Small Party Game
By: Amit Bhushan Date: 30th Mar. 2019
The small parties haven’t really come out as of yet for the polls. This is because the Netas are seldom ‘questioning’ the ‘nuisance issues and nuisance makers’ in the larger parties and this is even while larger parties made a huge pomp and show during immediately prior state elections and failed miserably with consolation prizes alone for ‘all the effort’ of both the national parties. Yes, these parties have been articulating themselves on key problems (sans any solutions, of course) viz. Jobs, Farming woes etc. Now, again on farming woes, no one is really articulating that farmers are not getting the payment as per MSP and cash-payout, and need to rely on ‘Becholiyes’. In fact these Becholiyes may have been beneficiary of government schemes with very limited trickledown impact. Very limited work on Water including harvesting despite ‘huge claims’ on NREGA incentivized Water-works. In fact, the ruling Netas are seems to be hiding behind Nationalism and the nuisance in Neighbourhood. The relative performance numbers of states on different parameters are no longer published and to that extent ‘opposition charges’ do stick out. In fact, the performance of the Legislative members were needed to be published, so that member specific decisions by public is supported. Neither the ‘opposition’ nor the commercial news media seem to be too keen, as the key opposition wants play identity-politics suiting the Netas in government. So the public response is to fragment voting by ‘state’ and thus it is state leaders, who hold the key to success or failure. Won’t be surprised to see ‘head’s rolling’ as per ongoing polity in the post-poll scenarios.
The candidates themselves, seem to be responding to commercial news media triggers to identity-politics. However, the absence of ground-connect of the local Netas isn’t quite hidden from public. In such a scenario, it the regional parties and their Netas could have been ‘leading the show’, but they too have a ‘lot to explain’. This is leading to confusion and Netas & parties jockeying across the ‘poles & pillars’. In fact by adding this article that voting is likely by ‘states & regional blocks with states’, let ‘Game’ further add to ‘confusion’. The commercial news media with its effort to ‘sell identity poles’ is likely to fail. However, the parties & Netas will need to discuss situation, issues and ‘stand with regards to issues’. This may include parts where center is responsible, where states hold the key and where the ‘sugar (& other) mill owners’ or ‘agri-buyers/suppliers’ will need to ‘mend ways’. The ‘mudda/policy’ discussion tilt voting and its impact has been felt by the ‘smaller parties/Netas’ already. This was attempted by the then ruling party in all probability with the ‘Land bill’, but it failed to explain its impact on Jobs, Farming woes, with incentives for those ready to quit farming and finding jobs for themselves. Now we have some further incentives in form of very small ticket bank loans for these probable entrepreneurs, but little data on growth in small business sectors or skilling of these entrepreneurs.
There are other efforts ongoing to ‘sell’ stability plank. This may suit certain Netas who may not be ‘comfortable’ to discuss ‘performance’, and usually are ‘active around sundry non-issues’. However, polity focused on ‘defaulters (definition as articulated in these articles)’, ‘Jobs’ and ‘Farming-woes’ is easily able to ‘overcome’ such sundry barriers because the muddas are simply ‘too on ground’ amongst public. Nevertheless, some sections in the commercial news media simply want to try themselves out (may be vis-à-vis social media) and wanting to be surprised by changing position of the Netas in post-elections scenario. Some of the state Netas, who hold responsibilities to 'perform' on such 'public issues' may take a sigh of relief till such a time. Social media would welcome the members of media as well as the Netas to join ‘it’, in such post election scenarios. Let the ‘Game’ evolve…..