Monday, December 03, 2012

The NC, Fair Polls And The Game Of Musical Chairs



The NC has been pushing three arguments as to why a NC person should be Prime Minister.

To say the NC alone can conduct fresh elections in the country is outright slander, especially when the current government is willing to give the Home Ministry to the NC.

The second argument is that it is the NC's turn. That is hogwash. Mahantha Thakur's party has never been in power at the top. Perhaps it is his turn.

The third argument is that the NC was promised the premiership of the election government. That is true, but that is only the partial truth. The other big chunk of that truth is that once the NC had agreed to settle on all issues related to the constitution and the country had managed to get a constitution then the NC would be allowed to lead the government that would hold parliamentary elections in the country. But we are not staring at parliamentary elections. We are staring at elections to a new constituent assembly.

This third is the weirdest of all arguments. It is like some guy went shopping. The guy promised the shopkeeper he would give him money if the shopkeeper gave him the bicycle. The shopkeeper promised to give him the bicycle if the guy gave him the money. The guy never gave money, but started arguing the shopkeeper promised him the bike and was now not giving it to him. That is what the NC is doing.

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Baburam's Options


Baburam can resign. It is a free will thing. He is a free human being. And he could exercise that option. But as a disciplined soldier of the Maoist party he might not take such an action unless he has his party's backing for it.

Baburam could reorganize his cabinet. He could reshuffle it. That is the prerogative of any Prime Minister.

Baburam could also expand his cabinet. He could add a few Deputy Prime Ministers. He could add a few ministers. This might be his best available option right now. And that might just be the step to break the gridlock.

The breakaway Maoists have to realize the current polarization in the country is between the federalist and the anti-federalist forces and they necessarily have to side with the federalists. Federalism has been a gift of the Madhesi Kranti, but the ground for it was prepared by the Maoist movement. It is not possible for Baidya and Badal to see common ground with the NC and the UML.

Ashok Rai and Upendra Yadav also belong in the federalist camp.

Baburam should reach out to these three individuals and expand his cabinet accordingly. That might be the right move for the current polarization in the country. I happen to think that polarization is a positive thing.

Panchayat was a no party system. The thinking was if you allow parties that will fragment the society. Similarly consensus is a regressive concept. Political polarization is a good thing. It leads to progress.

The Maoists were as opposed to the seven parties as they were to the king. But they realized an alliance with the parties was a must to topple the king.

Down the line Upendra Yadav, Ashok Rai and Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal might all compete with Baburam Bhattarai electorally, but for now they have to understand the ground reality and see they belong on the federalist side. They should see common cause.

Instead of harping on the self evident truth that Ram Baran can not dismiss him Baburam should go ahead and expand his cabinet and bring the federalist forces inside to further isolate the non federalists, namely the NC, the UML and the monarchists.

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