Politicians make the difference in the fight against COVID-19

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Amid the mess and mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis in India, politicians and policy-makers are either standing out prominently for their work they are doing, or missing in action.

If one were to draw a general pattern, it would be more or less this: The efforts of politicians and leaders in the frontline are paying off; in states where they have been missing, the situation is not a very pleasant one.

Different states and its leaders have tackled it differently, and therein lies the difference.

Uttar Pradesh, if one leaves aside the allegations of under-reporting cases, seems to have got a grip on the situation — at least for now. India’s largest state reporting just 11,000-odd confirmed cases, after testing of close to 400,000 people, shows that the state administration is succeeding. It, however, must not be forgotten that the UP Police resorted to inhuman measures initially.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seems to not be putting up a fight. Right from the initial days of the lockdown, the state has not been able to control the outbreak. Its leaders have been missing in action and with many bureaucrats and health officials contracting the virus, less said the better. In addition to this was news reports that Chouhan’s government turned to yoga guru Ramdev for advice. Last month, it was Ramdev who suggested applying mustard oil through the nostrils to flush the virus into the stomach where the acids would kill COVID-19!

Similar is the case with Gujarat. So ineffective has the state leadership been that it was allegedly pulled up by the central leadership. There seems to be an effort on under-testing, which forced the state high court to observe that the fear of a rise in number of positive cases must not stop the State from more testing.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is how the leaders in Kerala and the Northeast, mainly Assam, have reacted to the crisis.

Kerala health minister KK Shailaja laid down the ground work in January and with the bureaucracy has decentralised the efforts to identify, quarantine and treat COVID-19 patients. Just like Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has become the face of the state’s fight against COVID-19, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has been at the forefront of the fight in Assam. His constant communication with the people urging calm and reiterating the government’s initiatives seems to be paying off.

In between the two extremes of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, are the states such as Maharashtra and Delhi. In both states, the political leadership has been active, particularly Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, but the positive cases are on the rise. While both Mumbai and Delhi have been able to increase the number of hospital beds by a minimum 400 percent since the lockdown started on March 25, it seems to be insufficient. The population density in both metros seems to be the greatest challenge in containing the spread.

In Maharashtra’s case, the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition are at the forefront of efforts to fight COVID-19. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad who worked relentlessly during the lockdown to feed the hungry has recovered from COVID-19. Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who worked from the hotspot Nanded to evacuate Sikh pilgrims back to Punjab, is on the road to recovery. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who is the mainstay of the coalition, is putting together a plan for the revival of the state.

At the macro level, it is a mixed bag. Initially Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the face and voice of India’s fight against the virus. His constant messages and addresses to the nation helped in spreading the message and enforcing the lockdown which paid dividends — the number of cases were initially less. However, few anticipated the migrant crisis, which spun out of the lockdown, and none were prepared for it.

One would have expected Union home minister Amit Shah to be more visible — after all, he is what one would call an attacking batsman who likes to play on the front foot. He was conspicuous by his absence and was seen again only in time for the one year celebration of Modi 2.0.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been, through his various interactions and interviews, speaking for Opposition at the national level.

Overall, it is quite clear that where there is political leadership, the bureaucracy has a fighting chance of beating the virus. Where the leaders are invisible, the battle is nearly in danger of being lost.

Sujata Anandan is a senior journalist and author. Views are personal.