The people of Karnataka have a right to know who will be the Chief Minister if they vote the Congress to power
M. Gautham Machaiah
With elections in the horizon, the people of Karnataka are expecting the winds of change to blow through the State, but is it not logical that they should know who their Chief Minister is going to be, before casting their votes?
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have emerged as the principal opponents in Karnataka, while other parties like Janata Dal (Secular), Samajawadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are set to play the role of spoil sports.
While the BJP has declared that B.S. Yediyurappa will be its chief ministerial candidate, the Congress has shied away from projecting any leader. Thus, when it comes to the BJP, a voter is aware well in advance what is in store for him, but with the Congress, it appears to be a cat and mouse game.
Will the party foist an unimpressive Dharam Singh as the Chief Minister, like it did in 2004? Will S.M. Krishna be in the hot seat? Will KPCC president Mallikarjun M. Kharge be given a chance to rule the State? Or, will a now low profile leader like former Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily emerge as the dark horse? It is high time that the Congress high command made its mind clear.
The people have a right to know who their leader will be if they vote for the Congress. Why should they vote for a party which is headless? It is a sad state of affairs that a century old part is incapable or projecting a leader before going to the polls.
(Picture sourced from www.democracycellproject.net)
COMMENTS
In the Congress, it is the envelope from the high command and not duly elected legislators, which decides who should be the CM. With a plethora of leaders, the party can ill-afford to declare the CM in advance. But why bother about the Congress, when the BJP is sure to form the Government?
-Manohar Yedawatti, Bangalore
Democracy means both within and outside a party. Even a party president and other office bearers must be by election, not appointment as it happens now. The party nominees too must be chosen by election from within the party. In the same way, the MLAs of each party must elect their leader. The party with majority will form the government. By that logic, a party need not project its CM-candidate but can better leave it to its MLAs. A party naming a CM before polls is like undermining its wannabe MLAs' abilities to choose their leader.
-K.R. Balasubramanyam, Bangalore
Congress Chief Minister? Jaffer Sharief. He He.
-Manna Mandanna
What if the person projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate loses the elections like B S Yeddyurappa is destined to ?Besides, it is nonsensical to project a Chief Ministerial candidate. In true democratic spirit, people should elect the MLAs or the MPs, who in turn choose the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister. How can a party foist its "chosen" candidate for the post of Chief Minister on MLAs of the party on the pretext of discipline. It is worse than the tradition of Congress High Command to send a sealed cover containing the CM's name. Besides, it appears that the BJP's claim to power is that the issue of its Chief Minister is settled. They are making it out as though it is their pre-poll promise. Nonsense it is. How will it help the people?
-Desi
I am surprised to read the comments about internal democracy. Any one with an elementary knowledge of politics is aware that in the Congress, the MLAs have no role in electing the Chief Minister. For instance, in 2004 a majority of the MLAs elected S.M. Krishna as their leader, but the mantle finally fell on Dharam Singh.
As it has been rightly pointed out by one of your readers, in the Congress it is the envelope from the high command which decides who the Chief Minister should be. Under the circumstances, the people of the State have every right to know well in advance who their Chief Minister will be if they elect the Congress to power. If we are told that a person like Dharam Singh will lead the State, we would rather not vote for the party.
Readers who have made a mention about internal democracy also do not seem to be aware of the Constitutional provision. It is a settled practice that the Chief Minister should enjoy the confidence of the House. Nowhere, does the Constitution mention that he should be elected by the MLAs of his party. There is also no Constitutional bar on a party projecting an individual as the Chief Minister.
I would go a step further and suggest that India should shift to the Presidential system.
-A Journalist
4 comments:
Democracy means both within and outside a party. Even a party president and other office bearers must be by election, not appointment as it happens now. The party nominees too must be chosen by election from within the party. In the same way, the MLAs of each party must elect their leader. The party with majority will form the governmnet. By that logic, a party need not project its CM-candidate but can better leave it to its MLAs. A party naming a CM before polls is like undermining its wannabe MLAs' abilities to choose their leader.
Dear Gautham,
Congress is well known for not announcing any one to the post of CM much before the elections.N.Dharamsingh is the only person in the history of KPCC to be the first elected President.But he had to be replaced by S.M.Krishna before elections later making way for the latter to become CM.
It was more or less the same story much before when Veerendra Patil became the president of KPCC.After the elections it was he who became the CM.It also holds good with Rajasekhar Reddy.
Probably the problem with Congress is they have more leaders than required and as a result declaring any one in advance will only add to its toll of woes.As you know very well,even after the elections it is only a cover sent by the high command which decides the fate of CM hopefulls and not the duly elected legislators.And expecting announcement of the CM candidate by the congress is like expecting too much knowing fully well that it can never happen.
But why are you bothered about any one in Congress ever becoming CM when the writing on the wall is crystal clear for BJP to romp back to power?
Manohar Yadawatti.
What if the person projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate loses the elections like B S Yeddyurappa is destined to ?
Besides, it is nonsensical to project a Chief Ministerial candidate. In true democratic spirit, people should elect the MLAs or the MPs, who in turn choose the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister. How can a party foist its "chosen" candidate for the post of Chief Minister on MLAs of the party on the pretext of discipline. It is worse than the tradition of Congress High Command to send a sealed cover containing the CM's name.
Besides, it appears that the BJP's claim to power is that the issue of its Chief Minister is settled. They are making it out as though it is their pre-poll promise. Nonsense it is. How will it help the people?
I am surprised to read the comments about internal democracy. Any one with an elementary knowledge of politics is aware that in the Congress, the MLAs have no role in electing the Chief Minister. For instance, in 2004 a majority of the MLAs elected S.M. Krishna as their leader, but the mantle finally fell on Dharam Singh.
As it has been rightly pointed out by one of your readers, in the Congress it is the envelope from the high command which decides who the Chief Minister should be. Under the circumstances, the people of the State have every right to know well in advance who their Chief Minister will be if they elect the Congress to power. If we are told that a person like Dharam Singh will lead the State, we would rather not vote for the party.
Readers who have made a mention about internal democracy also do not seem to be aware of the Constitutional provision. It is a settled practice that the Chief Minister should enjoy the confidence of the House. Nowhere, does the Constitution mention that he should be elected by the MLAs of his party. There is also no Constitutional bar on a party projecting an individual as the Chief Minister.
I would go a step further and suggest that India should shift to the Presidential system.
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