Thrust and parry

When Congress president Sonia Gandhi was celebrating the victory of Pranab Mukerjee and Hamid Ansari as president and vice–president respectively, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari was in the midst of chalking out a rearguard action plan to pull the party out of the presidential dumps at his 13 Teen Murti Lane bungalow in central Delhi.

The portly BJP chief, keen to cash in on the anti-Congress sentiment, planned an excercise which his party believes will help them electorally. By way of contrast, Gadkari reckoned, it was time to show that BJP-led state governments had performed better than those run by the Congress; in the run up to the 2014 General Elections, there would be no better way to establish BJP and NDA's bonafides.

The final outcome of these inner party deliberations: a conclave of BJP Chief Ministers to deliberate on the key economic issues of the day –  a thinly veiled reference to the corruption-embroiled Congress and runway inflation, two issues that have the potential to derail any government or party.

At the August 18 meeting held at the NDMC Convention Centre on Parliament Street, there was one central line that prevailed: the UPA government continued to ignore the demands of NDA and BJP-led state governments and the ruling Congress had done little to encourage a pro-development climate  in the country. The Central government, instead of being a facilitator, was acting as a speed breaker.

In attendance were BJP's crème de la crème chief ministers – Gujarat's Narendra Modi, Himachal Pradesh's Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chhattisgarh's Raman Singh, Madhya Pradesh's  Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Karnataka's Jagdish Shettar. Along with them were Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Goa's Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar and party representatives from Punjab.

The direct attack on the Manmohan Singh government was led by Narendra Modi who said some decisions were baffling. "The RBI has increased interest rates 13 times which is affecting investment in Gujarat," he said.

With the help of copious figures, BJP leaders drew up an elaborate economic battle plan to show that NDA states were way ahead on economic parametres. 

According to Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan, the state's GDP had touched an impressive 10.2 per cent during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period as compared to the national average of seven to eight per cent. In the last financial year, he said, MP had grown at 11.98 per cent as compared to the national average of 6.5.

Gadkari, credited with coining the not-too-new nomenclature of "development politics", said that traditionally poorer states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have performed better on the human index factor with an agricultural growth rate of 18 per cent, up from a measly three per cent before the BJP state governments came into power.

The BJP chief was eloquent in his praise of party-led governments. Gujarat has done superbly well with upgrading its energy sources; Chattisgarh had introduced state-of-the-art changes in information technology, Karnataka's economic management was nothing short of miraculous, Goa had introduced the most transparent laws thus far regarding mining, Himachal Pradesh had done a lot for environmental preservation while Jharkhand, Bihar and Punjab were doing their utmost to ameliorate living standards for the poor and depressed classes.

Analysts say Gadkari's chest thumping apart, some BJP-ruled states have come in for appreciation from constitutional bodies like the Planning Commission for meeting deadlines. The Supreme Court has identified Chhattisgarh's public distribution system (PDS) as a model for other states to follow. In September 2011, a two-member apex court bench specifically mentioned the computerisation of the public distribution systems (PDS) in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat as templates which could be adopted by other states.    The direction was based on the recommendations of a high-powered committee  (HPC) which divided the computerisation into two companies – first to arrest and correct diversions, leakages, delays in transportation; second electronic authentication of delivery and payments at fair price shops.

As far as investment is concerned, Gujarat tops the list of states followed by Chhattisgarh while Karnataka is being credited with introducing a separate Agriculture Budget. According to this budget, the rate of interest on short- term loan up to Rs 100,000 for farmers was reduced to zero per cent. Loans were raised through cooperative institutions.
Says economist Dr Suvrokamal Dutta, "NDA-ruled states have registered double digit growth rates compared to the Congress-led ones which have not been able to cross the single-digit mark. Thanks to NDA states, the national average has touched the 6.5 per cent mark, otherwise it would have been restricted to under five per cent.''

Despite the apparent chaos, party leaders say they are preparing in right earnest for 2014. Gadkari has ordered a comprehensive data of developmental activities from states and the party is preparing a detailed booklet to be distributed as part of the campaign. Says Gadkari, "When the NDA left office, the debt to GDP ratio was 17.8 per cent; today it is 68.05 per cent. This puts India at the bottom of BRIC countries."

The BJP is keen to show that India has suffered under two terms of the UPA rule and there is an imminent case of  change when the country goes for polls.

According to him, the PM has made excuses about the lack of political consensus. "How many times can this reason be held responsible for lack of infrastructural development and agriculture backwardness?" he asked the conclave. Potentially, for an opposition party, it is a political line that can work in its favour as more and more skeletons keep tumbling out of Congress's broom closets.

"Economic achievements will be our  showcase for 2014''

BJP MP and National Spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy is upbeat about the party's economic track record.

What were the main conclusions of the BJP CMs' conclave?
The meeting brainstormed on economic issues. Achievements of our state government  were laid on the table. It will help party CMs  to attain their goals faster and with a clearer objective.

Were problems of states also discussed?
Yes. The meeting arrived at the conclusion that state governments are getting no assistance from the central government, their demands are ignored and overlooked. The Chief Ministers felt that the central government was arbitrarily deciding policy without consulting states. Policies are imposed on them, even though the reality is that the GDP growth can largely be credited to what the states have done.

How?
If you look at the GDP of NDA-ruled states, it is higher than Congress-governed states. It proves the tremendous contribution of our chief ministers.

Will you make it an election issue?
Naturally. We will showcase our achievements and turn it into our main election plank. The BJP-led NDA coalition has demonstrated a good workable economic model which attains goals. We will also tell the people that we would have done even better if our state governments had been well supported by the central government.