UPA Begins Second Innings

The 76-year-old mild-mannered Manmohan Singh, who won the hearts and minds of the people along with Sonia Gandhi, led the UPA to a handsome win in the Lok Sabha elections was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second term at the head of a 20-member Congress-led UPA Ministry on May 22, 2009.

Economist-turned-politician Manmohan Singh, the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to get a second opportunity after a full-term, was sworn-in by President Pratibha Patil exactly five years to date after the UPA government assumed office in 2004.

Free Hand of Leadership
A close look at the new cabinet clearly suggests that Manmohan virtually got a free hand from the Congress leadership to choose his team. Stability being the ‘mantra’ of the new government in these times of deepening economic crisis, the PM has carefully selected each and ever new minister, giving due weightage to performance, experience and loyalty to the party. The team comprises several stalwarts as also a few first timers.

The new cabinet ministers are: Pranab Mukherjee, Sharad Pawar, AK Antony, P Chidambaram, Mamata Banerjee, SM Krishna, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushil Kumar Shinde, M Veerappa Moily, S Jaipal Reddy, Kamal Nath, Vayalar Ravi, Mrs Meira Kumar, Murli Deora, Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni, B K Handique, Anand Sharma and CP Joshi.

After the 2004 elections, the first UPA cabinet reflected those who had helped the party survive the lean years in opposition, and those who remembered and possessed experience from when it had last been the party of government. There may have been sound reasons for this at the time. Persisting with those ministers is less explicable. But certainly, given the sense of relief and renewal sweeping India following this election, the cabinet should be one that unmistakably looks forward, and not back. The right people in the key, forward-looking ministries can help this feeling keep going.

Combination Experience and Competence
The new team combines political and administrative experience and it happens to be a selection made by the Prime Minister and Mrs Sonia Gandhi and not by heads of regional parties as was the case in 2004. And the way Manmohan Singh decided not to bow down to the wishes of the DMK leadership in the allotment of portfolios shows that he has upheld the Prime Minister’s prerogative to choose his team.

When he had come in in 2004 after Ms Sonia Gandhi had opted out, few had given him more than a couple of years at the head of an unwieldy alliance, with the Left supporting it from outside. But he not only creditably completed his term but also got back in the saddle again, after winning the elections against heavy odds. The ride is going to be easier this time, hopefully, because he has returned with a stronger mandate, and chastened allies.

Unequivocal Mandate to Govern
The UPA Government will naturally frame its policies in the light of these and equally important considerations for the people of India that is Bharat. In that context, the sudden shooting up of Sensex is inconsequential — it only results in reducing the book accounting loss of the Mittals, Ambanis, Tatas, etc, but does not add a trickle of water to the one-third of the people who do not get safe drinking water.

The rise in Sensex also does not add a yard of space to 25 per cent of population of this country who have no homes and 77 per cent of the people (more than 2½ times the total population of pre-1947 India) who are forced to eke out a living on Rs 20 a day. The immediate concern would hopefully be to prevent the pilferage of 90 per cent of the funds allocated under the NREG scheme reaching the needy persons instead of being pocketed by dishonest officials and their political associates.All these important aspects will certainly take time. But there are some fundamental pieces of legislation and programmes which need to be effected.

Undoubtedly, the Congress has been given an unequivocal mandate to govern. And make no mistake: this is a fresh mandate. It isn’t, in any way, a continuation or an extension of the 2004 result. The Congress, in its post-victory enthusiasm, should not lose sight of that. And, even given that the UPA ran on its record in government, the Congress must have sensed that this is a mandate for freshness.