The newfound enthusiasm for the American fashion of a hundred-day programme shows an urgency by Manmohan 2.0, which is refreshing. Of course, the American Presidency is under pressure to perform fast because within two years of election, the mid-term Congressional elections issue a yes/no verdict on the Presidency and the next two years could be a washout. Clinton had a problem in 1994 when he lost Congress to the Republicans and never regained initiative till the end in 2000. We will learn soon about Obama when elections come around in 2010.

India has a continuing series of elections and none is particularly important. How seriously the UPA takes any single defeat or setback depends entirely on the Prime Minister. Narasimha Rao became cautious after 1993 just two years into his Prime Ministership and radical reform came to a halt. It may be that that the Congress is worried that it has a lot of room for manoeuvre up to the West Bengal and UP elections for certain. But beyond that it depends on whether the UPA wins or not. Both Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool chief, and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav could turn hostile if the results indicate a weakened mandate for the Congress.

Yet, I suspect there will be little danger for the UPA. It can count on a fruitful five years and the most important thing is not to lose momentum. The programme has to be not just for 100 days but for 1,891 days till the next elections. Issues such as the Women’s Reservation Bill will take up a lot of time but if within the UPA—as narrowly defined, that is excluding the Yadavs and Mayawati—there is a determination to push it through, then it can be done. The Congress should not be bullied by the argument that only elite women will get elected via this proposition. Elite men have benefited from the de facto 100 per cent reservation for a long time. The panchayat elections have been a good example of women’s reservations and it is about time the Centre caught up with the grassroots.

... contd.