Bhadain – The Spark ?

    And there it is; Bhadain, to give effect to his threat, has officially resigned from the National Assembly, opening the door to a multitude of possibilities, even the unexpected, which makes that any person with a minimum of commonsense will shy away from making precise predictions, lest one falls flat on one’s face as is often the case as evidenced, only days ago, by the one who was prepared to bet Bhadain would backpedal.
    But at least one thing seems a certitude. Together with Bhadain to stand in for re-election – he did not resign to become a Gospel preacher – , there will be ‘at least’ two candidates for the Opposition, and, of course, no prize for guessing from which camp the other one will come.
    Among the difficult things to sort out, one stands out prominently: what the ‘others’ will do. So watch out in the weeks and months to come for attitudes, body-languages, stances, selective targets, tones at press conferences etc. My guess is that Duval will react with all his vigour if Bérenger adopts an arrogant ‘solo’ attitude if only to relight his waning aureole, and fires violently equally at Bhadain and ‘Lepep’, and worse if such attacks are lopsided. And the Labour Party, given that Ramgoolam still ambitions to make a triumphant comeback!
    As for ‘Lepep’, the dominant sentiment in public opinion is that they will not run, or, at best, send a ML candidate to ‘labatwar’. Should this be the case, whoever be the unfortunate ‘guinea-pig’, the MMM will, most certainly, become more determined for the golden opportunity to settle scores and attempt to cut down to size the ‘other one’. Or a rehearsal ‘seul contre tous’ for the great one to come.
    What Bhadain is really up to is another of these things difficult to determine. Bhadain, in spite of being a bright guy, is far from being an astute politician which makes he may be wrong in his calculations, unless his prime objective is to settle scores or start a demolition that may earn him dividends, though not in the short term. My humble submission is that his move is ill-conceived, at least at this point in time. Though, conceivably, he felt he had to do something to attract attention.
    And what if Bhadain wins, most improbable but not impossible, particularly in the case of massive abstentions as was the case on Sunday June 18 in France  –  a very likely possibility with electors feeling that whatever happens, this will bring no significant improvement in their daily living. Abstentions, furthermore, that may provide no real clue to the significance of the vote. And if he loses, the swan song of a short-lived maverick, or, at best, a ‘political billabong‘.
    And what if there is no by-election? Why raise eyebrows; there is an alternative. Someone not long ago said that one day in politics is a very long one. And what about 240 days? Definitely we are in for some interesting things to unfold. It often takes a little spark to start a huge fire. And Bhadain may have, unwittingly, started something with consequences that never even crossed his mind – reunification, scuttling, purification, consolidation in terms of quality and not quantity etc -, but change significantly the political scenery, and with masks to fall.
    Could the by-election usher in some sort of Macron phenomenon to come, yet with no known politician possessing his ‘virginity’ to emulate?
    Un phénomène Macron sans Macron?
    To conclude, allow me a stupid question, for which I appeal for the indulgence of ‘Forum’ readers: Is metro express what really made Bhadain resign, the more so he brushed aside appeals to stay action.
                                             
P.S: After all, who is Macron? Admittedly a sympathetic guy, in appearance at least, who has yet to prove his mettle. Spectacular electoral victories are no guarantee of good governance. And Mauritians know something about that, and under our eyes, presently, is living confirmation of that.