Manmohan for the elite and Sonia for the poor: Will it work?

Manmohan Singh expresses concern and declares measures of improving market trend, while Sonia Gandhi gets the food security and land acquisition bills passed in Lok Sabha, which were defined as Congress’s political gimmick.

Hence, if the Prime Minister can encourage the investors, while Sonia Gandhi can effectively turn off the business analysts and Indian companies, can this be a sign of ending of Congress’s languor? This was been the everlasting strategy of the UPA in both the terms that Singh will console the classes and Sonia Gandhi, the masses. Those searching for signs of a renewed Congress must not wish for much as Indian politics is quite unpredictable. But as per the present scenario, there are two reasons why the Congress’s efforts of refreshing itself may look less than realistic.

Every minute is passing

Indian markets and investors are prone to remain cynical of Singh’s government for the period. They are searching for enough financial numbers. Although the Indian economy was never in such a bad shape as it frequently assumes these days. Enough numbers that may bring in a persistent joy will be close to achieve before elections.

New Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan surprisingly hiked interest rates in the policy review meet, giving priority to pacify doggedly rising inflation than bowing to the pressure to save the hostile economy with cheap credit.

Reportedly, Swaminathan Aiyar argued in a national newspaper in August that India’s policy options are probably to be limited — interest rates will have to kept high because of the sliding rupee, expansionary fiscal policy is ruled out and if there’s a domestic private investment surge, it will be a miracle.

The outcome is, while, India’s development and investment cycle will revive, the Congress does not have the time, the integrity or the alternatives to influence the elite that it’s considering the economy sincerely again.

This is completely the Congress’s mistake. Singh and Gandhi appeared all right with Pranab Mukherjee managing the economic strategy for more than three years as if his command was to break off the investor confidence. Mukherjee, being an experienced, a fine political brain and a master of details, were all pointless if he did a bad job of administering Asia’s third-largest economy. It’s an assessment of how vicious Indian political affairs can be that finance minister P Chidambaram may not have been at the control of North Block even now had President’s House not had the opening last year. But even Chidambaram and RBI’s new Governor Raghuram Rajan can’t bring a magic in the next six months left for elections to happen.

Thus, the PM’s integrity as an economic affairs expert has been seriously affected, so it is doubtful for him to be a comforting voice for the classes. Nor are the masses expected to get very fascinated with Sonia Gandhi’s social understanding.

Gaming on Food Law

The food bill certainly can’t act in 2014 what MNREGA was in 2009 for the Congress. There is not much time left for elections now and the Congress has no proof on the ground to deliver as the party’s gift for the common man. And unluckily, the Congress does not does have their government in states like Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh that already have successful schemes of providing food at cheap rates.

Presumably, tremendously strong election campaigning by the Congress can spread the message throughout that it’s Sonia Gandhi’s food law that will get sufficient food to poor voters or that it’s her support that sanctioned for a fair land acquisition law, which will take care of under privileged land owners. But in reality, this is not how the Congress Party functions on ground and that’s not how Indian voters can be influenced. People need proof of work and that is the reason why state-level incumbents who have done good work are time and again voted back to power and those who don’t work are knocked out.