Biology wins over chemistry and arithmetic in Indian politics – Lessons from the victory of Amma and Didi

Often the terms such as ‘arithmetic’ and ‘chemistry’ are used by a large number of psephologists, political analyst and media houses during elections to define and interpret either the defeat or victory of political parties and to comment about the formation of new alliances etc. The term ‘biology’ has never been used in any poll debate.

The resounding victory of Amma J Jayalalithaa and Didi Mamata Banerjee brings out news science to Indian politics that is ‘biology’ wins over ‘arithmetic’ and ‘chemistry’. Hereafter every political party must consider the biological reality rather than counting the fortune just on arithmetic and chemistry.

It was a history in Tamil Nadu over the two decades that either of the Dravidian majors when joins hand with congress and contest state election would certainly win. Similarly, it was also a history that in the past three decades no party in power has formed Government for the consecutive term.

By counting the above probability, several political parties in Tamil Nadu have schemed up their strategies, hobnobbed and engaged in unholy marriages. Many marriage proposals were also exchanged between several political parties to join their team to work out a favorable arithmetic. Many presumed that when arithmetic is perfectly worked out, chemistry does not influence the poll outcome.

In West Bengal, the political parties that are seen as poles apart like congress and communist party when conveniently forget their chemistry over arithmetic, thinking that arithmetic would prevail over chemistry and contested the election either as alliance partner or with ‘smart understanding’. Often the political leaders of such parties conveniently justify such marriages are meant to save and safeguard the secular credential of our nation. Ironically the followers of such parties did not feel so may be because they have not entrusted these parties as sole guardians of secular India.

When some political parties engaged in creating such immiscible chemistry, the possibility of their followers moving towards their natural rivals is quite high and naturally that would benefit the party that is getting opposed by the new bridegrooms.

The election results in West Bengal speak only such new story of biology in Indian politics. The neutral voters and vote drift due to incumbency factor (anti-incumbency vote) are always expected to go to the opponents of any incumbent government. The two opponent parties who are already poles apart but for just arithmetic gains if come together and fight an election, both the chemistry and arithmetic can fail because of biological reality. People need not and may not agree to such convenient marriages especially when more untested options are available before them. Such biological reason also seems to have favored both Trinamool congress and BJP in West Bengal.

In the case Tamil Nadu, the possibility of negative arithmetic was not well understood by DMK when it aligned with congress. The emotional acceptance of congress by people of Tamil Nadu did not seem to have understood by DMK when they worked on both chemistry and arithmetic of such alliance. In fact, such alliance has hurt the DMK badly, however, congress profited from such marriage.

In the case of the third front which was composed of several political parties with different ideologies and belief systems, instead of galvanizing the voters towards it, helped their opponents to consolidate their vote share mostly due to their inherent contradictions and confusion. It means chemistry and arithmetic have totally failed may be due to over expectation and over-ambition of new bridegrooms.

The opponents when engages in negative propaganda, people have largely looked at what the incumbent government has done to them. From that point of view, both Amma J Jayalalithaa and Didi Mamata scored high also from the faulty chemistry and erred arithmetic of their opponents. The biggest gainer of the entire game is BJP.

Our society is clearly divided into missionaries (leaders) and believers of several political parties along with growing chunk of neutral voters. When missionaries of several political parties attempt to do new chemistry, must realize whether they have taken their followers on board or not. If they fail to take them on board, they not only may lose them to opponents during the election but permanently shift them to neutral voters.

The new learning is that when missionaries of different political parties assume that they alone have the absolute right, privilege and right to experiment new chemistry and arithmetic, time has come, they must also realize how the followers view such new experiments. When congress and communist party come together at missionaries’ level, the entire followers/believers need not agree to such marriages. People are not sheep or ducks to just follow and obey the master.

Our country is multi-religious, linguist secular country. If some political parties assume that they only have the sole responsibility to safeguard the secular credential of this country and therefore barring the political ideological differences they must engage inconvenient marriages and must justify them with cock and bull stories, the followers may not believe such stories as India is growing.

Use of secular and communal divides has given a maximum dividend to all those political parties who were using the same card for more than 4 decades. Here after such card may not get any takers because no political party is given the wholesale tender ship to safeguard the secular credential of India and without them India would become communal.

The present generation never looks at their neighbor as Hindu, Muslim or Christian etc. It is the creation of some political parties but such attempts are not going to work hereafter as it looks like.

Let the biological facts and truths (matters relating to people) be the center of engagements of all political parties than decrying to people as they are the sole saviors of India’s secularism.

If the missionaries enjoy some followers, they are lucky but never ignore them by over trusting own intelligence because at the end of the day your intelligence has to be approved and voted by none other than your followers. Your followers are also growing intelligent.

It is not chemistry or arithmetic, biology matters. Welfare schemes, social security schemes, best infrastructure, best roads, best educational facilities, respect, recognition and opportunity for merit, best and scientifically proven health care system and not the one dominated by occultism and faith are only people are looking for. These are the hard core biological needs. Never neglect biology when you engage in own chemistry and arithmetic.

Let the resounding victory of Amma J Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu and Didi Mamata Banarjee in West Bengal serve right wisdom to all political parties in India.

The outstanding victory of BJP in Assam also sends a strong message to all political parties in India. The message is that no one has empowered or appointed any political party or leader as commander-in-chief of secularism and hence they have to burry their political ideology to align with their opponents to safeguard secularism of India as if secularism in India is under threat and only these self-appointed the so called secular parties and secular leaders can save India.

Dr. S Ranganathan