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DEATHQUAKE;
INEFFICIENT STATE
Contd...
Wrong
Signals
By his actions, Keshubhai sent all wrong signals to a people looking for
inspiration and direction.
The
flipside of this stress on loyalty to Keshubhai is that while the chief
minister hogs the authority, he also attracts all the flak. In the public
mind, the Government begins and ends with Keshubhai. All the shortcomings
of the regime are pinned on him. Conversely, the achievements of the Government
cannot be transformed into political capital because Keshubhai's image
has taken a nosedive.
Nowhere
is this more apparent that in the relief work after the earthquake. It
is conceded by even their worst detractors that the RSS and the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) have been in the forefront of the non-official rescue
and relief. This has led to an upsurge of goodwill for the Sangh Parivar.
Yet, it hasn't resulted in the BJP reaping political dividends. "We
are at the centre of the relief work," gloats VHP Secretary-General
Praveen Togadia. His office in Ahmedabad is buzzing with volunteers and
overflowing with relief material while the BJP office conveys an image
of clinical detachment.
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| GOING
ONE UP: Togadia's office was buzzing with activity, leading to an
upsurge of goodwill for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad |
"We
have suffered due to our dilution of Hindutva," rationalises Home
Minister Haren Pandya. But this explanation sidesteps the problem of Keshubhai's
image turning into a liability. This was on show during the past year's
municipal elections when the BJP seat tally fell from some 80 per cent
to 20 per cent. The party even lost the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation,
a body it controlled for 17 years. "It was not a pro-Congress vote;
it was an anti-BJP vote," concedes Pandya.
After the
drubbing, the state party constituted a Satya Sodhak Samiti headed by
Keshubhai loyalist Bharat Barot. Its report in January identified Keshubhai's
poor media projection as a factor behind his waning image. The argument
is that the Government's achievements, like the 30,500 electricity poles
installed in just 40 days after the 1998 cyclone and the 10,500 check
dams built in two years, haven't been adequately sold. If that is the
case, neither Keshubhai nor the state Government appear to have learnt
lessons.
Official
stonewalling and a reluctance to part with information marked the first
five days after the earthquake. When Keshubhai finally came on TV to warn
of possible after-shocks, his clumsy articulation triggered a panic. It
was clear that he was sending all the wrong signals to a people looking
for solace on the one hand and simultaneously searching for inspiration
and direction on the other. With his zero communication skills and his
sluggish demeanour, the mismatch between society and its political leader
couldn't have been more stark.
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