A Repetitive History

After the Sanjay Baru book “The Accidental Prime Minister” hit the stands and revealed(!?) the dual-power structure in the UPA government, i immediately thought of the only other such political arrangement in my memory – the Shiv Sena-BJP combine of 1995-99 in Maharashtra.

I thought to myself, “Why not think of more similarities between these two governments?”, and came up with the following list. It’s not very elaborate and i am not equating one with the other. The similarity ends with these comparisons, as the ethos and brand DNA of both parties ( and coalitions) are drastically different.

SS-BJP COMBINE (1995-1999)	UPA (2004-2014)
Maharashtra was the most prosperous state when this combine got to power. Didn’t leave it that way...	UPA got reins to power when India was poised to be a global superpower. A decade later, the sentiment is missing.
Their victory can partly be credited to the feud and infighting among the Congress (Late Sudhakar Naik vs Sharad Pawar).	The India Shining campaign by NDA boomeranged. That played a vital role in propelling UPA to power, as the shine was limited to select citizens.
The previous Congress government couldn’t control the 1992-93 riots. The votes were polarised on religious / communal basis.	Latent anger against the NDA for not taking action against the unapologetic CM of Gujarat for the 2002 riots. That translated for Congress in votes.
Remote controlled, as famously confessed by Late Bal Thackrey.	Authority with zero accountability for Ms Sonia Gandhi, as published in the book.
Zunka bhakar centres to create livelihood for its volunteers. And unemployed youth.	Populist measures – rural employment guarantee scheme, rural health bill, FSB.
Went on to rename everything after Shiv Sena icons. And, Bombay became Mumbai.	The government schemes and initiatives were named after icons of the ruling dynasty.
Most critical contribution are the 56 flyovers in Mumbai.	Will be known for the revamp and rebirth of Delhi.
Were in too much of a hurry.	Criticised for “policy paralysis”.
Known for threats and aggressive attacks on media for any unfavourable coverage. Used theory of intimidation instead of dialog most times.	Treats the main stream media like their own fiefdom, throwing them crumbs to divert attention of the masses from one topic to the next.
ENRON	CAG
In the years leading up to the coalition coming to power, political careers of leaders like Sudhir Joshi, were over.	Top leaders like Madhav Scindia and Rajesh Pilot died in unfortunate accidents before UPA came to power.
The memorable event was the Michael Jackson concert.	The biggest party everyone had a good time were the CWG.

Clearly i am no political expert, and this is not an exhaustive list. These are top of mind things, and political keedas can think of more similarities or completely trash my little adventure.  

The point is, history repeats itself. And those who don’t learn from past mistakes have to go through the same mistakes again and again... And again...

Someone once told me, or i read somewhere... “The more things change, the more they stay same”... And right now, we are at the cusp of something special. We have an opportunity to show that we are more than data points and demographics. The educated, urban, employed, tax-paying population needs to be less cynical and be part of the change! Let’s make it count. We need to be part of the change, instead of venting it out on FB updates for the next 5 years. You need to show if you are an armchair activist or really are the harbinger of change.

Please go out and vote. Make yours count.

PS: I must acknowledge the help and inputs from my friends Satish and Hyder for their common man insights to Bombay / Mumbai politics.