Another sad conclave

 

 

All the “chintan” in Shiromani Akali Dal’s two-day “chintan baithak” in Shimla on September 13 centred on the succession politics triggered by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, nephew of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and four-time MLA from Gidderbaha. Indeed by the time the “vichar sammelan” ended it was clear what the true agenda was: to enable Shiromani Akali Dal president and heir-apparent Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the deputy chief minister, to further consolidate his position. The exercise failed to evolve any new long term strategy to rev up the state’s stagnant economy or launch new political initiatives.

Which is truly SAD, considering this is the second oldest political party in the country.

Holding the meeting was Badal Junior’s idea. The party MLAs and MPs would first enjoy the hill station’s scenic surroundings, and then set to work to ensure that the dynastic principle was upheld. As of now, of course, there is no perceptible threat to Sukhbir’s eventual elevation to the top job, and his ascendancy is likely to be smooth. Sukhbir, a US educated management expert, has come to be identified as a master political strategist. He himself won the Jalalabad assembly byelection with a record margin of over 80,000 votes.

That was obviously why Manpreet timed his comments on the various subsidies that the state government has been handing out to different sections with the conclave. The freebies he brought up at one interview included free power for the farm sector to which he himself is strongly opposed. But the remark that caused the most ripples was that what Punjab now most badly needs is not leaders but leadership; and it was made in the context of evolving long term development strategies. For these, he said, there had to be hard decisions, led by scrapping of subsidies.

Political analysts say this could very possibly be Manpreet’s commentary – even if unintended – on the functioning of the father-son duo. For, as is well known, it is none other than Parkash Singh Badal who initiated the politics of populism in the state. At least three leaders, including party general secretary Balwinder Singh Bhunder, requested Manpreet not to use the conclave as his platform for airing such views. They were afraid this might kick-start a debate in the party. It may be mentioned that the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Akali Dal’s alliance partner, has been opposing any new tax burden on the urban population. Its argument is: The strategy is already weighted in favour of the rural sector, considering farm subsidies have been averaging nearly Rs 4,000 crore a year. Sukhbir’s presentation on the government’s performance, on the other hand, made a plea for continuing with the subsidies. The meet okayed Badal Junior’s party strategy – even though none at the moment exists – amidst all round apprehension that the Dal’s baithak would end up much like the BJP’s. It may be recalled that the Akali Dal had headed for a split in 1998 when then Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra had mildly suggested that the party should not have a working president as chief minister. Tohra had then argued that Badal, being also the party president, was overburdened. Badal supporters had at the time sought the ouster of Tohra from the party, which, thanks to the split, lost the elections in 2002. Manpreet’s comments are being seen as another strong indictment of the present leadership.

Though all the “brainstorming” remained confined to ensuring that Badal Junior remained the successor, it is being claimed that the meet did indeed galvanise the party. “The party is fully confident that it is capable of storming to power in the next elections purely on the basis of its governance and the magnetism of its leaders,” said Harcharan Bains, media adviser to the chief minister.

But considering that the Badal government is surviving purely on BJP support – the Akali Dal being in a minority – the ground has already slipped from under the feet of its alliance partner. This became fairly evident after the last Lok Sabha elections in which the party managed to retain only two of its 19 assembly segments. Such issues, however, were not discussed at the Shimla conclave.

Badal Junior is identified with an aggressive style of functioning – as much in politics as in administration. This is quite a change after the slow and steady (though often also ruthless) style of his father into whose shoes he is eager to step into. But while, as we said, Sukhbir is a fine strategist Manpreet has his followers as well. He is that rare leader who drives his own car and – despite being from the Badal clan – likes to move around without any security.

The party plans to hold similar conclaves every six months – a move that is being criticised by its opponents as totally wasteful. “By holding this conclave in Shimla in a 5-star hotel, the so-called Panthic leaders have bid goodbye to the traditional party culture and can no more claim to represent the interests of the Sikhs and poor people,” contends Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. Khaira’s father was education minister in the Badal government in 1977 and thus shares the Panthic heritage.

But then the Akali Dal shed its own Panthic credentials years ago when it adopted the agenda of “Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat”.