The test for the second Manmohan Singh govt will be whether it can walk on two legs?carry out ?aam aadmi? policies and undertake reforms
Business Standard / New Delhi May 17, 2009, 00:27 IST
The country has given itself a marvelous result in the general elections--with the promise of a stable and cohesive government under the most preferable candidate for prime minister. A near-majority for the Congress-led alliance is something that no one had predicted, and comes as a very positive surprise. The pretenders who thought they would be able to make a claim have been routed, especially the obstructionist Left under Prakash Karat whose Third Front lies in a shambles, while Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress has not even reached double digits. And the Bhartiya Janata Party has some soul-searching to do; it must be hoped that the party does not lurch towards Narendra Modi, who would be the wrong answer in almost every way.
Winning re-election at the Centre is an uncommon achievement; winning it in style after a full five-year term, under the same leadership, was last achieved in 1962—with the Congress bagging more seats than in any election after 1984. This is a clear vindication of Sonia Gandhi’s leadership of the Congress, and the “inclusive” and “aam aadmi” direction that she has set for government policy. It is an endorsement of Manmohan Singh as prime minister; within his dynasty-oriented party, he will now carry much greater conviction than in the past. And it is the first taste of success for Rahul Gandhi, who (among other things) had made Uttar Pradesh his battleground and where the party chose to go it alone, with surprisingly good results.
A government can now be formed with just half a dozen partners in the coalition. What is even better from the viewpoint of government formation, the Congress has nearly 80 per cent of the seats won by the United Progressive Alliance; the party is therefore in a position to provide clear policy direction, without someone like Mr Karat behaving as though he is a super-prime minister. So the Congress can provide the assurance of stability, and not be buffeted about by its alliance partners. Hopefully, it will also refuse to entertain corruption on the part of ministers from its alliance — the bane of the first Manmohan Singh government.
The key question is whether the government will do some of the things that its partners prevented in the last Lok Sabha. There has been the suspicion that important and influential elements within the Congress have also been sceptical about market-oriented reforms. The test for the second Manmohan Singh government therefore will be whether it can walk on two legs—carry out the “aam aadmi” policies that the party wants while also undertaking the reforms that alone will ensure rapid economic growth. It is evident that the country’s politics has veered dramatically towards populism. If one party promised a kilogramme of rice at Rs 3, another promised it at Rs 2 and a third promised it at a rupee. Other promises included free power and cash transfers to the poor. But money that is to be dished out by the government first has to be earned, and the resources that are needed for such fiscal transfers will not come without structural reforms and indeed fiscal rectitude.
When it comes to Cabinet formation, it must be hoped that the Prime Minister will not treat human resource development as a portfolio that can be given to someone whom he wants to put on the shelf. It remains as important as some of the other vital ministries, like power (there are parts of India that make do with electricity for no more than three hours a day). Dr Singh needs to look within his party for people with ability and a commitment to hard work, to give the country the kind of government it deserves and needs. The opportunity is now his for the taking.
With such a decisive verdict in his favour, the PM should choose a high quality cabinet. Generally, ministries like HRD and Energy are considered light weight, yet have the potential to impact the economy in the longer term. These portfolios which the older heavyweights will not want to touch, could be given to the younger lot. HRD could be a particularly good one to give Rahul Gandhi.
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