Our Leader in June 15, 2024 Digital Edition
Venkat Raman
Auckland, June 15, 2024
Narendra Modi scored a hattrick last week when he was sworn in as the third consecutive Prime Minister of India, a feat so rare that it has occurred only once before with Jawaharlal Nehru in the post-independence era.
He put together a coalition, principally with two major regional parties- the Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh led by the charismatic Chandrababu Naidu and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Party in Bihar led by Nitish Kumar, known for his evasive politics.
Both are strong leaders in their respective States. While the TDP won 16 Parliamentary Seats, the JD-U secured 12 seats, adding to the 240 seats won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Mr Modi.
The BJP won 240 seats far below its projected win of 300 for its own Party and another 100 seats for the National Democratic Alliance which accounts for 38 political parties spread across the country. People’s verdict was seen as a ‘Notice to the BJP and Narendra Modi,’ but the Media failed in its duty yet again.
More of this later.
Coalition Governments in India
Coalition governments are not a new phenomenon in India and the country has had several shades of coalition governments at the Central and State levels. The first such was formed by the Janata Party (predecessor to the BJP) led by Morarji Desai in 1977 but it did not last long. A worse fate awaited Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose first coalition government fell 13 days after its formation in 1966, the second folded up after 13 months (1998-1999) but the third term ran its five-year length from 1999 to 2004.
Mr Modi and his NDA allies hope that the new government, termed ‘Modi 3.0’ will work.
There were murmurs in Delhi that in the lead-up to the formation of the new government, Mr Modi would have to concede to the demands of the TDP and the JD(U) but he seems to have the initial round.
However, contrary to expectations, Mr Modi was able to retain all the key portfolios that existed during his previous term (2019-2024), including Home, Defence, Finance, Foreign Affairs and many others.
The TDP took Civil Aviation, while the JD(U) received the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which the Deccan Herald said were ‘Passenger Ministries,’ adding, ‘the more it changes, the more it remains the same.’
“The less dazzling representation of the allies in the council of ministers could also mean that Mr Modi has struck a deal with both Mr Naidu and Mr Kumar to do something remarkable for them in their states that would help them consolidate their hold in their backyards. In return, Modi expects a carte blanche in running the Centre as he deems fit,” the publication said.
Tarun Basu, Director of the Society for Policy Studies, a Delhi-based think tank, said that while Delhi was abuzz with talk of haggling by the allies for key portfolios in the lead-up to Modi taking office for a rare third straight term, there could be some anger over the cabinet choices but no immediate fall-out.
“He has managed to prevail over his allies to keep all the important portfolios to demonstrate continuity, and they seem to have gone along,” he said.
Consensus-based Politics
Strong leadership backed by at least a simple majority is often stated to be the best recipe for success in politics and administration but experience has shown that a single-party majority could impede democracy. Mr Modi’s adversaries say that his ten-year reign with a majority of seats in Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Parliament) has actually seen the decline of the democratic institution.
Coalition is seen as a successful model of democracy since it provides for proportional representation and consensus-based politics. Consultation becomes an important component of good governance since single-party governments run the risk of becoming autocratic- the need to compromise is important.
Those who disapprove of coalition governments believe that such governments tend to be fractious and prone to disharmony, as their component Parties hold differing beliefs and thus may not always agree on policy.
The eroding integrity of the Media
While Mr Modi appeared to have reconciled to the political realities and began to realign his forces by speaking about the strength of the NDA (replacing BJP), the media would not do so. Most television channels that are loyal to the Prime Minister insisted that the electoral victory belonged ‘only to Mr Modi,’ with one of them going as far as to say, “The BJP forms the government in Andhra Pradesh,’ ignoring the fact that the winner was the TDP.
Typically, if you want to know about the despicable state of the Indian media, you should read the foreign variety.
Says the Economist: “On paper India has a lively media scene with around 400 news channels and 20,000 daily news publications in over 20 languages. But press freedom in India has been in retreat for a while, and under Mr Modi, the decline has accelerated. According to an annual index of press freedom by Reporters without Borders, an international watchdog, India’s ranking dropped from 140th among 180 countries in 2014, the year Mr Modi was elected to 159th in 2024. The ownership of prominent media groups is concentrated. Reliance Industries, a conglomerate controlled by Mukesh Ambani—another billionaire friend of Mr Modi—controls more than 60 media outlets in India. As the industry has consolidated, the space for critical reporting has shrunk.”
Abysmal Opposition
As we have said earlier, too often journalists are confronted by cognitive dissonance which could constrain them to subscribe to delusion and/or orient them towards the pursuit of excellence and truth.
Weber described an “abysmal opposition” between two types of ethics: Those following their convictions wish to preserve their own moral purity, no matter what consequences their policies may have in the real world.
We believe that a healthy discussion is important, rather than sensationalising of news.
We would hope that it continues to get more frequent and louder.
Because a good newspaper should not only be responsible but also responsive.
