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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Manufactured Martyrs

The attempt by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) to turn activist Sonam Wangchuk into the next Anna Hazare has exposed how manufactured symbolism cannot compensate for the absence of genuine public outrage. What began as a grievance over the NEET paper leak, one of India’s gravest examination scandals in recent times, has drifted into an exercise in political pageantry, where the cause has been eclipsed by its chosen mascots. Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike was plainly meant to recreate a...

Manufactured Martyrs

The attempt by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) to turn activist Sonam Wangchuk into the next Anna Hazare has exposed how manufactured symbolism cannot compensate for the absence of genuine public outrage. What began as a grievance over the NEET paper leak, one of India’s gravest examination scandals in recent times, has drifted into an exercise in political pageantry, where the cause has been eclipsed by its chosen mascots. Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike was plainly meant to recreate a familiar script where an allegedly unassuming public figure embraces personal sacrifice and a reluctant government buckles under mounting moral pressure. But history does not repeat itself on command. Anna Hazare’s fast in 2011 succeeded not because fasting possesses mystical political powers, but because it rode a tidal wave of public anger against corruption. Millions identified with the cause. That equation is conspicuously absent today. The platform that ought to have belonged to students who suffered from the NEET paper leak, or to parents whose children bore its consequences, instead became crowded with the usual constellation of professional activists, ideological campaigners and political fellow travellers. The faces dominating the stage were not those most directly affected by the scandal. A movement demanding educational accountability gradually came to look like another gathering of Delhi’s permanently aggrieved activist class. Even Wangchuk appeared to sense the contradiction. During the protest he reportedly lamented that while he was observing an indefinite fast, many around him were happily eating meals, urging at least a token one-day fast in solidarity. Successful protest movements depend upon authenticity. Once the public begins suspecting that an individual is being deployed less as a leader than as a moral accessory for someone else’s ideological project, sympathy quickly evaporates. Nor does Wangchuk arrive without controversy. Questions have been raised over the cancellation of the FCRA licence of SECMOL, the educational organisation associated with him, and over allegations regarding subsequent foreign funding arrangements. Critics have also challenged aspects of the carefully cultivated public mythology surrounding his achievements, from the origins of the ice-stupa concept to the popular belief that he inspired the protagonist of 3 Idiots. These matters deserve scrutiny on their own merits rather than hagiography or character assassination. The greater failure here surely belongs to the protest’s organisers. The CJP has mistaken optics for momentum and symbolism for public sentiment. Instead of allowing the victims of the NEET scandal to speak for themselves, they attempted to manufacture another national conscience by placing a familiar face at the centre of the stage. Political legitimacy cannot be outsourced to celebrity. Nor can mass movements be assembled from social-media influencers and habitual protesters. Anna Hazare became powerful because the public chose him. Attempts to manufacture his successor merely underline how rare such moments really are.

Rebels and Realignments in Western Vidarbha’s Chessboard

Rebels and Realignments in Western Vidarbha’s Chessboard

Western Vidarbha has become a hotbed of factionalism and defections, earning a reputation as a land of motormouth leaders. With exactly a month to go for the big fight, the districts of Amravati, Buldhana, and Akola are rife with political intrigue, where former allies have become adversaries, and new alliances are changing the landscape ahead of the Assembly election.


In Amravati, the ever-volatile Bacchu Kadu has emerged as a key disruptor. Once aligned with the ruling Mahayuti, the leader of the Prahar Jan Shakti party is now spearheading a new alliance — the Parivartan Mahashakti Aghadi (in conjunction with farmer leader Raju Shetti and Maratha royal Sambhaji Chhatrapati) — aiming to upend both the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti and the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). People are fed up with both the BJP and Congress, claimed Kadu claimed recently while declaring he would clear the air on the ‘third front’ on November 4.


Meanwhile, Rajendra Shingne, a five-term legislator from Sindhkhed Raja, has jumped ship from the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to Sharad Pawar’s camp. The seasoned politician, who was sidelined during cabinet selections by Ajit Pawar, has aligned with the MVA, much to the consternation of the Mahayuti.


As the political gears grind towards the Assembly election, the BJP remains strong in this region. But the Mahayuti is plagued with internal rifts. Rumors swirl of more defections, with even former BJP minister Ganesh Naik in talks to join Sharad Pawar’s faction, potentially bringing his son Sandeep along for the ride.


The schism between CM Shinde’s Sena and the BJP could spill over in the Assembly contest if not checked. Soon after the Lok Sabha results, two former Shiv Sena MPs, denied tickets in the general election, had categorically blamed the ruling alliance’s poor performance on the BJP.


Krupal Tumane, previously representing Ramtek, accused BJP state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule of orchestrating his exclusion, claiming Bawankule pressured Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to replace him with Congress defector Raju Parwe, leading to the constituency’s loss. Bhavana Gawali, dropped from Yavatmal-Washim, suggested similar external pressure forced Shinde to drop her candidacy, reflecting growing tensions between the alliance partners.


Adding to the drama in this region is the unpredictable Rana factor. Navneet Rana, the former Lok Sabha MP from Amravati, had faced a stunning defeat in the Lok Sabha elections at the hands of Congress’s Balwant Wankhade. Her husband, Ravi Rana, a sitting MLA, recently announced that Navneet will step aside from the Assembly race, instead eyeing a Rajya Sabha seat with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This has done little to ease tensions within the Mahayuti, as Bacchu Kadu had actively campaigned against Rana in previous elections. Rana said his wife would be campaigning wholeheartedly for the BJP’s candidate.


Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), another significant factor in this region, particularly Akola, is also navigating rough waters. Once an ally of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and a near-ally of the MVA, Ambedkar snapped ties with the opposition after seat-sharing talks collapsed, deciding to go it alone in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.


The move cost his party dearly in the Lok Sabha results, with its vote share drastically reduced in the constituencies it contested.

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