Chapter 440: The Frightened Tiger
India's national elections are normally held every five years.
Once the ruling party comes to power, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will continue to govern until the end of its term.
But "accidents" are not uncommon in India, otherwise there wouldn't be so many outrageous things.
Just one year after the BJP won the general election, the coalition government collapsed.
In April, the local government of Andhra Pradesh suddenly withdrew its support for the BJP, causing a crisis of confidence in the coalition government.
The so-called coalition government is an alliance of multiple parties to form a cabinet.
The BJP won only 179 seats in last year's general election, less than half of the 543 seats.
In order to successfully form a government, the BJP can only unite with those small local parties to make up 272 seats.
For example, the Progressive Party in Uttar Pradesh is one of the BJP's allies and has contributed several seats to the coalition government.
This kind of alliance is inherently fragile. Once the benefits are unevenly distributed or a party withdraws midway, the coalition government will not have more than half of the seats, which will lead to a crisis of confidence in the cabinet.
This time, the BJP and the local political parties in Andhra Pradesh eventually parted ways because of the issue of officials' interests.
The withdrawal of support in Andhra Pradesh caused the BJP to lose crucial votes.
According to the procedure, the Vajpayee government needs to go through a parliamentary vote of confidence with the support of the prime minister.
As a result, the BJP lost by one vote. According to the constitution, the government will fall, parliament will be dissolved, and early general elections will be held.
Then a magical scene appeared. Just one year after the BJP came to power, it had to rush to hold the next general election.
This farce is essentially an outbreak of the lack of government stability and the fragility of coalition politics under parliamentary democracy.
This is not accidental. Since the early 1990s, the problems of party fragmentation and power dispersion have been constantly disrupting India's political landscape.
In 1996, the BJP came to power briefly for only thirteen days. That time, the cabinet collapsed due to a loss of support from other parties.
Then the "United Front" came to power. This alliance consisted of 13 political parties, and it was also in chaos internally.
They all have their own agendas and have serious disagreements in some areas.
The coalition government formed changed three presidents in just two years, which was simply a joke.
The BJP’s crisis of confidence this year is a continuation of the political struggles of previous years.
The new general election will be held in September, and coincidentally, the Maharashtra general election is also in that period.
So Mumbai is very busy now, and Ron had to rush back from Goa early.
His every move was being watched, and shortly after he landed, he received a call from Sacre.
The boss is very anxious. Judging from the current situation in Mumbai, this election is very unfavorable for the Shiv Sena.
For the first time in many years, Thackeray left his fortress-like villa and took the initiative to visit someone.
A huge motorcade, with his followers following closely behind, escorted him to the villa area on Malabar Hill.
Ron greeted the party leader, who was already in his seventies, in the lobby. He was indeed old, with gray hair and his back was no longer as straight.
"Sul, the Congress will destroy this city," he said with certainty.
"Don't worry, the BJP will win." Ron comforted him.
"Did you... hear any news in New Delhi?"
“No, the political situation in India right now is very clear.”
"What do you mean?" Thackeray asked quickly.
Ron glanced at the former boss and sighed. Perhaps the pressure from Mumbai was too great, causing him to lose his judgment of the political landscape.
"Looking across India, the only party that can pose a threat to the BJP is the Congress. But in the last general election, they won less than one-third of the votes and seats.
In just one year, they won't have much of an advantage. And don't forget last year's nuclear test, when countless neutral parties and the public highly praised the BJP's approach.
The upcoming general election will only benefit the BJP. As for other small parties, they are just there to make up the numbers.”
"That's good, that's good." Thackeray nodded repeatedly.
As long as the BJP is in charge in New Delhi, there won't be any major problems.
But what I just talked about was the national election. As for the local elections in Mabang...
"Sul, what do you think of Mumbai?"
"Huh?" Ron was confused.
"State elections, five years will be up in early September."
"Hasn't the Shiv Sena always been in charge here in Mumbai?" Ron asked curiously.
"This time it's different... You know Bhujbal, the Shiv Sena traitor, he's now a Congress member."
"What's the problem?" Ron vaguely sensed Thackeray's nervousness.
"He's an insider and knows a lot."
Ron understood that the other party probably had some information that was unfavorable to the Shiva Army.
"Honestly speaking, this is your Shiv Sena's own business. Outsiders have no right to interfere."
"Okay, I knew it. That bastard... he dared to attack me..." Thackeray gritted his teeth. "No, this has never happened and it will never happen again... If you send me to prison, the person who sent me there will have a hard time too."
The former Shiv Sena leader spoke with confidence, as if he had returned to that glorious era.
It wasn't that Thackeray hadn't imagined himself getting arrested.
He recently wrote in the newspaper The Antagonist: "Not only Maharashtra, but all of India will suffer. This is a war waged by herders and pro-herders in the name of religion, and everyone will bear the consequences."
However, Shiv Sena member and Congress MP Nirupam saw the "benefits" of Thackeray's arrest: "In the election after the September 3 riots, we won 30 of the 34 seats in the Lok Sabha."
He told reporters, "If this is democracy, then it's clear that the people expressed their will through voting. Another riot will only help us consolidate our power."
Well, he thought that if Thackeray was arrested, it would be beneficial for the unity of the Shiv Sena and the support of the people.
But other leaders of the Shiv Sena were not so optimistic. Fearing arrest, they moved most of their activities underground during this period.
Kamat received the order and also hid himself.
He would occasionally call Amol and tell him that he was always on the alert under Jogeshwari's command, constantly moving around and not staying in one place for too long.
They live with 15 to 20 people in a room and travel in small cars or motorcycles.
They also carry out secret missions and target public facilities: buses, trains, city government office buildings... to launch attacks.
It would be even better if we could frame the herders and make people mistakenly believe that this is an ethnic conflict caused by religious issues.
Kamath believes that this will lead to the unity of Hindus.
"If you raise this issue to a religious level, you will forget whether you are a Gujarati or a Bihari. You are all Hindus and you must unite to fight the herders. This time, we must drive them out of Mumbai."
The Shiv Sena throughout the city is gearing up for the next war.
The Shiv Sena is so nervous before the general election even begins, which shows that they have no confidence in themselves.
They have committed too many evil things, using too brutal means, especially their attacks on celebrities in the arts and cricket world, which have put them at the forefront of public opinion.
"You should control your men and stop causing trouble." Ron hinted to him.
"It's difficult, Soul. Sometimes it's harder to take back a punch you throw." Sacre's voice was dejected.
Ron could fully understand what he said. Thackeray's strongest supporters had always been young people between the ages of sixteen and thirty.
Young people who are hot-blooded, impulsive and unemployed at home are like dry gunpowder, which may explode at any time.
If Sacre pushes his men to take the blame, can he still expect young people to work hard for him?
He did so in the last cricket star incident.
The result was that more and more Shiv Sena began to question his actions, and the Iron Throne under Thackeray was shaking slightly.
Those who were a little older became more mature after this incident and lost their enthusiasm for making trouble.
Faced with internal and external troubles, Thackeray knew that the Shiv Sena was becoming increasingly difficult to control, but he could do nothing about it.
After all, this tiger is old and its deterrent power has greatly decreased.
"Do you know what's happening in Delhi?" Thackeray asked suddenly.
"I heard there was a bombing."
"Yes, twenty people were injured in the explosion, and the police arrested the perpetrator, a herder. But guess what, the news of the arrest spread among the herders, and the loudspeakers at Qingzheng Temple immediately sounded the charge, making it seem like they were the victims."
According to Thackeray, a herdsman mob, numbering about 1,500 strong young men, stormed the police station and forcibly took the suspect away.
"How long will we tolerate this kind of abuse?" Thackeray said passionately. "Who are the herders? What rights do they have? Why don't they go back to Bangladesh? This is terrible and heartbreaking."
"New Delhi will handle this." Ron didn't want to discuss the subject.
“This will never happen in Bombay as long as the Shiv Sena is here, except over our dead bodies,” Thackeray puffed out his chest with pride.
He can well publicize that there have been no communal riots since the Shiv Sena came to power.
"You have protected the peace in Mumbai. I believe the people will make their choice." Ron comforted him.
"Then on your side..."
“I’ll tell the people down there that you’ll have enough polling places during the election.”
Thackeray seemed not very satisfied with this answer, but did not argue too much and instead stood up and said goodbye.
Ron knew why he came, which was simply that he wanted him to help the Shiv Army.
However, Ron had no interest in this matter because the benefits that the Shiv Army could bring to him were getting fewer and fewer.
Of course, we still have to give due face, and there is nothing wrong with supporting some election funds.
But asking him to personally stand on the stage is a bit too much.
Given Ron's current status, how could he make a clear statement to the outside world for the sake of a mere Shiv Sena?
He doesn't have to do anything, the Congress and the BJP will rush over to show their courtesy.
Thackeray still underestimated the influence of "Mr. Soul".
As September approaches, there are more and more good shows to watch.
(End of this chapter)
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