Karnataka Elections 2023 will prove if ‘gaali politics’ work as a game changer in polls

The word “nalayak” (incompetent) spoken twice against the serving prime ministers come to haunt the Congress. However, unlike November 1998 when AICC spokesman Mani Shankar Aiyar lost the job for uttering “nalayak”, nearly 25 years later, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank seems to be getting away with it with the full backing of the grand old party. It is a reflection of the utter lack of decency in the political discourse in the country and the political leadership’s admission that civility and decorum in public speeches is not a one-way street.

Priyank, seeking re-election from Chittapur in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka, had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while claiming to be the son of the Banjara community, was proving to be inapt” in taking care of them. “Aisa nalayak beta baitha to kaise hota bhai? Ghar kaise chalega?” (If an inept son is sitting in Delhi, how can you run the family?), Kharge junior reportedly asked while addressing a rally in his constituency.

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Aiyar’s removal in 1998 was personally directed by Sonia Gandhi who had just taken over as the Congress president. Sonia had even asked the career diplomat and a Doon school friend of Rajiv Gandhi to tender an apology to the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for calling him “nalayak”.

In the regular 4 pm AICC briefing at the 24, Akbar Road, Aiyar had described Vajpayee as “layak vyakti, nalayak neta” (competent person, incompetent leader). In his apology, Aiyar had said, “I have subsequently learned that the expression I used could have an unparliamentary connotation. Not being a native Hindi speaker, I seem to have inadvertently used an improper expression, for which I wish to tender my apologies to the Prime Minister for any offence unintentionally caused.” Aiyar had told this correspondent that he had referred to Father Camille Bulcke’s dictionary and found ‘nalayak’ as a word describing someone weak. “I was tempted to use the Hindi word ‘ayogya’ but in Tamil it has a different and rather derogatory meaning,” Aiyar had said.

The Stephanian has a history of being politically incorrect, often scoring self-goals. Many years later, Aiyar had to apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after describing him a “neech aadmi”. This was at the instance of Congress president-designate Rahul Gandhi who had publicly rebuked him and said, “I do not appreciate the tone and language used by Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar to address the Prime Minister. Both the Congress and I expect him to apologise for what he said,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter. Rahul had also sought to remind everyone how the BJP and the prime minister routinely use “filthy language” to attack the Congress party. “The Congress has a different culture and heritage,” Rahul had said.

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At another level, the BJP’s reliance on ‘gaali politics’ against Prime Minister Modi as a potent poll issue needs a reality check. Had Aiyar not spoken “Chai Wala” [ 2013], “neech aadmi” [2017] derogatory remarks, would the outcome of subsequent 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls been different? Purely in electoral terms, these distasteful and repugnant remarks assist as a contributory factor rather than serving as ‘game changer’. The Karnataka election outcome on 13 May, 2023, will have a verdict on this aspect too.

The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including > ‘24 Akbar Road’ and ‘Sonia: A Biography’. Views expressed are personal.

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