Poor show no bar to ministers getting tickets

After his party’s disastrous showing in the parliamentary polls earlier this year, NCP president Sharad Pawar had asked partymen in the state cabinet to pull up their socks. He had told them to initiate corrective measures to refurbish their image before the assembly elections. “The people of the state will  judge you by your performance,” he had warned.

Now, with the state polls round the corner, Pawar himself doesn’t seem to care much about performance. The NCP has decided that all its cabinet ministers will be given tickets, notwithstanding any grouse the public may have against many of them for their “poor showing”.

The list of names cleared by the party includes water resources minister Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister and in-charge of public works department Chhagan Bhujbal, home minister Jayant Patil, rural development minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, finance minister Dilip Walse-Patil, energy minister Sunil Tatkare, higher and medical education minister Rajesh Tope, labour minister Ganesh Naik, health minister Rajendra Shingane, and irrigation (Krishna Valley) minister Ramraje Nimbalkar.

Topping the list is none other than RR Patil, the state NCP chief and former home minister who had to step down after the 26/11 terror attack. A senior NCP leader said on condition of anonymity, “Decision makers in the party have completely ignored the accountability and image of the ministers while issuing poll tickets to them.”

The Congress, too, will be issuing tickets to most of its cabinet ministers. Heavyweights like chief minister Ashok Chavan, revenue minister Patangrao Kadam, cooperation minister Harshvardhan Patil, primary education minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil,  industries minister Narayan Rane, and minister of state for health Suresh Shetty are sureshot choices. The fate of three ministers — Sunil Deshmukh, minister of state for finance; Nitin Raut, minister of state for home; and Anees Ahmed, minister of state for minorities affairs — hangs in balance. But it is owing to the factional politics working against them, rather than their performance.

Surendra Jhondale, professor of political science in Mumbai University, said, “If we analyse the performance of the government we will find serious failures on several fronts.

There are power shortage, farmers’ suicides, water crisis, infrastructure shortcomings, and price rise. Overall it shows that the government has failed to deliver.” However, in Indian democracy, with its focus on elective merit, issues like good governance and accountability are not always taken into account while shortlisting the candidates, he said.

An MPCC official said, “Every minister wields a lot of political clout in his constituency. If dropped for non-performance, he would contest as a rebel and destabilise the official candidate.”