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ShareAfter his recent bypass operation, the prime minister was expected to slow down, be a figurehead who would hang on to Sonia Gandhi's apron strings while others ran the show. Instead, he seems to have got a second wind, the kind that marathoners experience which helps them complete a race with strength and in style.
Power, of course, is the greatest rejuvenator and the Prime Minister looks to be not only enjoying his second innings better than the first, but is also intent on setting an agenda that could not be played out effectively in the past because several of his allies were actually spoilers. A more decisive mandate this time has thrown several monkeys (like the Yadavs, Mulayam and Laloo) off his back, allowing him the freedom to manoeuvre and swiftly.
The pre-election promise to set the economy on the right path within 100 days obviously remains his biggest challenge, which is why the union budget due in less than 10 days is being seen as his litmus test. But while this is willy-nilly the most awaited and high profile activity of the new government, the recent flurry of activity in various ministries and commissions suggests that Manmohan Singh is not waiting for his report card to be determined only by the budget.
Foreign policy seems to have acquired some edge, especially vis-à-vis Pakistan. The proposal to scrap the 10th standard board exams, while contentious, shows that the ministry is at least not moribund anymore. Convincing Nandan Nilekani to quit Infosys and joining the planning commission to establish a national identity card was, of course, a coup that could have far reaching ramifications in the corporate sector as well as the bureaucracy.
There are several issues, of course, that still threaten to stump the government. The Maoist problem is acquiring forbidding dimensions, and there is no clear cut policy in place how this can be tackled. Also, key allies, passive for the time being, could turn hysterical shortly if the budget does not appease them. Moreover, a weak monsoon could send almost everything spinning out of control.
Admirably though, the prime minister has appeared neither cagey nor reckless, but businesslike with perhaps a pre-determined time frame in which to establish the ethos of the new government. Perhaps most significantly, he has demanded probity and accountability from his ministers, including a regular audit of performance that would be done in the public domain.
The track record of Indian politicians in this respect for the past six decades, as is well-known, has been so dismal that it is impossible to discard all scepticism. Is this thrust sustainable, or will the loaves and fishes of office cause the new government to go the old, old way? The onus is on Manmohan Singh, who has had a health reprieve and won a fairly decisive mandate, to effect this turnaround in Indian politics.
Doubtless LK Advani, who has been witness to this for all these six decades but participated in government only very briefly, will undoubtedly be watching whether the prime minister's second wind is strong enough to win the race. In politics, as he knows better than anybody else, the strong can turnweak overnight.
