There has not been an intensive study and analysis of the results that the recent Delhi elections threw up. During the earlier Parliament and a few subsequent State Assembly elections, it was nothing succeeds like success. In Delhi, it was nothing fails like defeat. Arvind Kejriwal has reportedly admitted later on that he took a politically inopportune step in resigning from the Chief Ministership of Delhi earlier. He has also tasted his defeat in Varanasi. The BJP having had a series of success is bound to be taken aback with the drastically reduced number they eventually got. A cadre-based party, which has had a traditional hold in Delhi, the BJP chose to implement the electioneering machinery on the same pattern as implemented elsewhere. There was reasonably intensive micromanagement and Union Ministers were detailed to ensure the success of the machinery. Finally, Kiran Bedi was catapulted to a position of leadership, as the projected CM, a bit late in the day.
Apart from appealing to the traditional vote banks, the BJP did attempt newer forms of social engineering. But all this did not yield the expected results. To narrate some facts, the BJP lost in Vikaspuri by 77,665 votes, where Rajiv Pratap Rudy was overseeing things. Similarly, it lost in Seemapuri by 48,821 votes with Ram Shankar Katheria overseeing, lost in Sangam Vihar by 43,988 votes with Ananth Kumar guiding things, lost in Ambedkar Nagar by 42,460 votes with Thaawar Chand Gehlot overseeing, lost in Mundka by 40,826 votes with Sanjeev Balyan overseeing, lost in Narela by 40,292 votes with Radha Mohan Singh overseeing, lost by 39,366 votes in Dwarka with Manoj Sinha overseeing, lost by 35,488 votes in Babarpur with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as the guide, lost by 31,968 votes in Gokalpur with Ram Shankar Katheria overseeing, lost by 31,583 votes in New Delhi with Dharmendra Pradhan overseeing, lost by 29,754 votes in Trilokpuri with Krishan Pal Gurjar; lost by 24,759 votes in Kondli with Krishan Pal Gurjar overseeing, lost by 19,769 votes in Kalkaji with Ananth Kumar overseeing, lost by 16,951 votes in Mehrauli with Hansraj Ahir overseeing, lost by 16,706 votes in Model Town with Piyush Goyal overseeing, lost by 15,897 votes in Malviya Nagar with Nirmala Sitharaman overseeing, lost by 15,221 votes in Moti Nagar with J.P.Nadda overseeing, lost by 11,198 votes in Delhi Cantonment with Rajyavardhan Rathore overseeing and lost by 3,133 votes in Shakur Basti with Santosh Gangwar overseeing.
The strategy did not address the needs of the poor and the aspirations of the upward moving elastic middleclass. The AAP under Kejriwal continued with a basic necessities approach along with a tirade against corruption and opposition to the alleged exploitation of consumers through privatisation. It was a unique mixture from allegations like crony capitalism to bijli, pani and makan. AAP volunteers had been diligent enough to reach the grassroots. This aspect was missing in the projected policies in the campaign of the BJP, which we must remind ourselves, is ruling at the Centre. Superficially, some may comment that this was a negative response to arrogance of power, but that by itself was not the dominant contributing factor. The fine was in the hearts of the barefoot soldiers of the AAP.
In strategy building, what may be relevant in the national context may require a modification in a localised context. This aspect was partly lost sight of by a national party, which had reasons to bask in the glory of Parliament and few subsequent Assembly elections. But this is also indicative of a lack of linkage between a large section of the society and the ruling elite. As future elections come nearer, the seeds of “Delhi Effect” will germinate further into a tapestry of debates in the different States of the country.
If one turns towards Odisha, there are certain clear indicators that have to be taken into consideration in formulating future policies and actions. The agriculture sector along with its ancillary activities like fishery, animal husbandry, horticulture, etc., is to be given adequate importance in terms of pragmatic action. In this context, a recent study by the Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, reveals that power and machineries have replaced manual labour in the agriculture sector. Utilisation of human power is tending to reduce itself to about five per cent. Even the utilisation of draught animals like oxen pulling the plough is being replaced by mechanical devices. The growth of this nature may not be fully true in Odisha, but the fact remains the agricultural sector absorbs the hidden unemployment and underemployment. This requires immediate detailed studies.
The drastic reform of the agriculture sector should now form the first priority of State policy in Odisha. land reforms in a meaningful and purposive sense are to be revisited. land holdings, productivity of law and related infrastructures require to be studied at the grassroots level. These details have to be revisited so as to put into operation a system of accountability and availability of skilled and semiskilled labourer at the rural level. This would also, to some extent, arrest the large-scale migration of rural youth to urban areas which by themselves are not throwing up any ameliorative new avenues of employment.
This requires a vision paper not built from top but by taking the ground reality as it really exists at the grassroots level. The Government has enough resources at its command to resurvey the land resources and carve out different modes of irrigation and make adequate arrangements for advice and availability of technical inputs. The procurement, warehousing and marketing machinery has to be rejuvenated. All this exists on paper, to some extent, if not in its entirety. But what is lacking is a public debate. We need a new Green Revolution. A revolution is not caused in a day. But likeminded catalysts can interact, project a suggested public policy and raise demands in this direction so that the future generations do not find the granary of “Annapurna” depleted or empty. And this certainly concerns us all!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former President of the Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha.jayantdas@hotmail.com)