Published: February 12, 2009
Op-Ed Contributor
These Tears are the Language of My Heart
By Tanveer Jafri
India, the largest democracy in the world will soon face general elections to its Loksabha (House of the People).
Election strategy is being prepared by all the regional & national political parties throughout India. Many political parties have started to declare their candidates. Just as in previous elections, unsatisfied leaders, who didn't get seats, are changing their parties. Some fundamentalists are looking to be the guide of liberals and some orthodox aim to show themselves as "Gandhians".
It means that for the sake of politics, some principles are on the verge of being sacrificed. The elections are expected to be held in April-May and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party has declared the name of their candidate for Prime Minister if the party wins. The name of the 'Prime Minister in waiting' from BJP is Lal Krishna Advani, who at present is leader of the opposition in the House of the People.
Over the last six decades, BJP has been working as Bhartiya Jansangh or for sometime as Janata Party. But three leaders in this party are known as the most senior leaders. They are Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat & Lal Krishna Advani.
Among these three, Vajpayee has taken the oath as Indian Prime Minister three times and Shekhawat has been Vice-President of India. Advani has been Home Minister & Deputy Prime Minister. Some time back, as Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided to retire from active politics, the BJP without losing any time, declared the name of Advani as its next candidate for the office of the Prime Minister.
On this issue, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has stated that one doesn't become a Prime Minister if one of a few people says so; the Prime Minister will be the man who is liked by the majority of voters of the country. Indian political analysts are of the view that Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's statement has given us all chance to think that although BJP may have declared Advani its Prime Ministerial candidate but in reality, everything is not right in the party about Advani's claim as Prime Minister in waiting.
Hardly had Bhairon Singh Shekhawat started to prick needles to Advani when a BJP strong man in Uttar Pradesh, and former state chief minister Kalyan Singh rebelled from BJP. It is the second party revolt by Kalyan Singh. This time he raised his voice because his son didn't get a party ticket for Loksabha. This is not an ordinary revolt. As this time, he has joined the Samajwadi Party, known to be the enemy of the BJP. He is now telling the media that he will finish the BJP. So now on one side, BJP is planning to crown Advani as Prime Minister and on the other side, the party is facing fragmentation.
In Indian politics, youths are now coming forward. In local as well as in national politics, political families are passing their hereditary succession to their sons, daughters or near relatives. Some political parties also feel that Indian voters are fed up with the tired and loser traditional political leaders and are looking at new generation as the future of the nation.
Rahul Gandhi has asked the Congress party to allocate 30 percent of their tickets to the youth for the election. Answering this call, the Bahujan Samaj Party of Uttar Pradesh has also talked of giving 50 percent tickets to youth in the coming Loksabha elections.
Now, there is talk all around for increasing the number of young politicians, even at the international level, with Barack Obama and historical political change, as the young President of USA, and a young President Dmitry Medvedev in Russia. Where does the claim of Advani stand, at 82 years of age, compared to the popularity of the young politicians.
The department undertaking the Advani campaign has made endeavours to create election propaganda on the lines of the campaign used by Barak H Obama. For example, there is a special website advertisement in the portals, websites, and online newspapers of many countries, including India & Pakistan.
It is beyond understanding what they want to achieve through these advertisements. In India, the number of internet users is about 1-2 percent whereas in the US, it is about 71 percent. So the argument of using the internet by the supporters of Obama is obvious but to copy the strategy of the supporters of Obama in India is somewhat beyond understanding.
Advaniji may or may not benefit from this propaganda at the international level, for his claim as the potential Prime Minister of India, but this advertisement at the international level has started to get some reactions. A first line newspaper of India published a cartoon on its front page. This cartoon depicts Advani's advertisement being published in a Pakistani newspaper. On that side a Pakistani citizen calls to Advaniji saying "Advaniji don't worry, Jinnah's blessings will always remain with you." This type of reaction began to come since the BJP declared Advani as the "Prime Minister in Waiting." This from the same BJP that invented the "India Shining" slogan in its last campaign that failed badly.
Once again, just like 'India Shining', the propaganda of the 'Prime Minister in Waiting' is being propagated. Although voters have the privilege of electing their Prime Minister, the BJP has itself chosen the Prime Minister.
The party has taken the decision to unfurl the national flag on 15 August at Red fort by Advaniji. Whether this decision comes true or not, Advaniji must be hoping to become Prime Minister. The voters of the country will soon find a difference between the youth and the 82-year-old Advaniji.
Recently, in many functions, Advaniji is being seen deeply pondering over some serious matters or even weeping. These tears may be of joy or some sorrow or any imagination, but the political analysts observe it as - "These Tears are the language of my heart."
Tanveer Jafri is an award-winning jourmalist and peace activist, based in India, covering communal harmony and social activities. Contact Tanveer by writing to NewsBlaze.
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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