NATIONAL POLITICS

Harish Khare on Possibility of Congress Revival

Barely six months after being booted out of power, Congressmen seem to have recovered their collective wits and appear on the verge of asserting their natural right to occupy the seat of national power. The country is moving towards a difficult and trying era when neither good intentions nor respectable pedigree nor the support of the beautiful set in the capital will be sufficient to enable a political leader to produce a workable mix of postures and policies. In this age of transition when the party system is on the verge of collapse, can the Congressmen reacquire for requisite ability to man the ramparts of the Indian State? But the fundamental question is whether a revival is desirable.

After six months of the Deve Gowda experiment- the Congress revival appears attractive on three counts First, the body blows delivered to the Congress leaders by the judiciary should have exorcised a large number of Congressmen of their arrogance.

A vigilant judiciary has probably helped the Congress become mindful once again of the virtues of integrity, honesty and accountability in public life. A Const that does not behave like a rogue organization should become theoretically at least attractive once again to the middle classes, that core social segment that provides the crucial and cementing elements in any workable governing arrangement in New Delhi.

The second development that makes the Congress revival a viable proposition is the failure of the BJP to emerge as an alternative capable of providing a responsible and reasonable governance. The BJP shine is gone though it is too early to say whether those segments of the Congress constituency that defected to Advani and Vajpayee are ready to come back to the post- Rao Congress.

The third development that could contribute to the Congress' attractiveness is the apparent inability of the non-Congress dispensation in New Delhi to acquire a governing culture, befitting a continental polity. It is only a matter of time before the country gets tired of a non- performing ruling arrangement. Of course, inexperience in national politics and insufficient exposure to decision- making do not necessarily render a regime unattractive, but what will be the undoing of the UF regime is its continued and willful indifference to moral expectations.

The two major non-Congress forces the BJP and the Janata Dal-led United Front - are finding it difficult to respond to the national urge for redefining the relationship between the governing class and the governed. In short, to produce a viable and durable political order suitable to the changing environment, at home and abroad. At home, the order has to be pan- Indian in its orientation and outlook; abroad, the order has to be sufficiently confident to deal effectively and assertively with an array of increasingly demanding forces. The art of governance involves implementation of an agenda which necessarily allocates resources (economic, social prestige, political power, etc.) among various competing groups. In Inia the process of governance he carried out in such a manner as to inspire a minimum of respect for the institutions of the State. Any depletion in the respect and awe for the institutions produces a crisis of governability: which, in turn, demands political skills of the highest order to see that lack of respect does not degenerate into alienation and secession.

These political skills can only be provided by a political party neither the bureaucracy nor the judiciary has the requisite competence, empathy and patience. The rites of power (acquiring, capturing and consolidating the levers of patronage and control) to be performed within the confines of electoral democracy carry with them their own compulsions that a ruling party must demonstrate skills of accommodation, cooption and inclusion of the ambitious and the aspiring- as well as the discontented and aggrieved - individuals and social groups. The Congress once had these skills but two charismatic leaders, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi made it turn its back on the masses.

And despite its aberrations and absurdities, the Congress remains the only all-India party. With the apparent inability of the BJP and the Janata Dal-led United Front to emerge as a cohesive all-India alternative, the Congress return to the centre stage seems inevitable. Such a return would become desirable and attractive only if the Congress and the Congressmen fulfil three conditions. First, pursuit of a politics of purpose. Yet in these times of change, the political discourse has to redefine a national purpose beyond worshipping at the altar of stability. A national purpose cannot be discovered in the absence of the second condition respect for moral values. The Congress will have to lead the way in ensuring that the political disputes and disagreements with its opponents are sorted out within a reasonable framework of accountability and responsible governance. And, lastly, the Congress will have to demonstrate its willingness to usher in the regime of self-imposed restraint on its own functionaries. If it wants to preside over the historic transformation of the Indian polity, the Congress cannot remain the last refuge of the corrupt, the crooked and the criminals.

 (Source: The Hindu, 6 November, 1996)