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Exclusive Opinion Poll: UPA-II First Innings: Hit, Misses, Miscues

By ugesh sarkar, Section UPA - United Progressive Alliance
Posted on Mon May 17, 2010 at 01:38:33 AM EST

The gloss is gone and the warts are beginning to show. This is how it might look to most people. But hold your thoughts for a moment and consider this: coalitions, like wine, get better with time.

A year might be too short a period to judge a govern- ment. The picture clears up towards the end, closer to elections.

Remember UPA-I's rural job scheme, that gem of an idea that nobody thought could win elections?

It did, and how.

The Congress returned to power without its obstruc- tionist UPA I ally, the Left.

The 2009 mandate was for Sonia Gandhi's inclusive touch, Manmohan Singh's experience and Rahul Gandhi's youthful appeal.

UPA-II has not yet found a winner idea to match the job scheme. But look closer.
The government's robust handling of the overall economy shines in contrast with the floundering NDA under a BJP struggling with its inex- perienced boss Nitin Gadkari.

And there have been solid, highly visible initiatives: right to education, quota for women in legislatures and legal entitlement of Below Poverty Line families to food grains at affordable prices.

Recognition of such ini- tiatives was evident in the Hindustan Times-CNN-IBN poll of experts who rated highly, traditional, well-edu- cated Congressmen: Pranab Mukherjee (Finance), P.
Chidambaram (Home) and Kapil Sibal (HRD).

Spoiling the report card were UPA's loose-tongue cow- boys. They make the coaliti- on resemble a rave party do- minated by mercurial tem- peraments, unpredictable allies and newfangled politi- cal recruits such as Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh.

One has lost his job for bring- ing the regime into disrepute.
The other is in trouble forev- er for a runaway tongue.

The Prime Minister could sort them out because they belong to his party. But he can do little to discipline trou- blesome allies with key min- istries: Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool), M.K. Alagiri and A. Raja (DMK).

They symbolise the aberrations of mixed regimes where absen- teeism has to be condoned, incompetence ignored, cor- ruption tolerated and gover- nance given a go by.
Occasional disconnect with allies can perhaps be explained.
But blame lies at the Congress's own doorsteps for the Telangana muddle and the cross-connections about tack- ling the Naxal threat.

The 2009 poll victory saw the party taking for granted the support of past and potential rivals -- the SP, BSP and RJD -- who have since come to demand their pound of flesh. A ringside observer attributed it all -- including Sharm-el- Sheikh and the controversial caste census -- to perfunctory political management and the PM's "lovable illusion" of mak- ing peace with Pakistan.

vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com

Source: Hindustan Times By Vinod Sharma Exclusive Opinion Poll: UPA-II First Innings: Hit, Misses, Miscues

"Singh's silently obsessed with his legacy. He keeps his counsel on issues that aren't central to his ideological agen- da," said the observer.

For her part, Sonia's "much too forgiving" of errant col- leagues and allies. Little won- der the government with the best available political talent looks short on quality human resource.

NCP's Sharad Pawar's love for cricket in the time of rising prices was a point of bother. But Mamata and Alagiri have been a source of unending discom- fort, run as they do their min- istries though remote control and proxies. They are more focused on their political ambi- tions back home. The Trinamool leader's brazenly Bengal-centric rail budget was cleared amid much drama in the Cabinet.

The discussions ended when she broke down on being ques- tioned about certain proposals, and had to be consoled by a woman cabinet colleague.

Alagiri's chronic absence from office and cabinet meet- ings is a dubious first even by coalition-standards. He cannot speak English or Hindi and has delegated most of his parlia- mentary/administrative duties to his MoS, Srikant Jena and departmental secretaries under his charge.

The DMK minister did con- descend to attend the Cabinet meeting that slashed subsidy on urea. But it was Textile Minister Dayanidi Maran who articulated his populist oppo- sition to the proposal moved by his own ministry.

"It's family profligacy at its worst," said a UPA leader about DMK chief Karunanidhi's nom- inees. The appointees owe allegiance to family factions jostling for power in Tamil Nadu. Alagiri is the CM's own choice, Raja a prop of his daugh- ter Kanimozhi and Maran the nominee of his other son M.K.
Stalin.

Such appeasement of the DMK is inexplicable, especial- ly when its government survives on Congress support in Tamil Nadu. Another instance this, of bad political management?

< Civic Poll: Chinks Deepen in Congress

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