The EconomistJuly 27th 2019 Asia 211I
n the end, the vote of no-confidence on
July 23rd that brought down the govern-
ment of Karnataka state came as an act of
mercy. Despite three postponements and
countless impassioned speeches, only 99
of the assembly’s 225 members supported
the chief minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy.
This month 16 members of his coalition
government jumped ship, soon after Na-
rendra Modi’s crushing victory in national
elections. They “defected”, in Indian politi-
cal argot, by resigning—ditching their
comrades in the Congress party and Mr
Kumaraswamy’s provincial party, in favour
of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp).
The party’s national dominance has not
lessened its determination to seize further
power at the state level.
The defecting lawmakers of Karnataka
were spirited to a heavily guarded hotel in
Maharashtra, a neighbouring state gov-
erned by the bjp. When D.K. Shivakumar, a
member of the Congress party who sup-
ported Mr Kumaraswamy’s government,
went there to try to stare down his former
comrades he was blocked—by state po-
lice—and left to sulk outside in the mon-
soon drizzle. Back in Bangalore, the capital
of Karnataka, the government’s death was
protracted and dramatic. Its people were
buying time to lure back the defectors be-
fore a floor vote. Politicians donned pyja-
mas for an all-night slumber party in the
legislature. They traded accusations of
black magic and eventually imposed a city-
wide ban on liquor sales, as if that might
calm things down. As the government
crumbled, Mr Shivakumar mused: “My
friends who backstabbed me will backstab
the bjptoo. What is the point of all this? We
are all going to die anyway.”
Traditionally Indian voters punish in-
cumbents. But the bjp’s vote share in this
year’s general election was 37%, up from
31% in 2014. Success nationally begets suc-
cess at state level. Karnataka, among a
handful of states that have escaped the
party’s grip, is one example. Similar shows
are playing around the country, with elect-
ed politicians switching sides to stand be-
side Mr Modi.
In the bellwether state of Uttar Pradesh,
ostensible socialists have joined their bjp
foes. In Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat, an
important caste leader abandoned Con-
gress for the bjp fold. In Goa, a small state
with a large Christian minority, Congress
won the most seats in state-assembly elec-tionsin 2017 andoneofGoa’stwoseatsin
the general election this April. But on July
10th two-thirds of state legislators decided
nonetheless to join the bjp. Upper-house
parliamentarians in Andhra Pradesh filed
lawsuits to leave their regional party in or-
der to side with the bjp.
These suits were necessary because In-
dia has an anti-defection law which bars
legislators from simply swapping parties.
It is intended to prevent rich parties from
buying the support of poorer ones but it is
dismally ineffective. Most Indians assume
that powerful parties will use bribery and
extortion to lure defectors. With its unfath-
omably deep pockets and control of na-
tional enforcement agencies, Mr Modi’sbjpis an attractive destination for ambi-
tious lawmakers of many parties. When
the prime minister boasted on the cam-
paign trail in West Bengal that 40 of the op-
position’s assemblymen were in touch
with him, his opponents were outraged. He
seemed to be flaunting his party’s illicit
pulling power.
The anti-defection legislation took a
beating last week when the Supreme Court
ruled that the renegades from Karnataka
could not be compelled to stick to voting
with their party. But even if the law worked
as it is supposed to, barring defections
would only force politicians to obey their
party presidents. That would hardly be a
magic fix for India’s democracy.^7DELHI
The bjpis unrelenting in its quest for
power, even after the elections are overIndian politicsThe contest
continues
Raging against the Modi machine in KarnatakaI
f a weekis a long time in politics, eight
months is a lifetime. Last November Do-
nald Trump blasted Pakistan, accusing it of
duplicity and dishonesty. America’s faith-
less ally in the war on terror received bil-
lions in aid while not doing “a damn thing”
in return, he snapped, in justification of
his decision to cut military aid. Imran
Khan, Pakistan’s own hot-tempered popu-
list prime minister, then newly elected,
shot back that his country was tired of be-
ing the scapegoat for American failures in
Afghanistan. Pakistan would no longer
fight someone else’s war, said Mr Khan.
Fast forward to this week: Mr Trump
welcomed Mr Khan to the White House for
their first talks face to face. American anger
was replaced with soft soap. The president
flattered the former cricketer, lauding him
as an athlete and leader. Their future was
bright, trade deals were on the cards andthe flow of aid could be switched back on.
During a joint press conference, Mr
Trump boasted crudely that he could wipe
Afghanistan, an American ally, off the face
of the Earth. But as his host blustered, Mr
Khan seemed to have little cause for con-
cern. Mr Trump’s cavalier offer to mediate
in the dispute between Pakistan and India
over Kashmir was a boost for Mr Khan,
even if, as seems certain, it leads to noth-
ing. Pakistan has long wanted to interna-
tionalise the argument with its neighbour.
India believes the two countries should
sort out their 70-year row over the territory
between themselves. Mr Trump’s offer pro-
voked paroxysms in Delhi. But Pakistan’s
former sins seemed to have been forgiven.
Threats of Armageddon aside, Afghani-
stan explains the American president’s
change of heart towards Pakistan. “I think
Pakistan is going to help us out, to extricateISLAMABAD
America swaps its stick for a carrot in its dealings with PakistanPakistan and AmericaMr Khan goes to Washington