Have wings, won’t fly

Sister wings of political parties became recruitment centres for cadres than bodies for collective bargaining.

During the dark days of the Panchayat rule, political parties were banned. The underground parties carried out political activities through their above-ground sister wings like student and teacher associations in universities and colleges. Their peasants’ wings had a big role in sowing the seeds of democracy in the country. With the advent of democracy in 1990, these informal mechanisms also took a more concrete shape. It made sense too. Who could better articulate the collective concerns of farmers than farmer unions? Ditto with labourers, women and youths. That at least was the idea. But over time these sister wings of political parties became more recruitment centres for cadres than bodies for collective bargaining for the constituencies they supposedly represented. An intense, unhealthy competition soon ensued among senior leaders to get those close to them elected to these bodies.