The worst of times, the best of times

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Assembly elections in the aftermath of 26/11 have sent a dignified message.

Every action has acquired an unimaginable almost ridiculous trajectory. A friend laughs and sits back in her chair and the question arises, will we meet again like this on a sunlit afternoon? A child runs towards its mother, the trajectory flashes out again: was there a child that was shot before it reached its mother, was there time for a quick word of farewell? We brush the trajectories away. Foolish flights of imagination, why think about them when the sun is out again and we are still alive? But the trajectories creep up on us repeatedly, reminding us that our lives are hemmed in by an invisible destiny. In the aftermath of 26/11 we have all subconsciously confronted those unimaginable trajectories that now exist in all our lives.

Yet in a curious irony, while we were enduring the worst moments in India's collective existence, we were also blessed with a glimpse of the best. The same days that brought horrifying tragedy, were also days in which that wonderful inheritance of sixty years came once again to touch our lives. India's democratic process, the brave dream of the idealists of the 1940s, of Nehru, Gandhi and Ambedkar that every destitute woman, every bewildered orphan, every homeless man must have the right to vote and elect their leaders that inheritance came to stand quietly by our side at exactly the same time as terrorists invaded our homes, as if to say, look, I am still here, the dream still lives even though the flames may sometimes flicker.

Four states went to the polls days after the terrorist attack. As the events of 26/11 raged, Madhya Pradesh voted the very next day, Delhi on the 29th, Mizoram on the 2nd, Rajasthan on the 4th of December. Political pundits predicted that the Assembly elections would be a "referendum on terror", a frightened cowering electorate would not even bother to vote or else would vote for leaders who were "tough on terror." Instead what happened? The voting public turned out in their thousands, the record turnouts in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, (almost a sixty per cent turn out in notoriously apathetic Delhi) were like a repudiation of any attempt to break India's soul. And what kind of leaders did the Indian voter elect? The Indian voter shunned the big slogans of "terrorism" and "economic slowdown" and resoundingly elected plain homespun hardworking leaders. Verdict 2008 was marked by a quiet dignity. The angry people in Mumbai who are at this moment totally justified in their anger against politicians, need to look at the democratic process and see that you can (and you must) abuse our netajis but you can never abuse the importance of India's democratic process.

The verdict of 2008 has redefined political charisma. In a stunning result, a 71 year old elderly lady with untidy grey hair and crumpled sari, who walks in mohallas as easily as she does in drawing rooms, who slogs away at her city bringing change wherever she can, got the vote of the young, old, poor and middle class citizens of Delhi. For Shiela Dixit to have won a record third term as Chief Minister in a city once considered a bastion of the BJP, is nothing short of remarkable. In her persona she embodies a new kind of leader that perhaps the Indian voter is looking for. Shiela Dixit conveys an endless source of comfort to the stressed and traumatized residents of the national capital, she embodies a spirit of sincerity, above all she is synonymous with hard work.

Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh also won in their respective states, beating back that dreaded "anti incumbency." What do Chauhan and Raman Singh embody? Chauhan is a "man of the sangathan" someone who describes himself as a humble party worker, who does not look good on TV, cannot speak English and yet has worked tirelessly to serve his people. He's the "aam aadmi next door" in Madhya Pradesh, the worker ant, the low profile nondescript RSS member who has not made drama-filled speeches on Hindutva or terrorism or "minority appeasement", but has worked at his development schemes quietly and constantly. The Indian voter in electing Shivraj Singh Chauhan has elected a politician who does not look good on camera but who works hard all day, does not take money (except for the single allegation of favouring a business house on the purchase of dumper trucks) and is not seen to be overly flashy.

Raman Singh, now set for a second term as chief minister of Chhattisgarh is known as the chawal vale baba. He may have won because of his populist promise of rice at Rs 1 /kilo but Raman Singh is another leader who is neither flamboyant or telegenic. The ayurvedic doctor toured his state extensively before elections and painstakingly changed MLAs to blunt anti-incumbency at the local level. In fact the BJP chief ministers, whether Raman Singh, Chauhan or even BC Khanduri in Uttarakhand are increasingly emerging as efficient and popular leaders. The `Narendra Modi formula' of development, personal popularity and administrative efficiency is being used by them to become genuine leaders in their state. The `Modi formula' does not include hard hindutva anymore. None of the successful BJP chief ministers emphasise hard hindutva or take an aggressive "anti minority" line. The BJP national leadership would do well to take a few lessons in governance from its chief ministers.

The defeat of Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan is once again a reminder of how verdict 2008 has redefined political charisma. This elections's vote was for the ordinary hard worker. Vasundhara Raje too undoubtedly worked very hard for her state but, perhaps just her own glamorous persona did not satisfy the humble and ordinary quality that the Indian voter is now looking for in leaders. In Vasundhara's case the gender bias inherent in the patriarchal politics of her state may also have played a role.

The Indian voter endures the unimaginable, yet still sends out a sane and calm message. In this assembly election, the voter has voted for governance, for ordnariness, for a clean image, for individuals who are seen to be daily companions in our sorrows and sufferings. Politicians, take note: we are a democracy forged by fire and death, we do not tolerate phoneys and fakes anymore, we hanker above all for goodness and humility.