03-05-2007, 10:32 AM
<b>It's victory for reconciliation</b> <i>KPS Gill</i><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The real story, however, is in the very character of the present Assembly elections, in the issues that dominated the campaigns and that eventually defined voting patterns. It is useful to recall that the 2002 election was marred by the usual efforts at communal polarisation. A nasty contest between Mr Prakash Singh Badal and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra to dominate Punjab's Gurdwara politics, produced Akali campaigns that were at their divisive worst. In 2007, however, the Akalis were no longer flogging their traditional communal agenda. There was not even a faint shadow of gurdwara politics over the Assembly Elections. The customary whining about 'discrimination' against Punjab and the Sikh community was not heard, nor were other divisive issues like the SYL canal and water sharing with neighbouring States raised. Indeed, the Akalis approached the present election almost uniquely on a developmental platform, with Mr Prakash Singh Badal talking of progress, infrastructure projects, and a powerful thrust to Punjab's economy (it remains to be seen whether any of these promises will be fulfilled, of course, but that is an entirely different issue).
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<b>It is clear that the people of Punjab have little remaining patience for the petty conspiracies of communal politics. Indeed, the Congress was perhaps the only party to make the tactical error of trying to capitalise on communal politics, directly seeking the support of the Dera Sacha Sauda; this may have yielded some advantage in the Malwa belt, but probably lost them more votes elsewhere.</b>
There can be little doubt that an increased flow of resources to rural areas is not only a State, but a national imperative. This does not, however, imply a necessary diminution in urban resources, opportunities or growth. An economically marginalised rural sector will be -- and historically has been -- a drag on urban and industrial growth as well, and a continuing effort to transfer substantial resources to, and reinvest in, rural areas is entirely consistent with urban interests and prosperity. A failure to communicate this reality through its political campaigns is at least part of the Congress party's failure at the hustings.
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<b>It is clear that the people of Punjab have little remaining patience for the petty conspiracies of communal politics. Indeed, the Congress was perhaps the only party to make the tactical error of trying to capitalise on communal politics, directly seeking the support of the Dera Sacha Sauda; this may have yielded some advantage in the Malwa belt, but probably lost them more votes elsewhere.</b>
There can be little doubt that an increased flow of resources to rural areas is not only a State, but a national imperative. This does not, however, imply a necessary diminution in urban resources, opportunities or growth. An economically marginalised rural sector will be -- and historically has been -- a drag on urban and industrial growth as well, and a continuing effort to transfer substantial resources to, and reinvest in, rural areas is entirely consistent with urban interests and prosperity. A failure to communicate this reality through its political campaigns is at least part of the Congress party's failure at the hustings.
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