The Bahujan narrative will have to rebuild and spread across the country. Baba Saheb, Phule, Periyar, Bharat Singh, Birsa Munda need to be taken to people. Celebrate their work and socialise their ideologies on the ground. There is no respite. Our fight is for an inclusive, equal and humane society based on Constitution, which must go on irrespective of the electoral outcome.
The poll outcome has indicated that India might be under a longer spell of the Hindutva party as it has strengthened brick by brick. It also reflects what I have been saying about a strong, solid, arrogant Savarna block throughout the country.
After the Mandal one, in 1990, we saw, the unity of the Dalits and OBCs all over the country and people were talking about the Uttar Pradesh experiment but now this is completely rescinded. Mandal forces have completely lost their battle. The biggest disappointment is from Bihar where RJD and allied parties are thoroughly routed. This indicates clearly that except for the bhakts, diverse sections of castes compete with each other and many will never go along together. The Bahujan challenge was to bring them together which is not possible without their participation in the power structure.
BJP’s electoral plan was engagement with diverse OBC communities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In Uttarakhand, they became a nationalist party, attracting ex-servicemen, while in UP, they actually got support from all the segments and the party exists on the ground.
I never believed in jumlas and I saw our friends, including many senior ones, giving their ‘decisive’ verdict. A huge number of their bhakts on social media would feel as if they are making the government. Most of them were just calculating on the basis of their caste and numbers while the Sangh worked on the ground. To counter or fight the Sangh or RSS, we need to have a cultural narrative and solid work on the ground, outreach with those communities who have been left out of the broader Dalit Bahujan movement and not insulting them for their faiths or mode of worship.
Not that I am shocked with the results but what has convinced me is that most of those writing about the on-ground situation don’t actually know the ground realities. See how the language of the ‘expert’ has changed now in the media, hailing this huge victory of Narendra Modi transcending all the barriers of caste, class, gender, region. My question is when they travelled all over the country and were reporting, why did none of them report that there is this massive ‘Tsunami’ for Narendra Modi.
And yes, to strengthen democracy, I would again say, we must ban the Exit Polls and there should be stricter guidelines for media reporting on the issue. Opinion polls must not be allowed before two months of the poll schedule. Election Commission must again focus on rebuilding its credibility and try to rectify the fault lines.
Let us not wish ‘death’ for political parties. We are already in an age of a one-party hegemony. What Congress was in the 1960s, the BJP has become today. And definitely they have not come merely on their strength and Savarna reaction alone, all parties including Congress with their lacklustre form of government and party functioning have resulted in this affair.
What is important is to build parties in the state, focus for next round of elections, infuse new blood, discard family and caste nepotism, build strong cultural and intellectual groups, engage with those who can give you an honest opinion which you may not like yet will be beneficial for you.
Rahul Gandhi’s Chowkidar Chor Hai slogan boomeranged. In a heavily dosed and intoxicated nationalist framework, Rahul Gandhi can’t challenge Narendra Modi. Given Congress party’s own track record on corruption, perhaps Rahul’s raising a corruption issue did not work. A good strategy would have been to leave the issue to be raised by Prashant Bhushan and likes. The second and most important message which BJP and Narendra Modi gave was against ‘political families’. If the results are any indication, I can say, political families will have to think seriously as to how many members of their family will be joining politics and if yes, they need to work. They can’t take people for granted.
I think most of us were just calculating caste numbers while Amit Shah was making strategies to take the people to the booths. We can’t take people for granted. People’s vote is not ‘transferable’. Let me say this very categorically, that in the 21st century, people want the unity of forces on a long term basis and social cohesion. If unity does not result in having good candidates in the party, people don’t vote for the same. I can bet SP BSP-RLD votes did not get transferred to each other. it does not happen. It is not easy.
The Bahujan narrative will have to rebuild and spread across the country. Baba Saheb, Phule, Periyar, Bharat Singh, Birsa Munda need to be taken to people. Celebrate their work and socialise their ideologies on the ground. There is no respite. Our fight is for an inclusive, equal and humane society based on Constitution, which must go on irrespective of the electoral outcome. But let us realise that answer to these issues and challenges before us do not come from jumlas and we need to have a serious discussion. Not just on social media but we need to meet physically and share our ideas regularly on various platforms.
Wish all of you power. The struggle for dignity and human rights will continue.