Where is the economics in politics?

If the countdown to the 2014 general elections has begun with the exit of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar from National Democratic Alliance (NDA), then the beginning is not auspicious.

Not because a leading coalition has crumbled. And not just because the cabinet reshuffle by the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has ignored the youth.
The reason is basic and critical. It is the economy.

So far, few of the political leaders have started talking about the biggest crisis facing India. Economic growth in India is at painfully low level. Imports are rising, exports are slowing down. Manufacturing is shrinking and jobs are disappearing.

It is now the responsibility of the two principal national parties to begin rolling out their vision and roadmap of economic growth.

Too much of the political debate has been around issues that do not affect the economy. Once the leadership issue in NDA is settled, it should begin to articulate its strategy for economic revival.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has been making the right noises about reforms. The Congress-led UPA remains committed to an open economy. It still has to take hard decisions to follow up on promises.

NDA, on the other hand, has been obstructive about most reformist measures taken in the UPA rule. Reformists steps such as rolling out goods and services tax (GST) would have changed India had it been introduced a few years ago.
Many important legislative changes are still pending in parliament since the opposition did not allow it to function.

This is tragic. NDA did a good job of managing the economy in its rule. In one particular session of parliament, more than 13 economy-oriented legislations had been cleared.

It is time now for both the UPA and NDA to engage in matters that are critical for growth. This is important for internal strength and external influence.

Political debates should move to promises of job creation, new investment, better education and improved quality of life.

Voters may appear excited with issues of caste, creed and religion. But finally, they will vote for the candidate and the party that has done the most for creating better livelihoods.

It is time for the economy to make a return to politics. National parties are now off the block in the race for 2014. The political dust that has been raised will settle down soon. As the parties run the marathon to the general election finals, economic factors will play a larger role than social issues.

The sooner the parties realize this, the better it is. There is much debate in academic circles about the model of growth India needs. This subject should be brought into election debates. 

It does not matter which party wins the general elections or who becomes the prime minister. The fact is that fixing growth and economy will have to be the top priority.

Future prime ministers should begin discussions now, so that essential economic decisions find support in politics.

The author tracks India’s political economy and its engagement with the world.