The ongoing Indian elections are being bitterly fought mostly on the national issues, but ties with the neighbours including Bangladesh do also figure often in campaign with varying degrees of views by the key players of the political spectrum.
As the polls have entered the last phases amid voting being completed in most of the 543 constituencies of the lower house of parliament (Lokshaba), more and more contentious national issues are being raised by the contending parties. The functionaries of such parties feel that the voters can still be wooed at this stage of the balloting. Personal attacks are also galore - something that was not seen on the present scale, before.
The polls that began on April 7 will end on May 12 and results would start pouring in on May 16.The staggered elections will be over in nine phases and all speculations would then be set at rest with the announcement of the outcome in one of the most interesting and charged polls in the history of independent India.
The broad scenario is that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is fighting a difficult battle to remain in power after two terms while the main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is favoured to win, albeit the persistence of uncertainty over whether it would be able to clinch a straight victory and eventually form the new government. Other regional and smaller political parties are also flexing their muscles as they foresee the chances of their active role in the new government brightening, following the election results; they believe that the main parties will have to rely on them for formation of a new government.
Barring the Pachimbanga, Assam and other north-eastern states, Bangladesh seldom figures in the campaign. The main parties do, of course, dwell upon the foreign policy-related issues, and it is not the big global powers that prominently figure in comments and observations. Not too surprisingly, the neighbours -- especially Pakistan and China -- are frequently referred to, by these parties while other adjacent nations also come in.
Bangladesh is often mentioned in some Indian states that have geographical proximity to it. Issues like the sharing of the Teesta river waters, the land boundary accord of 1974, the situation along the border, the so-called "illegal infiltration" from Bangladesh across the border etc., have come up during the campaign in these states by heavyweight politicians.
The ruling Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, considered the party's "prime minister in waiting", it the ruling alliance captures power again, has said on more than one occasion that relations will neighbours would remain a priority and are unlikely to see any change during another spell of Congress rule. This means, cordial relations with Bangladesh and confidence-building measures (CBMs) with arch rivals, Pakistan and China, would continue.
The front runner for the prime ministership -- Narendra Modi of the BJP says, if voted to power, his government would follow the foreign policy of A.B. Vajpayee government, the earlier BJP one, the tenure of which ended after the general elections in 2004. He sought to allay fears in some quarters that the BJP government could be harsh with some neighbours and also with the Indian minorities.
Quite a few overenthusiastic leaders of the BJP and its allies issued verbal threats to several neighbours, saying that those opposed to Modi have no right to live in India or Modi government would teach any neighbour a lesson if the latter is found to be doing harm to India. Pakistan and China are main "whipping dogs", but other neighbours are not excluded. Narendra Modi, however, disapproved such fulminations and told several public meetings that Muslims have nothing to fear from him and his government would also pursue Vajpayee's foreign policy that had earned "praises" from neighbours and others.
Modi is softening his tone on sensitive issues like ties with the neighbours and seems to be pursing a more and more pragmatic stance on these matters including that of secularism in India since he is largely known as a "Hindutva" leader. Earlier, he had told rallies in Paschimbanga and Assam about the "Bangladeshis" in all these areas and tried to make a distinction between the "Bangladeshis" on the religious line, saying the "Hindus" would be treated with care by his government. Now, he strikes a much softer line and is avoiding such subjects.
However, he is coming to Paschimbanga on another - the last - round of visit to help 'brighten' the possibilities for a favourable electoral outcome in relation to several candidates like singer Bappi Lahiri in Srirampur, singer Babul Supriyo in Asansole, and also in Krishnanagar and Dumdum constituencies as the BJP expects to win quite a few seats in the state, where it has otherwise a weak base. It remains to be seen whether Modi rakes up Bangladesh-related issues once again. He or other senior BJP leaders hardly mentions the issue of sharing the Teesta river waters and the land boundary agreement (LBA). It appears that they are not willing to say much on such issues at the present stage. The BJP has not supported Indian government's initiative to ratify the LBA in parliament and the bill on the issue is now lying in the upper house of parliament (Rajya Shaba) which is very much in existence.
The ruling "Trinamul" Congress in Paschimbanga is the key force in the Lokshaba polls in the state. Voting has already taken place there in some areas while capital Kolkata and several other key constituencies would go to polls on May 12. Chief minister Mamata Baneerjee blows hot and cold on the issues of the sharing of the Teesta river waters and the LBA. Of late, she dropped hints at being lenient on the LBA but she has remained somewhat tough on the sharing of waters of the Teesta. She claims to be keen to promote ties with Bangladesh, but is known to be unwilling to do it what she says "at the cost of water or land".
The leftists, which are the main opposition in the state, disapproves Mamata's stance on these issues. The Congress is not a force to reckon with, in this state. In matters with Dhaka, Mamata is undoubtedly a big factor and she is fighting the polls without any allies and is hoping to win nearly 30 of the 42 seats in the state.
The electioneering in the Indian polls is continuing. It is only expected that more comments and views would pour in, from important leaders on the neighbours as the campaign will continue in the areas where voting has not yet taken place.
zaglulchowdhury@yahoo.com
Indian elections: Ties with neighbours often figure in campaign
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury in Kolkata | Published: April 27, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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