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Election season in the sub-continent |
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B.I. Saini
It is increasingly becoming clear that the unending differences between the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre and its Left supporters would lead to early general elections in the largest and most populous country of the Indian sub-continent. On the country’s western and eastern flanks also, the stage is being set for elections in not too distant a future.
After virtually securing his re-election in a facile poll, boycotted by the opposition parties, Gen. Pervez Musharraf is expected to hold elections for the Pakistan National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies within a couple of months after he takes over as country’s “elected” president, sans uniform in the middle of next month. The result of the presidential election has not been declared so far under the directions of the Supreme Court, but there is no doubt, as claimed by Government functionaries, that the General has won with 99 per cent support in the electoral college. But the election does not have much credibility as opposition members of the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies belonging to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League faction as well as some other parties, resigned enmasse from the legislative bodies in protest against what they called the “unconstitutional move” of Gen. Musharraf to seek re-election in uniform while continuing as Army chief. Lawmakers belonging to another former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) did not take part in the voting, though they did not resign from the National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies.
In Bangladesh, general elections still appear to be more than a year away, but the military-supported interim government is increasingly coming under pressure to move speedily towards holding a national poll at the earliest. As part of its socalled plan to cleanse the political system of corruption, the interim government has put behind the bars the two warring former Prime Ministers, Sheikh Hasina Wazed and Khalida Zia, to face trial on corruption charges pertaining to the periods when they headed the government. While nobody is questioning the drive against corruption, there is increasing pressure on the current administration to take speedy steps to ensure that the people can have their say in the running of the country and the Government.
In India, the time is running out for the UPA and the Left to resolve their differences on the India-US civilian nuclear deal. The political committee formed by the UPA and the Left to sort out their differences has already met thrice, but the only upshot has been both sides airing their viewpoints on the issues involved. There is no sign of any meaningful progress towards resolution of differences on the nuclear deal.
Another meeting of the political committee is to be held tomorrow (Oct. 9) where the Left is likely to raise its concerns on how the nuclear deal might affect relations with Iran, Iraq, the Palestinians and Afghanistan.
The setting up of the committee and its deliberations have not stopped either party from forcefully putting out its view points in the public. Congress leaders are now saying that they cannot put off negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on safeguards for ever. According to Congress sources, at best the UPA could keep the Left parties informed of what was happening at the talks. Party sources denied the claim by some Left leaders that they were given an assurance that no talks, formal or informal, would be held with the IAEA as long as the UPA-Left panel continued to meet.
Observers are of the view that a decision, one way or the other, on withdrawal of support to the UPA Government by the Left parties may come either during or just after the UPA-Left panel meeting scheduled on Oct. 14. In a significant development, top leaders of the two main Communist parties, the CPI(M) and the CPI, had an unscheduled meeting in New Delhi on Oct. 6 where they reportedly discussed threadbare the UPA-Left tussle on the nuclear deal. Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardhan are said to have discussed the pros and cons of having an election now, especially how the Left parties would fare in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tripura. Apparently, leaders of the West Bengal unit of the CPI(M) are none too happy with the prospect of an early Lok Sabha poll which, according to analysts and poll surveys, may see the Left parties losing a large part of their support base in the state, given the recent Singur and Nandigram episodes. But hardliners in the party led by general secretary Prakash Karat are in no mood to give any breathing space to the Manmohan Singh Government on the nuclear deal.
With both the Congress-led UPA and the Left sticking to their respective stands, there may be no alternative to an early Lok Sabha poll.
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