The meeting of the Executive Committee of People's Power Party (PPP) was in progress.
"We have been extensively campaigning about the misdeeds and shortcomings of the ruling party. People participate in our public meetings in large numbers, enthusiastically listen to the speeches of our leaders and applaud. But, the ruling party keeps winning all elections, from elections to local bodies to bye-elections to the parliament. I don't understand how this has been happening" lamented Sivaraj, the president of the party.
"In the last election, the number of votes polled by us was only five percent less than that by the ruling party. We can bridge this gap and march ahead of the ruling party, in the next election" said a senior leader.
"We can't remain complacent on such expectations. The present rulers came to power, by magnifying the small lapses in our government and projecting us as bad rulers. The media also campaigned against us. But, after coming to power, the present rulers have been committing a lot of atrocities, with impunity. The economy has been stagnating. Prices are skyrocketing. They have destroyed agriculture. There is no industrial growth. Many industrial units have closed down, after their functioning was crippled by the policies of this government, designed to favour a couple of industrial houses close to the ruling party. There are no jobs, either for the educated or for the uneducated youth. But, the media has been turning a blind eye to the problems faced by the country and singing the praise of the ruling party. That is why people are unaware of the real situation. We need to step up our campaign to make the people aware of the commissions and omissions of the ruling party" said another leader.
"The government has recently introduced a scheme called 'one nation, one uniform.' They have introduced an identical uniform for all the students in the country, from kindergarten to college. The uniform is in red and green, matching the colours in the flag of the ruling party. The students are agitated about this. I think, very soon, huge protests will erupt throughout the country. Many a government has been brought down by students' agitation. Let us see!" said another leader.
But, there were no protests or agitations. Though there was a resentment among the students about the proposal, there were no demonstrations or agitations against the dress code. The murmurs of resentment seemed to have died down in a couple of weeks.
"We engaged you as our election strategist and paid you a hefty fee. You had confidently asserted that we were going to win big. But, we have lost the election. If we had spent the money given to you as fees in some other way, we could have won" said Indrakumar, president of People's National Party (PNP), the incumbent ruling party which lost the election.
"Sir! We conducted a post-poll survey. We met the voters, selected in our sample, at their homes and asked them whom they had voted for and why. Since, in this survey, we talked to the people in the privacy of their homes, they were more honest in their answers and more forthcoming in giving the reasons for their voting choice. So, the results of post-poll survey will be more accurate than those of pre-poll surveys and exit polls."
As the election strategist began to answer Indrakumar's question with this preamble, Indrakumar interjected impatiently, "Cut out the ramblings. Tell me what you found in this post-poll survey."
"Sir! Three years back, you imposed a uniform dress on the students, the colurs of the uniform matching the colours of your party flag."
"Be mindful of your words. I take offense to your saying that the colours of the uniform were matching the colours of our party and that we imposed the uniform on the students. You are using the language used by our political opponents!" said Indrakumar, angrily.
"Sir! Facts are facts. You have lost the election. You are not in power any more. So, don't try to browbeat me. Allow me to say what I wanted to. The students resented this imposition. They considered it an assault on their dignity and were highly indignant about it. But, knowing that they had no choice, they suffered the indignity silently. Of them, those who had attained 18 years and become voters, voted against you en bloc. Those who had not attained the voting age persuaded their parents to vote against you. It is this development that tilted the scales against you. There was a big surge in votes against your party and all these votes went to the PPP and contributed to its victory. The PPP didn't expect this victory. In my experience..."
"In your experience?" interjected Indrakumar, his anger intensified by the strategist's explanation.
'In my experience, though dictators and tyrants may appear to be very strong, something will arise from nowhere and uproot them' thought the strategist, but said, "In my experience, I have seen such unexpected swings and silent waves that are not discernible before the election."
Thirukkural
Section 2
Materialism
Chapter 57
Refraining From Doing Terrifying Things
Verse 563 (in Tamil):
veruvandha seydhu ozhugum vengOlan Ayin
oruvndham ollaik kedum.
Meaning:
A king will be isolated and will face rapid ruin,
if he becomes a tyrant indulging in terrifying deeds.
(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thORRadhu En' by the same author.)
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