LEGENDARY singer-song writer Bob Dylan gave us the famous ‘Blowin’ in the wind song’ decades back. But the song still seems to fit so perfectly in our political situations.
Realignment of political forces ahead of the Lok Sabha elections is always anticipated. Politicians and political forces take positions and shift loyalties depending upon the mood of the general public. It is like the Urdu proverb “Chale hum udhar ko jidhar ki hawwa ho”. However, since the last 10-12 years, wind blows in one direction alone in the country. Major non-BJP political forces receive severe blows ahead of elections.
There is an argument, particularly from the BJP adversaries that it’s systemic and systematic. They blame the ruling BJP of using the independent regulatory bodies and institutions like ED, CBI, NIA and others against its political opponents. However, the larger question before the non-BJP forces should be ‘why’ and ‘how’ the wind blows in one direction only for the last decade. But nobody would dare introspect.
Let’s presume, for the time being, that the independent institutions and statutory bodies are being used to target the political adversaries of BJP. But, why is it that the wind refuses to change its course? Political forces are tempted to align with the BJP because of the massive public support for the ruling dispensation of BJP. The same institutions which people keep talking about, particularly in context of credibility and impartiality, were dancing to the tunes of the Congress party just a few years back and honestly, their actions were no different from what we are witnessing currently.
Actually what matters is the popularity and acceptability of any political formation and its agenda among the general masses. Everything falls in place then. The shifting of loyalties at the national level ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections is again unidirectional and that is enough to understand the dynamics of public sentiment.
