The Politics of Convenience: Why Indian Political Leaders Fail to Act Against Errant party workers
Every other day we keep reading about how party workers across political parties indulge in violence and end up hurting the same people who helped their leaders rise to power. The one thing that keeps bothering many people I talk to is why don’t the leaders act against the errant party workers and take strict measures to keep them in check. While they could indeed act against them, they don’t do so fearing a backlash within the party itself. The point is, political leaders need those party workers at the grassroots level and acting against them could turn them hostile. Which in turn, would help rival political parties gain ground—something no political party would ever want.
Take for example the current situation in West Bengal, where party workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress have been accused of murder, rapes, physical assaults and other anti-social activities. The Chief Minister of Bengal Ms. Mamta Banerjee seems to turn a deaf ear to all the incidents, instead blaming opposition parties of carrying out events as such to mar the image of her government.