Electoral merit of tainted leaders trumps clean politics

Politics is a classic example to show how unpleasant and unwanted incidents from rival camps cheer up the other parties Take for example the Congress in Maharashtra Their hopes started floating up soon after BJP decided to nominate Karnataka exCM B S Yeddyurappa from the Shimoga Lok Sabha LS seat and join hands with the BSR Congress leader B S Sriramulu While the exCM was indicted for profiteering from the mining scam in Karnataka the latter is close to the Reddy brothers who were allegedly involved in the scamBecause of the involvement of these two faces supporters of Suresh Kalmadi and Ashok Chavan the two tainted faces in the Congress camp believe the party can offer them LS tickets Pune MP Kalmadi currently on bail is at the centre of the mega scam during the Commonwealth Games If not him Kalmadi wants the LS ticket for either his wife or daughter Ex CM Ashok Chavan who had to relinquish his post in November 2010 is not ready to accept any wrongdoing on his part while dealing with the controversial Adarsh housing societyThe question here is not of favouring A or B but of the helplessness of political parties who rely on electoral merits of candidates and ignore public perception at large They conveniently forget their commitment towards a clean system and sending a message to wrongdoers In the mad race for power commitment to the public cause has been left behind Most regrettably big parties that should not face a dearth of good leaders have been supporting itBJP being at the national scene for over three decades could not expand its base beyond the Hindi heartland Its presence is almost zero in south and northeast India Even in Maharasthra it is dependent on the Shiv Sena and has failed to grow beyond certain limitations In Karnataka it could not rely on anyone other than Yeddyurappa Leaders such as Anantha Kumar have certain limitations and are happy at the centre they wonrsquot take up the challenge to strengthen the party base Hence BJP decided to induct B S Sriramulu ignoring strong reservations of senior leaders such as Sushma SwarajFor Congressmen particularly those concerned about the future of Suresh Kalmadi and Ashok Chavan BJPrsquos decision in Karnataka is a reason to convince their party top bosses on political rehabilitation They are keenly observing reactions on backing controversial or tainted leaders from the general public and the media It wonrsquot be surprising if the Congress decides to nominate either the leaders or their family membersFor in these cases the Congress simply doesnrsquot want to ignore the clout of the leaders mdash Kalmadi in Pune and Chavan in Nanded And to win both the constituencies it desperately wants their support If the party doesnrsquot endorse them local units may not support the party during elections In Pune known as the city of academicians and intelligentsia Kalmadi is backed by a loyal group of supporters If hersquos ignored they can work against the partyWhile the Congress dithers on its decision the state CM has informed the Public Accounts Committee that a case will be filed against Kalmadi over his failure to submit proofs of expenses during the Commonwealth Youth Games within the time limitIn the Marathwada region Ashok Chavanrsquos bastion the Congress is in disarray In pursuit of retaining each and every Lok Sabha seat the party doesnrsquot want to hurt Chavan who has been indicted for quid pro quo by the twomember inquiry commission on Adarsh Besides Adarsh Chavan has also been accused of using paid news mdash the matter is pending with the Election Commission Even then the party cannot dare pick someone who is not a Chavan or his family memberCongressrsquo first priority is to retain the Nanded and Latur seats besides making concerted efforts to win Aurangabad Jalna and HingoliWhether itrsquos the Congress or the BJP both are helpless before electoral merit And both speak tirelessly against corruption in public lifeThe writer is Political Editor of midday