A new leader for Uttaranchal

THE MEMBERS OF the BJP Legislature Party in Uttaranchal have ``exercised'' their ``prerogative'' in electing a Chief Minister for the second time since the State was carved out in November 2000. By nominating Mr. Bhagat Singh Koshiari in place of Mr. Nityanand Swamy, the BJP as a party has only indicated its subservience to the high command mode of functioning once again. Mr. Swamy himself was the high command's choice. And in less than one year, he has been shown the door. While the party leaders have been labouring to explain the change of guard at this stage as having to do with Mr. Swamy's failing health and the need to have a ``younger'' person at the helm, the truth certainly lies elsewhere. In his ten months and a little more as Chief Minister, Mr. Swamy had displayed complete callousness in governance and this was evident in all areas of the administration in the new State. And with Assembly elections due in a few months from now (before March 2002 when they will have to be held along with those to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly), the BJP leadership seemed to have realised that Mr. Swamy was not in a position to help steer the party to victory.

What is striking in this case is the manner in which the change was effected. The motions gone through in the past few days involving the summoning of the Legislature Party members to Delhi, where the high command was seen to be consulting them on the choice of a new leader, followed by a visit by an emissary (Mr. Kushabhau Thakre in this case) to Dehradun, and all these finally leading to the formal ``election'' of Mr. Koshiari follow the pattern evolved by the Congress during the days of Indira Gandhi as the undisputed leader. The BJP too, contrary to claims of being a party with a difference, seems to have adopted such a mode of functioning - the command mode - in a short time. The developments of this nature are not just restricted to Uttaranchal. The recent change of guard in Gujarat (when Mr. Narendra Modi replaced Mr. Keshubhai Patel as Chief Minister) or the frequent change of Chief Ministers in Delhi some time ago (when Mr. Madanlal Khurana was replaced by Mr. Sahib Singh Verma who too had to vacate the seat for Ms. Sushma Swaraj a few months before the November 1998 Assembly elections) had established the BJP's inability to insulate its own ranks from internecine squabbles.

The cause for concern in all these is not just because the command mode is bound, in the long run, to affect the party's image. Such distortion of the party system could erode, in a big way, the people's confidence in the democratic structure and its institutions. And in the specific case of Uttaranchal, formed after years of agitation by the hill people who found their development needs being ignored by successive dispensations based in the faraway plains, the impact of the command mode of functioning can hardly be exaggerated. Rather than ensuring a regime sensitive to the development needs of the region, the BJP leaders in Delhi allowed Mr. Swamy as Chief Minister for ten long months. And a change was effected now only because they found him incapable of leading the party to victory in the coming elections. Such opportunism is bound to take its toll. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Koshiari will be able to stop the slide. It is important that the new Chief Minister realises that the concerns at this juncture are not just his party's prospects but to prevent further erosion of the people's confidence in the institution. The ten months of Mr. Swamy's rule have certainly not done any good in this regard.

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