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Time to deliver on promises

Regaining power is easier than retaining it. The victory of the Democratic Progressive Alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is essentially a vote for change in Tamil Nadu. In keeping with the trend set in the 1989 Assembly election, the DMK denied the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam a second consecutive term. But Verdict 2006 is not an unconditional popular endorsement of the victor. Despite putting together a formidable alliance arithmetic, the DMK and its allies faced stiff resistance from the AIADMK across the State. The closeness of the contest was reflected in the five percentage point difference between the two alliances and in the thin victory margins in several instances. Corrective measures initiated by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa during the last two years, and commendable tsunami rehabilitation and flood relief, helped the AIADMK reduce the 17 percentage point gap that sank her party in the May 2004 Lok Sabha contest in Tamil Nadu. Further, a sizable section of the protest vote went to actor Vijaykant's Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam, which polled more than the margin of victory in several constituencies. Unsurprisingly, the DMK failed to get a majority of its own. For the last three decades, the DMK and the AIADMK have been taking a big chunk of seats on the strength of clever alliances (witness 1984, 1991, 1996, and 2001) or a fragmentation of the popular vote (as in 1977 and 1989). With merely a one-third vote share, each has been able to rule in turn. The chief ally, the reunited Congress, which has more than pulled its weight in this contest, must put an end, amicably of course, to this artificial situation. It must participate in the State government — so that it becomes a majority and stable government but also because desirable checks and balances can thus be introduced in the Centre-State as well as Congress-DMK equations.

After a long time, Tamil Nadu will have a strong opposition in the Assembly. Octogenarian M. Karunanidhi, who will become Chief Minister for a record fifth time, has led an impressive campaign from the front. He knows he must pay heed to the social churning across the State and to the changing mood of the people. He needs to focus the attention of the new government, in equal measure, on development and issues of livelihood and mass deprivation, which came to the fore in the election campaign. As an elder statesman, he must also do his best to put an end to vendetta politics and reduce the hostility and tension levels in the State's politics. One of the ways the DMK neutralised the chemistry the AIADMK supremo was able to generate on the ground was to come up with an election manifesto that has been described, with some exaggeration, as the `real hero' of the election. The winner now needs to deliver — and the first step must be forming a government that will reflect coalition arithmetic and new political realities.

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