Amrita Party dissolves for 2022

 

After making only a token effort thus far on the 2022 campaign trail, the Amrita Party has announced its permanent dissolution and will not be seeking seats in the 52^nd Congress. The Party released a communiqué full of COVID-19 cliché phrases such as “out of an abundance of caution”, “we’re all in this together” and “it is with a heavy heart that the Amrita Party is closing operations permanently”. Holding 78 seats, the Amrita Party was the second-largest caucus in the 51^st Congress, behind only the Social Democrats’ 96 seats.

The Amrita Party was established in 2001 as the voice of Amma’s Patrienish devotees with Amma as House leader in Congress, representing the Precinct of Arboria. The party was generally liberal-progressive, reflecting the political views of the vast majority of Amma’s western devotees in the macro-world (notwithstanding that conservatives, Republicans, and even die-hard supporters of Donald Trump go for Amma’s darshan too!). During its twenty years, the Amrita Party can boast of some major achievements in Patria that will continue the party’s legacy in 2022 and beyond:

• Inclusion of Amma's teachings and bhajans (devotional songs) in the curriculum of many of Patria's elementary schools.
• Opening of a branch of the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) hospital in Patria.
• Establishment of a campus of the Amrita University in Patria.
• Establishment of a permanent Amma ashram in Patria, in Karunanagar, Caesarea, easily accessible via the Caesarea Coast Line of the Castoropolis and Caesarea Railways (CCR).
• Addition of Amrita Television to all basic cable TV services in Patria.

Where does the Amrita Party’s demise leave the 78 members of the caucus? They will continue to hold their seats in Congress until their terms expire on June 30, 2022. Some will sit as independents for the remaining six months of the 51^st Congress term of office, while others will call themselves IAM – Independent Amrita Members – and hope for enough write-in votes or for the Amrita Party to remain printed on their precinct’s ballot so that they have a puncher’s chance of retaining a seat in the 52^nd Congress. But they shouldn’t count on many write-in votes. Most of the voters/devotees who cast ballots for Amrita in 2018 will gravitate to the Chakra Party, Greens or Social Democrats. But don’t assume that all Amrita voters are liberal, leftist or progressive (see reference to conservatives also going for Amma’s darshan). A fair number of Amrita voters will go for the SRM in 2022. 

The fact that Amma could not set foot outside her ashram in Kerala or hug her millions of devotees, let alone visit Patria because of COVID-19 is a convenient whipping boy for the Amrita Party’s demise. On the right-wing talk stations such as POKX-648, SRM’ers and National Unionists were gloating that Amrita had run its course, is now a spent force and the Amma gravy train (or hugging train) has come to a halt.

Not exactly the message from Amma that Patria hoped to hear.