knowledge has no horizons

The prime ministerial posting is not a privilege of a few (or one family). Any political party was and is started with the aim of grasping power, either at regional or state or national level. While contesting the elections to seize the chair of Prime minister is a definitely democratic move, what is beyond reason and is of absolute absurdity is that everyone put themselves for the post that decides the destiny of the nation. Mayawati, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Deva Gowda and Jeyalalitha were, of course, in the queue, either directly or indirectly, in the 2009 elections.

Mayawati's dream came untrue

The election 2009, no doubt, came as a major shock and scattered Mayawati's dream of becoming the Prime Minister. The slogan "hui hamari, ab dilli ki baari" (We have captured Uttar Pradesh. Now will conquer Delhi) that she put forth in her election campaign proved eventually to be futile. Her party being the biggest national one in the Third Front next to the Left in terms of the seats in 2004 election and ruling the biggest state with the biggest share of seats to the Parliament, she calculated with the numbers, as she thought winning 50 out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh alone and a few in other states like Madhya Pradesh, where her party has set its foot gaining a seat in this election, Delhi and Rajasthan might enable her to sit in the chair of Prime Minister. Her calculation is not without a reason, because India witnessed a Prime Minister with just 57 MPs for his party (Chandrasekhar). While the past is as this in India, something went wrong for Mayawati somewhere. Now let us look in nutshell in the 'whats' and 'wheres' that caused her dream of becoming the Prime Minister come untrue.

Her attempt to portray her party as a one that does not belong to any particular caste and to prove the concept of the party that is in the name itself (Bahujan, all people) did not work out in the Lok saba election, as it did in the Assembly election of 2007, in which it won a good number of seats to form the first single-party government in the state in 17 years. Her fielding of candidates from all communities - 20 Brahmins, 14 Muslims, Six Thakurs, Four Yadavs and Kurmis each, two Banias and Gujjars, one punjabi Kharti and Lodh each - failed to fulfill her expectations of winning enough seats in the 2009 elections. Nominating 17 Dalits only in the reserved constituencies might have invited the hostility within her own community. She might be wrong to miscalculate that she will get the Brahmins’ votes, which BJP ever claims when it comes to the question of ruling the nation. The formation of Ulema Council (UC) and the Peace Party of India (PPI) that back and are backed by minorities were on the field for sharing the Muslims's vote bank. As the case may be this, she would have prevented Muslim votes from falling to Samajwadi party by bringing Kalyan Singh to the fore, the then Chief Minister at the time of the demolition of Babrid Masjid. Instead of having focused on Varun Gandhi getting imprisoned under the national security Act and the consequent indulgence in the recrimination against Menaka Gandhi, Varun's mother, she would have found a talisman to make the Rahul Gandhi's magic ineffective, at least in her state.

None had the gut to field their candidate throughout India, not allying with other parties, except Mayawati. And of course, hats off to that courage. But the courage did not appeal to the common sense. Making alliances with other parties, at least in her neighbouring states, such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and others - in Madhya Pradesh, she got one for her share - she might have added a few more to her total numbers. Being a chief minister, she missed the chance of making votes by providing people with welfare schemes, which Congress party's Rajasekara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, Shiela Dixit in Delhi, BJP's Ediyurappa in Karnataka, JD (U)'s Nithish Kumar in Bihar and DMK's Karunanidhi in Tamilnadu did it with a greater success. Considering Mulayam being her primary rival, she unwittingly ignored the emergence of Congress in her own soil. It is mysterious and abstruse to understand her campaigns in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where, as one thinks, the party does not take firm roots yet. In short, she did a right thing at a wrong time, when it came to campaign. Lacking the star speakers or the 'star' speakers, the party continues to suffer its fate. Above all, building the state with welfare instead of erecting her statues and bust might have reason to appeal the voters, the deciders of destiny.

Lalu, left in the lurch

In the game of politics, Lalu Prasad Yadav was no longer on the field and was given 'out' by the umpires (people). His partnership with Ram Vilas Paswan eventually proved to be futile. Already having lost the state to Nithis Kumar, he lost his hold in the present UPA government, too. His insulting of congress by alloting just three seats left for congress no choice rather than contesting the election without alliance in the state. Despite the fact that the Congress derived only tow number of seats of the 37 it contested, none can deny that the congress answered back the RJD destroying Lalu's vote bank. His many 'offerings' to his state in the railway budget were spell-bound before the charismatic chief minister, Nithish Kumar. forming a fourth front in a state with just 40 MPs and longing to become the PM (which requires the majority of 273 MPs) was likely to kindle one to laugh (and it was for me). His partner Paswan asked for no Guinness record for garnering votes in the 2009, as his expectation of winning the election itself came as a shock to him and his party men. To speak in a nutshell, it's no use for Lalu and his partner to cry over the split milk.

Gone is Mulayam Singh

Mulayam Singh's silent move of ornamenting the Prime Ministerial chair has finally upset him with a lower number of seats in the 2009 election. countering the harsh retaliation of words of the BSP chief and its men and coming into conflict with the Congress just before the conduct of elections, when it came to sharing of seats, are not as that much easier ones ot find out solutions. Joining hand with Lalu, he insulted the Congress giving 19 seats in a state with the share 80 to the Parliament, and is now suffering. A protector of the previous UPA government from falling when the Left left the congress in the lurch on the issue of Nuclear Deal with the USA, he enjoyed the gratitude it has shown for him.

His Samajwadi Party is not without shortfalls as its opposite party, BSP, that might have better been avoided or eliminated entering the election scenario. Apart from going on alone in the election without allying with congress, SP made a greater mistake getting Kalyan Singh, the then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who held responsibility of the demoliton of the Babrid Masjid, forgetting the fact that it shared the largest of muslim vote bank. The political infighting within the party – between Jeyapradha and thus Amar Singh, the Secretary and the foremost and senior-most Muslim leader – did it work in certain places, where Muslims are dominating.

Deva Gowda

A figure of pathetic from the south that asks for much sympathy in this election in none other than the then Prime Minister (!) Deva Gowda. Proved himself a political broker in his state for seeing his son, Kumarasamy, in the chair of chief minister by making alliance with the BJP and then breaking it – when his son term ended – to seek after the support of the congress, against which he is acting now, Deve Gowda dreamt of becoming the Prime Minister with support from the Third Front, formed with the initiatives of himself.