The results of elections held in five states could not be unexpected; yet the results provide an opportunity to introspect to those political parties, which, once in power, disregarded people's welfare and interests. They easily forget that in a democracy, they have to be accountable of their performance to people after every five years.
The results of Assembly elections declared on 13 May signal a vote for change and a vote against corruption and poor governance. The spectacular rout of the Left in West Bengal and of the DMK in Tamil Nadu, however, overshadowed an equally spectacular vote for continuity in Assam.
Four of the five governments seeking renewed mandate in the states were tossed out by the electorate, with only the Congress government in Assam returning to power for the third consecutive term. And barring a photo-finish in Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front barely secured a majority, the voters dished out clear and decisive mandates in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.
Of the five states where elections were held, only in Assam and Puducherry the ruling party, the Congress, secured enough seats to form government yet again. In Assam, the Congress is in better position than after the election held in 2006, and now it can form government on its own. During the last election, it had to seek the help of other groups to form government. In Puducherry, the Congress is in a position to form government yet again. It is, however, a different issue that the Congress had to lose several seats from its earlier tally. In addition to these states, people have discarded the ruling groups and dethroned them from power in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Voters, thereby, conveyed a clear and sound message that they have the power and the authority to punish those who, in a democracy, strive to do whatever they want and indulge in corruption.
West Bengal
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Bannerjee juggernaut steamrolled the Left Front in West Bengal, dislodging the longest communist government in a democratic country after 34 long years. With her call for ‘Poribartan’ (change), Mamata (56) swept everything before her. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee became the first Chief Minister since 1967 to lose his seat in the Assembly.
Barring Tamil Nadu, the Congress has benefited in two assemblies by way of returning to power. In two other assemblies, West Bengal and Kerala, its ally the Trinamool Congress and the party itself have made the ruling clans to bite dust. In West Bengal, election results are more than expected, but even better. Mamata Bannerjee has succeeded in dismantling the strong bastion of the Left in West Bengal. The Left has lost power in the state after several decades. The way the firebrand Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Bannerjee carried her electoral campaign in the state and the huge support she received during electioneering, made even the Left to accept indirectly that it is almost difficult to retain power.
The election results make it clear that people want a change. They want that the state should come out of the grip of politics of bandhs (strikes), and implement the development agenda. They want that new industries be set up in the state, and the state economy stabilized. Going by this people's mandate, Mamata Bannerjee faces a formidable challenge. This is because despite having been vanquished, the Left is not without strength. By the percentage of votes the Left has secured, they are in a strong position to pose serious challenges to Mamata Bannerjee. Also, she would have to maintain more cordial relationship with its ally, the Congress, so that she may take the state to the path of progress and development with the full support and assistance from the central government. This would make her task easier.
Tamil Nadu
The defeat of the alliance headed by Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu is not entirely unexpected. Cash and caste also took a tumble in Tamil Nadu, where J. Jayalalithaa and AIADMK proved poll predictions of a hung house wrong. So comprehensive has been the victory of the Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Sister) that the AIADMK ended up winning as many as 151 of the 160 seats it contested. While Chief Minister M Karunanidhi won his seat, most of his cabinet ministers including son and chosen successor Stalin lost. The revelations being made almost every day in the 2G Spectrum scam makes one understand how some people indulge in plunder of national wealth. It, certainly, did cast its shadows on the results in the states. Moreover, the ever-increasing influence of members of his family in government affairs because of Karunanidhi's old age added fuel to fire in deteriorating the situation in the state. Traditionally, Tamil Nadu never returns the same ruling clan for a second term, and people handover power to the opposition every five years. The same has happened now. Almost the same, generally, takes place in Kerala. Yet, the Congress' victory this time assumes significance in that the party that was floated by Karunakaran could have played spoilsport for the Congress.
Assam
In Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reaped the rewards for a slew of populist welfare measures. The Congress government in Assam had offered computer laptops to each student who passed the class X examination in the first division. It had announced cash incentives for girls born in government hospitals and offered working capital to widows to start their own small enterprises. “Good governance” and peace initiatives aimed at reconciling insurgents seem to have helped Gogoi reap the harvest.
Though the Congress has succeeded in returning to power, the most pertinent aspect of the election outcome is the remarkable performance of the All India United Democratic Front. The Front led by Badruddin Ajmal has not increased its earlier tally of 11 seats, but in other constituencies it fought neck-to-neck with its rivals, including the Congress. In sever al constituencies, it secured the second place. This situation rings alarm bells for the Congress that Muslims in Assam are distancing themselves from the Congress, and their confidence in the party headed by Badruddin Ajmal is on the rise.
Andhra Pradesh
In Andhra Pradesh, another breakaway group of the Congress, the YSR Congress formed by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, has jolted the ruling party by the enormous margins of its victory in the by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly constituencies. The rise of the YSR Congress threatens to destabilise the demoralised Congress regime in South India's largest State, as many YSR loyalists might see political advantage in switching sides early.
Kerala
In the closest electoral battle Kerala has seen in recent decades, the Congress-led United Democratic Front has scraped past the Left Democratic Front in the 2011 Assembly elections. In the House of 140, the UDF bagged 72 seats, four more than the LDF led by the Communist Party if India (Marxist).
The UDF had scored massive wins in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the 2010 local body elections, but has now had to satisfy itself with a modest win.
In the nine-party UDF, the Congress has won 38 seats, the Indian Union Muslim League 20, the Kerala Congress (M) nine, the Socialist Janata (Democratic) two, and the Kerala Congress (B), the Kerala Congress (Jacob) and the RSP (Bolshevik) one each.
The CPI(M), heading the seven-party LDF, is the single largest party with 45 seats in the House. The CPI has won 13 seats, the Janata Dal (Secular) four and the RSP, the Nationalist Congress Party and LDF-backed independents two each. In the outgoing House, the LDF had 98 seats to the UDF's 42.
Setback for BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nothing to cheer about the outcome of the five Assembly elections. The only consolation for the party is the victory of its nominees in the by-election to the three Assembly segments in Karnataka and the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh.
The biggest disappointment for the party is in Assam where it had hoped to improve on its tally of 10 seats in the last Assembly poll. The party's strength in the State is down to four and the BJP attributed it to ‘disunity' in the Opposition ranks.
AssessmentOn the whole, people in three out of five states have given their verdict for a change. It is also clear that those indulging in corruption and ignoring people's interests would not be spared. It is a matter of conjecture how political parties take the message conveyed by people in their verdict.
The results of Assembly elections declared on 13 May signal a vote for change and a vote against corruption and poor governance. The spectacular rout of the Left in West Bengal and of the DMK in Tamil Nadu, however, overshadowed an equally spectacular vote for continuity in Assam.
Four of the five governments seeking renewed mandate in the states were tossed out by the electorate, with only the Congress government in Assam returning to power for the third consecutive term. And barring a photo-finish in Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front barely secured a majority, the voters dished out clear and decisive mandates in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.
Of the five states where elections were held, only in Assam and Puducherry the ruling party, the Congress, secured enough seats to form government yet again. In Assam, the Congress is in better position than after the election held in 2006, and now it can form government on its own. During the last election, it had to seek the help of other groups to form government. In Puducherry, the Congress is in a position to form government yet again. It is, however, a different issue that the Congress had to lose several seats from its earlier tally. In addition to these states, people have discarded the ruling groups and dethroned them from power in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Voters, thereby, conveyed a clear and sound message that they have the power and the authority to punish those who, in a democracy, strive to do whatever they want and indulge in corruption.
West Bengal
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Bannerjee juggernaut steamrolled the Left Front in West Bengal, dislodging the longest communist government in a democratic country after 34 long years. With her call for ‘Poribartan’ (change), Mamata (56) swept everything before her. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee became the first Chief Minister since 1967 to lose his seat in the Assembly.
Barring Tamil Nadu, the Congress has benefited in two assemblies by way of returning to power. In two other assemblies, West Bengal and Kerala, its ally the Trinamool Congress and the party itself have made the ruling clans to bite dust. In West Bengal, election results are more than expected, but even better. Mamata Bannerjee has succeeded in dismantling the strong bastion of the Left in West Bengal. The Left has lost power in the state after several decades. The way the firebrand Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Bannerjee carried her electoral campaign in the state and the huge support she received during electioneering, made even the Left to accept indirectly that it is almost difficult to retain power.
The election results make it clear that people want a change. They want that the state should come out of the grip of politics of bandhs (strikes), and implement the development agenda. They want that new industries be set up in the state, and the state economy stabilized. Going by this people's mandate, Mamata Bannerjee faces a formidable challenge. This is because despite having been vanquished, the Left is not without strength. By the percentage of votes the Left has secured, they are in a strong position to pose serious challenges to Mamata Bannerjee. Also, she would have to maintain more cordial relationship with its ally, the Congress, so that she may take the state to the path of progress and development with the full support and assistance from the central government. This would make her task easier.
Tamil Nadu
The defeat of the alliance headed by Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu is not entirely unexpected. Cash and caste also took a tumble in Tamil Nadu, where J. Jayalalithaa and AIADMK proved poll predictions of a hung house wrong. So comprehensive has been the victory of the Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Sister) that the AIADMK ended up winning as many as 151 of the 160 seats it contested. While Chief Minister M Karunanidhi won his seat, most of his cabinet ministers including son and chosen successor Stalin lost. The revelations being made almost every day in the 2G Spectrum scam makes one understand how some people indulge in plunder of national wealth. It, certainly, did cast its shadows on the results in the states. Moreover, the ever-increasing influence of members of his family in government affairs because of Karunanidhi's old age added fuel to fire in deteriorating the situation in the state. Traditionally, Tamil Nadu never returns the same ruling clan for a second term, and people handover power to the opposition every five years. The same has happened now. Almost the same, generally, takes place in Kerala. Yet, the Congress' victory this time assumes significance in that the party that was floated by Karunakaran could have played spoilsport for the Congress.
Assam
In Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reaped the rewards for a slew of populist welfare measures. The Congress government in Assam had offered computer laptops to each student who passed the class X examination in the first division. It had announced cash incentives for girls born in government hospitals and offered working capital to widows to start their own small enterprises. “Good governance” and peace initiatives aimed at reconciling insurgents seem to have helped Gogoi reap the harvest.
Though the Congress has succeeded in returning to power, the most pertinent aspect of the election outcome is the remarkable performance of the All India United Democratic Front. The Front led by Badruddin Ajmal has not increased its earlier tally of 11 seats, but in other constituencies it fought neck-to-neck with its rivals, including the Congress. In sever al constituencies, it secured the second place. This situation rings alarm bells for the Congress that Muslims in Assam are distancing themselves from the Congress, and their confidence in the party headed by Badruddin Ajmal is on the rise.
Andhra Pradesh
In Andhra Pradesh, another breakaway group of the Congress, the YSR Congress formed by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, has jolted the ruling party by the enormous margins of its victory in the by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly constituencies. The rise of the YSR Congress threatens to destabilise the demoralised Congress regime in South India's largest State, as many YSR loyalists might see political advantage in switching sides early.
Kerala
In the closest electoral battle Kerala has seen in recent decades, the Congress-led United Democratic Front has scraped past the Left Democratic Front in the 2011 Assembly elections. In the House of 140, the UDF bagged 72 seats, four more than the LDF led by the Communist Party if India (Marxist).
The UDF had scored massive wins in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the 2010 local body elections, but has now had to satisfy itself with a modest win.
In the nine-party UDF, the Congress has won 38 seats, the Indian Union Muslim League 20, the Kerala Congress (M) nine, the Socialist Janata (Democratic) two, and the Kerala Congress (B), the Kerala Congress (Jacob) and the RSP (Bolshevik) one each.
The CPI(M), heading the seven-party LDF, is the single largest party with 45 seats in the House. The CPI has won 13 seats, the Janata Dal (Secular) four and the RSP, the Nationalist Congress Party and LDF-backed independents two each. In the outgoing House, the LDF had 98 seats to the UDF's 42.
Setback for BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nothing to cheer about the outcome of the five Assembly elections. The only consolation for the party is the victory of its nominees in the by-election to the three Assembly segments in Karnataka and the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh.
The biggest disappointment for the party is in Assam where it had hoped to improve on its tally of 10 seats in the last Assembly poll. The party's strength in the State is down to four and the BJP attributed it to ‘disunity' in the Opposition ranks.
AssessmentOn the whole, people in three out of five states have given their verdict for a change. It is also clear that those indulging in corruption and ignoring people's interests would not be spared. It is a matter of conjecture how political parties take the message conveyed by people in their verdict.
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