praise of him and the pleased comedian embraces such sloganeers and present them money. Once a man raises the slogan ‘Long live future president of India’ and the overwhelmed comedian embraces him saying ‘Do you have so much affection for me’ and thrusts a bunch of currency notes into his pockets.
People of Tamil Nadu, reeling under spiraling prices of essential commodities, prolonged power cuts, unprecedented crisis in industry and agriculture, loss of means of livelihood etc., could only observe the political gimmicks enacted by the ruling party minions only as these comical interludes in seriously tragic films.
Even while observing the death anniversary of their founder-leader MGR on Dec.24, they have utilised the occasion to renew the call for ‘empowering Jayalalitha to lead the nation’. After Jayalalitha along with her ministers and functionaries placed a wreath at the mausoleum of MGR on the Marina, and before reading out the pledge to ‘empower’ her to lead the nation, Minister O.Pannerselvam, who is reported to be in the ‘hit list’ of her to be sacked from the Cabinet, has said it was the goal of the ADMK cadre to make Jayalalitha Prime Minister. “Fort St.George (housing the Secretariat of the State government) is ours. Red Fort (from where Prime Minster addresses the nation on Independence Day) is going to be ours” and added the party would register a ‘historic victory’ in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Already their general council has adopted a similar resolution and when reporters asked her about her party’s slogan of making her the Prime Minister, Jayalalitha said that it was the desire of her party cadre. The informed journalists must have laughed among themselves at this reply of Jayalalitha, as if she approves and implements all the desires of her party ranks and as if the minions of her party can openly express their opinions. She cannot take people of Tamil Nadu for granted to believe that these resolutions and pledges are scripted by her functionaries on their own because they are very well aware that not even a crumb in ADMK moves without her approval. The resolution to ‘empower her to lead the nation’, even a child in Tamil Nadu knows was drafted only by her.
It is for nearly 80 crore voters, 12 crore of them first time voters in 2014 elections, of India, from far off Manipur and Mizoram in North East, Himachal Pradesh in the North to Arunachal Pradesh in east, Gujarat in west and Kanyakumari in the south, to empower the person or the party to lead the nation in the next five years; and definitely not a few thousand general council members of ADMK and mourners on Marina. Hence the very wording of the resolutions of the ADMK, scripted by Jayalalitha smacks of arrogance.
This is not the first time that this Prime Ministerial illusion has caught up with Jayalalitha. Seriously moved by this illusion prior to the Lok Sabha elections in 1999 necessitated after she pulled down the NDA government led by A.B.Vajpayee, she was widely reported to be on the lookout for buying a bungalow in Delhi.
But not even die-hard ‘intellectual’ supporters of Jayalalitha and dailies and periodicals which support her are enthused by her craving for the coveted post and dare to write anything. On the contrary there is all round ridicule in the media and political circles. For instance in a discussion programme in the news channel ‘Pudhiya Thalaimurai’ on the resolution of the ADMK general council proposing her for the post, all participants other than the lonely ADMK man lampooned the dreadful idea questioning how with 40 MPs, even if all seats in TN are won by ADMK, they could form government requiring 272 MPs for simple majority. With 80 MP seats in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh is also proposed for the post.
Some observations made by participants in panel discussions on television channels and columnists in dailies are as follows:
Referring to the slogans of ADMK men projecting her as the next Prime Minister and in the same breath calling her as ‘the permanent Chief Minister’ one wondered how could she hold on to both posts adding perhaps one has to first understand ADMK’s ‘Ammaism’.
In the series of their prostrating culture they can even project Jayalalitha as next Nobel laureate from India, next Secretary General of the United Nations Organisation, and even as the next chairman of the European Union. Leaving aside all such things as the entertainment elements of ADMK’s political culture, is there any possibility of Jayalalitha becoming the PM or is it just the day dream of her and her minions.
Tamils have already become Presidents of India which was a post higher than the Prime Minister because in a way that was a nominated post. The person opted by the ruling party at the Centre could be installed in that post. Moreover, a formula was followed since Independence as equaliser by nominating a person from the South as President or Vice-President because the Prime Ministers were from the North.
Of course there were one or two opportunities in the past for somebody from the South to become Prime Minister. There were only few leaders from TN who were familiar in various States at least to some extent. When there were strong regional leaders in the Congress party Kamarajar from TN was one such a leader. After the periods of Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Sastri the opportunity for him to become PM was ripe. Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayyar is on record stating that Kamarajar told him that he was not inclined to take up the post as he was not conversant in both English and Hindi. After Sastri he selected and seated Indira Gandhi in the post and was called as the ‘King Maker’.
After that, for 30 years there was no such opportunity in Indian politics for a Tamil to become PM. As long as single party rule at the Centre was in existence it was mostly of the Congress, in which since the days of Indira Gandhi no strong regional leaders like Kamarajar could emerge leading to the party getting weakened and the era of coalition governments at the Centre dawned.
In 1996, after the BJP government fell down in 13 days, the non Congress United Front government was formed. The State-wise break up of 179 MPs in the United Front was: 39 of the DMK and TMC from Tamil Nadu, from the Left Front from West Bengal 33, from Bihar 25,UP 20, Karnataka 16, Andhra 16. Of the 179 MPs 83 were from the South in which also the biggest contribution was from TN. As the Left Front and TDP were not inclined to take up Prime Minister post there was opportunity for TN and Karnataka. Kalaignar had never had such ideas like Jayalalitha and even now he politely says he knew the height of him despite his long experience in administration. Moopanar also rejected the offer and hence the chance fell on H.D.,Deve Gowda.
Jayalalitha might be making such calculations to get repeated in 2014. Most of the opinion polls predict that the two major parties Congress and the BJP would not secure absolute majority. If both of them together secure around 280-300 seats the rest of 260-280 seats would be shared between regional parties and Left parties. Because Modi is projected as the PM candidate of the BJP some national parties and regional parties may try to form a third front with Left parties in which case Jayalalitha may be expecting that the mantle will fall on her. But will it happen, will other regional leaders permit it etc. are hypothetical questions.
Leaving aside all such probabilities, political observers question Jayalalitha’s capability to become the Prime Minister of a coalition government consisting of so many parties from various States of different political situations and conflicting parties from same States, which require highest order of patience, very calm, composed, dignified and level-headed temperament to deal with different partners, highest sense of accommodation and adjustment, give and take attitude, mutual respect, moderate temperament etc. –all these qualities are very, very alien to Jayalalitha!
If Jayalalitha, her minions and if at all there are anybody outside the ADMK who fancy such a disastrous idea want to know what sort of problems and difficulties a Prime Minister of a coalition government with only 30 plus MPs in her party will have to face, all that they have to do is to recall her record during those dreadful 13 months when with just 18 MPs with her she was a constituent of the NDA government led by the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee. Will she be able to withstand even for a day if one of a constituent party gave all the troubles she gave to Vajpayee then?
What is her record as Chief Minister and leader of a political party? There is not even an iota internal democracy in her party. Whatever be the deficiencies of parties like the Congress, the BJP, Left parties etc. there is room for advancing differing opinions and discussing them that keep them alive. But Jayalalitha’s party is not of that type; it is like a sole-proprietary concern in which other than the proprietor nobody has any right to speak but only orders to faithfully obey. Her minions are proud to call themselves as the truest loyalists of her, that is the modus vivendi of ADMK functionaries.
As the Chief Minister, she is not accessible even to higher officials and they dare not present true picture of the situation which would displease her. If this is the condition of senior IAS officers at the department secretary and Principal Secretary levels, the least need be said of her accessibility to common man. With no communication with people and ministers and IAS officers hesitant to speak to her about true situation, she is dependent only on the Intelligence wing for getting information and we don’t know how far they would be honest and daring. When the question whether such a Chief Minister is needed for them stands before the people of Tamil Nadu, can India afford to such disastrous experiment?
Can one with such an attitude govern such a vast country like India consisting of many nationalities, languages, cultures and different problems? A nation cannot be governed with only police, intelligence wing, dreading administrative machinery and slavish party functionaries and sycophants. People of India will not willingly invite tragic experiment! On the other hand if it is just a ploy to hoodwink voters of the State to get their votes by creating the illusion of a Tamil becoming the PM, the people of Tamil Nadu will certainly rebuff the bizarre idea and teach a lesson to the ruling party! r
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