t.com www.GOALias.blogspot.com www.GOALias.blogspot.com

www.GOALias.blogspot.com38 Politics in India since IndependenceLet’s watch a FilmSIMHASANThis Marathi film, based on ArunSadhu’s two novels ‘Simhasan’and ‘Mumbai Dinank’, depictsthe tussle for the post of ChiefMinister in Maharashtra. The storyis told through journalist DiguTipnis as the silent ‘Sutradhar’. Ittries to capture the intense powerstruggle within the ruling partyand the secondary role of theOpposition.Finance Minister, VishwasraoDabhade is making all-out effortsto unseat the incumbent ChiefMinister. Both contenders aretrying to woo trade union leaderD’Casta to obtain his support. Inthis factional fight, other politicianstoo seek to obtain maximumadvantage while bargaining withboth sides. Smuggling in Mumbaiand the grim social reality in ruralMaharashtra form the sub-plots inthis film.Year: 1981Director: Jabbar PatelScreenplay: Vijay TendulkarCast: Nilu Phule, Arun Sarnaik,Dr.Shreeram Lagoo, SatishDubashi, Datta Bhat, MadhukarToradmal, Madhav Watve, MohanAgasheSome of these, like the CongressSocialist Party, later separated fromthe Congress and became oppositionparties. Despite differences regardingthe methods, specific programmes andpolicies the party managed to containif not resolve differences and build aconsensus.Tolerance and managementof factionsThis coalition-like character of theCongress gave it an unusual strength.Firstly, a coalition accommodates allthose who join it. Therefore, it hasto avoid any extreme position andstrike a balance on almost all issues.Compromise and inclusiveness are thehallmarks of a coalition. This strategyput the opposition in a difficulty.Anything that the opposition wantedto say, would also find a place inthe programme and ideology of theCongress. Secondly, in a party thathas the nature of a coalition, there is agreater tolerance of internal differencesand ambitions of various groupsand leaders are accommodated. TheCongress did both these things duringthe freedom struggle and continueddoing this even after Independence.That is why, even if a group was nothappy with the position of the partyor with its share of power, it wouldremain inside the party and fight theother groups rather than leaving theparty and becoming an ‘opposition’.These groups inside the party arecalled factions. The coalitional natureof the Congress party tolerated andin fact encouraged various factions.Some of these factions were basedon ideological considerations butvery often these factions were rootedin personal ambitions and rivalries.Instead of being a weakness, internalfactionalism became a strength of