New Delhi, 26 Dec 2014
The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI) feels disappointed and despaired at the rise of BJP in the Jammu & Kashmir, (J&K) and Jharkhand elections the results of which were announced few days back. The lack of coordination, cooperation and commitment amongst the so-called secular parties to stem the rot and block the rise of communal forces is responsible for such a scenario which is not heart-warming at all for plural society.
SDPI national president A. Sayeed in a statement said that the so-called secular parties across the spectrum, with Congress being in the vanguard, despite having bitten the dust ever since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections continue to be in disarray while indulging in day-dreaming. These parties are thinking that the tide would change in their favour on its own without caring to realise their own shortcomings, follies and blunders they have committed all along while befooling the common man. These so-called secular parties in contrast to BJP’s Hindutva agenda have been peddling soft-Hindutva line which has neither benefitted them nor the masses at large and in the process they have boosted the fortunes of the Sangh Parivar.
Sayeed said political parties across the spectrum should ponder seriously the rise of fascist forces to grab political power. They should plan out ways and means to stop meteoric rise of these forces as it can prove to be very disastrous for the plural society in the country. He squarely held the Congress party responsible for not learning lessons from the 2014 Lok Sabha elections debacle and doing nothing spectacular to regain the confidence of the electorates, especially that of the minorities.
Meanwhile, he said the propping up of the Third Front once again by the erstwhile constituents of Janata Parivar on a single point agenda of pinning down Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not going to help much. It must be borne in mind that until and unless the Third Front draws a comprehensive plan to alleviate the sufferings of the down-trodden, Dalits and minorities while freeing the country from the stranglehold of the Corporate, the alliance is not going to click as usual to bear fruitful results.
Sayeed said that the BJP won the Jharkhand assembly poll due to lack of unity among the non-BJP parties. There was no wave of Modi behind victory of the BJP in Jharkhand; it was result of split between the ruling JMM and the Congress, he added.
In J&K, the Hindu polarisation in Jammu created a counter-polarisation in the Valley to keep BJP at bay. Statements by BJP leaders about doing away with Article 370 and having a Hindu CM from Jammu pressed panic buttons in the Valley about BJP changing the special character of J&K if it came to power. This counter-polarisation benefited PDP the most but not to the extent it had expected, with NC and Congress also mopping up some seats, he pointed out.
Sayeed stated that there is another clear message from the election – that alliances are going to be key for non-BJP parties in the future if they want to fight BJP or even retain their turf. Meanwhile, the statement said the real challenge in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions of the state in the coming months will be to meet the aspirations of the first-time voters who have reposed their faith in democracy in such large numbers. Indeed, the elections have provided a rare opportunity to build a truly peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir. This will, of course, demand a strong partnership between the state and the Centre, no matter what shape the new coalition government may take in the coming days.
The vote cast in J&K seeks global standards of governance, world-class infrastructure, and new opportunities of education and employment as more and more residents of the state are connected with the world if only through cyber space, the statement added.
Sayeed said that BJP should concentrate more on good governance than diverting its energies on petty things and controversial issues which have no relevance to development. The biggest challenge for BJP is not from any opposition, it is in fact from its own unruly MPs and MLAs who managed to make it to the houses on sheer Modi magic, and do not really have political brains. BJP is also set to suffer from the over enthusiastic deeds of Sangh Parivar, for which BJP will have to stand accountable.