Annie Zaidi: What about the foot soldiers?

I glanced over my shoulder and was surprised to catch sight of my own back. Reflected in the glass doors of an almirah was the back of my t-shirt, and the words: ‘Do you accept it because you expect it’?

The t-shirt was from another campaign I work with, but this morning, it made me think of political foot soldiers — the guys who fight on the streets for the powerful men in parliament and legislative assemblies; MLAs who lend political muscle to chief ministers. BSY’s foot soldiers and allies, for instance.

And I was also wondering what’s going inside the heads of those who joined the ‘padyatra’, those who marched behind BS Yeddyurappa as he finally went to resign as Chief Minister of Karnataka. But he was determined to prove that he was still King by stringing along a long retinue of MLAs whose support he could count on, regardless of allegations of corruption.

Newspapers said it was the first time a CM had done such a thing. It was also probably the first time a serving CM had needed to. Later, BSY posed for photographs — holding one edge of the resignation letter while the Governor held the other — smiling confidently for the cameras. He insisted he would be back in the CM’s chair within six months. There was a lot of bluster and showbaazi. Looking at the photos, it seemed as if he was resigning in protest.  There was no sign of shame, no sign that the CM had to be shoved out after allegations of massive corruption and nearly weeks of wrangling with his own party bosses.

This last week, some citizens certainly have realized how much they loved BSY, and how acutely they would feel his loss. These would be people who gained from illegal mining and are now scrambling to squeeze out the last few thousands of crores, while they still can. Whilst power was brokered in Bengaluru, they snuck out iron ore by the train-load despite a Supreme Court order banning all mining and transportation of iron ore in Bellary.

Reportedly, 49 lorries were caught transporting ore from BMC (a firm rumoured to be tied to the Reddys). District authorities in Bellary also seized 7,448 tonnes of iron ore in two rakes (each rake has 58 wagons). Another 1,000 tonnes was seized at JSW Steel Ltd, coming from Mysore Minerals.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, I was wondering whether it was safe to step outside if the new CM was someone BSY couldn’t trust to shove back into oblivion after six months. What would happen to those of us who were out having lunch, buying veggies, travelling in buses?

Driving past the Vidhan Soudha (sabha) and the High Court at night, I thought, they were both looking so beautiful. Shining, imposing structures built so that citizens may look up to whatever those institutions represent. Then I thought of the men who might be called upon to smash a few vehicles or assault total strangers so they can prove how much Karnataka loves BSY. Do they know what they’re doing?

Of course they do. But perhaps they fight not for BSY but their own caste or region. Or perhaps, they only wish to be elevated to positions they can misuse. And they accept that they can do this because this is what they have been taught to expect.

And we, who must step outside regardless of who is anointed king, we accept the fear we feel because we expect violent goons on the streets, protesting the right of kings to stay on and do whatever they please.

— Annie Zaidi writes poetry, stories, essays, scripts (and in a dark, distant past, recipes she never actually tried)