Before the last Lok Sabha election, the Congress announced its entry into 21st century politics by changing its slogan. In translation, Congress’s hand was now proclaimed to be with the common person (aam aadmi), not just the poor person (garib). It was a timely switch. It adhered to the aspirations made available to India after 1991. It is not just that the middle class has continued to grow. It is that the momentum created by upward mobility has enlarged the numbers of millions of Indians who aspire to be part of the middle classes. Middle India is not just a demographic — it is a space where Indians find affirmation of their possibilities.It has been an abiding mystery with the Congress-led UPA government, therefore, that its policies still reflect an older way of thinking. It still sees its representative voter as being angry and resentful of the better off — not as somebody seeking ways to become better off herself. To be pro-poor evidently takes little more than a show of being anti-rich. But the voter is not buying this. Since 2004, when the UPA took more urban constituencies than the BJP-led NDA, urban India has been turning away from the Congress. Municipal and assembly polls across the country reflect this amply. Nothing perhaps shows the Congress’s confusion more than its disdain for the loan-paying Indian. The Central government has been presiding over a monetary framework that pushes up interest rates in the purported objective of bringing down inflation. This overlooks some realities. One, more and more Indians are on credit, and those who are not would certainly appreciate ways of getting access to cheap loans. Two, inflation per se is not a problem in India today. Food inflation is the cause of worry because global factors are pushing it up and its greatest impact is on the poorest households. There is finally sign of a corrective within the Congress. As our columnist today details, Veerappa Moily has disentangled the two issues. It may be too late politically for the Congress, but it is good news for, well, the aam aadmi.
