The Great British Tamasha

They may be called Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg but they could just as well have been called Govardhan Barwan, Devidas Kumaran and Nikhil K Alagh. Their shenanigans ever since the May 6 general elections failed to crown any one of them as the outright winner may seem odd to a British public used to seeing tenants change overnight at 10 Downing Street, but for Indians it's just politics as usual.

After 700-odd years of parliamentary evolution, Britain has come to the same point where the Indian polity has been for the past two decades. A hung Parliament? We've been there. Days of talks to form a coalition government? We've done that. Confabulations, compromises and horse-trading behind closed doors? We've not merely bought, but practically patented, the tee-shirt on that one.

A prime minister who stubbornly refuses to bow to the people's verdict, a challenger hamstrung by his lack of a conclusive ‘victory' and an ambitious kingmaker done in by a less-than-expected haul of seats are all familiar if not lovable characters from the great Indian political tamasha.

Add to that, divergent opinion polls, voters being turned away from polling booths and speculative political punditry, and it's Indian Elections Redux — barring the absence of British equivalents of Mayawatis, Mamatas and Mulayams to keep TRPs up while the protagonists sort themselves out.

Nor has the British system thrown up players in the mould of Lalu Prasad, Shibu Soren, and Karunanidhi, who can always be counted on to lend a helping MP or two in the national interest. Most worrying of all, barring the formidable Lord Mandelson (Mandal Singh?), British political parties lack those able intermediaries who are so crucial to government formation in uncertain times. Should Amar Singh volunteer his services?