The Election Carnival - 2014(Part - 3)

Regional Parties: Are they trustworthy? Can they survive?

Nation is witnessing lots of things happening around in the past few days. All these can be seen as the part and parcel of celebrations of the Election Carnival- 2014. With no indication of any single party forming a clear majority government, regional parties are at the center of attraction. But the question is: Are these regional parties trustworthy? Is the future of these regional parties safe?  Can they sustain?

All these regional parties have emerged from the regional needs or rather say personal needs of certain group or individuals. Most of these parties have broken apart from the national parties due to differences in opinions internally. The leaders of these parties have exploited people on the lines of language, culture, traditions etc. for their personal benefits. Many of the leading power brokers in contemporary Indian politics hail from regional parties. The leaders of the regional parties have not created much space for individuals to improve, but they have used them for the vote-bank. Regional political parties have failed to offer any important agenda different from national political parties. They are also obsessed with populist rhetoric like poverty elimination, and the distribution of food and laptops. Whosoever comes to power through these means has not improved the life-chances of the majority of citizens beyond some psychological reassurance.

These regional parties are far from paragons of institutionalized party democracy and the situation is more precarious because there is rarely a second-tier leadership beyond the party president. Try recalling name of any political leader or a party person other than the president of any regional party, needless to say one has to refer for it, say a Google search. Yet not sure even that would give the desired results. The future of all these parties doesn't seem to be bright. The regional parties have rather converted into person-centric parties, just remove the person and see, it would go directionless. The trust and support that people have shown is more for the political leader than for the party. Recently a national media reported: When asked in 2010 about his support for Janata Dal (United) in the coming state elections, an exasperated voter in Bihar said: “My vote is for Nitish Kumar. Besides Nitish, what is Janata Dal (United)? . . . If I woke up tomorrow and there were no Nitish—there would be no Janata Dal (United).”

Recent example show how a political leader cleverly passed on the power to his son to make sure that the hold over the party remains within his family. The move certainly gave rise to many internal debates. When a prominent political leader was convicted, the party almost went directionless until his wife took over the control and kept hopes alive among party co- workers. These are not at all good indications for the regional parties. Many political parties have been divided on differences of their leadership. Some have been able to sustain themselves somehow, while the others are on the verge of extinction.

The future of these political parties and their survival is something to be looked upon in coming years. Generally speaking, the regional parties have not done much for the local people in the true sense. They are feeding on populist politics which is the byword in the political arena, whether national or regional. These parties might do better in the elections of 2014, but the problem is that they are not in a position to offer anything better than what the national political parties have offered. With speculations of the formation of third front, even if a third front government comes to power, the constituents of it are so individualistic with diverse local agendas, the leaders are so ambitious and so short-sighted, lasting a full 5-year term may become a concern for Indian democracy, Indian economy and reforms.

One should not, however, underestimate the potential role the regional parties could play. If they concentrate on genuinely improving the prospects of the local people, and if they set an example in honesty and in opposing corruption, they will go a long way. If regional politics goes on for a long time in the same fashion, the future of the regional political parties is not bright.

NOTE: This is my personal point of view and opinion based on my observation and research. It has nothing to do with any past, present or future of any political party or individual. The aim of posting this is just to share my view.