The Karnataka election has concluded and there is an even bigger drama ensuing for power as we speak. But then If you are watching debates and discussions about the election on a Malayalam channel, you will see that the Communist leaders dominate the panel, eloquently dissecting the result and trends, presenting their clinching analysis and views. They have their own popular jargon, their own lenses to read the situation as they go on explaining how and what went wrong. If you stay glued to the screen, their discourse would eventually lead you to think that such ‘knowledge’ and ‘wisdom’ must have some correlation with results, that they should have secured a sizeable portion of the votes. But then the actual verdict narrates a different story as the comrades have infamously finished behind NOTA (None of the Above).
NOTA has acquired 0.9 percent of the total votes casted and Communist Party of India is one among the major ‘national party’ which NOTA surpassed along with Bahujan Samaj Party. Having already reduced to a meagre presence in India, this might be a right time for the Communist leaders to do some introspection.
The Communist woes in India begins with their basic ideology itself. ‘Equality’ often touted as it’s major philosophy is a concept that has nothing to do with freedom or happiness. It is this contradiction that often comes to the fore in Communist countries where most people are equal , but most of them are equally unhappy. Recently In a political debate in a Malayalam channel, a veteran Communist leader Govindan master, found himself in a position where he couldn’t openly state that China is a Communist country. He knew that if China was called a Communist country, that would open a number of opportunities to point out the human right violations in the same nation and that he would be stripped of his advantage in the debate.
The Communist leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan have time and again raised his concerns on how China and North Korea is affected by American policies and have seldom spoken about the threats India faces from it’s enemies. Pictures of the much hated Kim Jong un appear in their flexes and sometimes Hindu God’s are photoshoped together with their leaders. Communist party is caught in this dilemma of its own ideology,history and party mechanisms. They have spoken against Hindu God’s, they cannot do it anymore to counter the right wing forces. Their party custom dictates that meetings and talks should open with the analysis of International politics, but no more possess leaders who observe the field regularly to speak with conviction. They want to show China as their major success story but cannot do it wholeheartedly for China’s infamous citizen rights.
Add to that a growing dissent among it’s major leaders where the slightly more popular Yechuri have to wage internal battles before he can take the party ahead. V S Achuthanandan is another yesterday giant who is sidelined and is only used as an election campaign specialist.
None of this mean that Communism is over. But with this trend, it will soon be. What they need so desperately is some honest admissions, not the ones they do in their forums for the sake of doing it, but an approach that connects with people. Leaders should realise that nobody cares for what happens in North Korea or that it doesn’t matter for us if America attacks China. Their talks, thoughts and actions must touch with everyday problems of common man. Also they will do themselves a great favour if they don’t start blaming people once they lose the election. It remains to be seen if they are going to call Karnataka as yet another cow state.
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