Innovation the last ‘resort’: Ajit Pawar takes Shinde model, makes it affordable – India Today

By Kamlesh Singh: All political parties in India are closely monitoring the developments in Maharashtra where, at the time of writing this news, nobody is sure which MLAs support which political party and who leads what. One is sure of the Grand Old Party but nobody talks about the Congress and certainties at times of such uncertainty.

What’s certainly being watched with wonder is how NCP leader Ajit Pawar has designed a much-needed, cost-effective model of defection at a time when prices of politicians, and tomatoes, are soaring skywards.

Since contesting an election itself is beyond the reach of a common man and effective politicians spend tens of crores in the process, the cost of acquiring one is said to be nigh-impossible unless deep-pocketed businesses support the initiative. This was the norm and ‘Aaya Raam, Gaya Raam’ was the popular saying.

Then, in 1985, came the anti-defection law. You needed one-third of all MLAs to leave the party and be merged into another. That succeeded in preventing easy switches but only so much. In 1991, the law was cemented and two-thirds had to leave to make it a legal switch. Anybody in need, needed to buy in bulk, the retail route was sure shut.

The law made defections difficult but what made it impossible was the prohibiting cost of acquisition of MLAs in states. The price for the call of the conscience (antaratma ki aawaz) went up like other commodities. The Indian economy was liberalised and freed of regulations. Politics is the art of the possible and horse-trading is sometimes a necessity for a stable government.

The government began to go the extra length and devised a fencing technique. The MLAs supporting the government are fenced, inside a hotel, made incommunicado and left at the mercy of five-star hospitality. Rajasthan gave it a name: badabandi.

The challengers had to resort to what’s come to be known as resort politics. MLAs were transported in Volvo coaches to airports to be flown into fancy spa resorts in a friendly state that would host the MLAs in uber-luxury private pools with breakfasts so lavish the MLAs would sleep all day only to relish the belly dance performance at night around a bonfire of ethics. Only recently, we saw the Shinde camp of Shiv Sena flying private to Guwahati for a Radisson experience. They were smuggled from Mumbai to Surat by road where chartered jets waited to ferry them to a faraway land, sometimes in twos and threes. They all took sweet selfies like first-time flyers.

That democratic exercise alone would have cost crores of undeclared wealth. But in the same state of Maharashtra, it took an Ajit Pawar, from the bloodline of the wily Sharad Pawar, to reiterate that the way to a man’s heart is through his pot belly.

Ajit Pawar got food counters that served delicious food from different regions of Maharashtra right at his affidavit collection centre. And every dish was generous with tomatoes. The smell of paav bhaji with real tomatoes brought all the NCP MLAs to his yard, drooling to be counted at the counter. At the time of writing this, the MLAs are being shifted to The Taj, which, by Mumbai standards, is a hotel for the travelling salesman, not the sold men.

The beauty of jugaad, Indian genius, indigenous, whatever you may call it, this is a new chapter in history. And it comes surprisingly cheap. If history keeps repeating itself, you bet, it will only get cheaper in the future. If this is not Amrutkaal, what is?