One year of Uddhav: How he handled the coronavirus pandemic, and what he said about it.

The coronavirus pandemic is difficult to handle. On one hand, one might find that government is not doing enough to help. On the other hand, one can say the situation is serious and the government is doing what it can. But whatever the situation is, it is always better if the government keeps the public informed. It should say what it knows, and what's more important, it should say what it does not know.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first claimed that the pandemic would be over in 21 days from 24th March. After that, every time the lockdown was extended, the government gave the impression that the pandemic would be over when that lockdown period ended. Then it gave the impression that it would be over on Bhoomi Pujan (on 5th August) or on Independence day; then Diwali…

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister did not make such claims. "I am not in a position to say when the pandemic will end," he kept reiterating. Later he said, "Unless you agree to live with the coronavirus, the situation will be difficult."

The Prime Minister may not have been trying to spread fake information about the pandemic ending. Maybe he didn't know it was so serious. After all, the whole thing was so unprecedented. But in that case, could the Prime Minister have been all that ill-informed compared to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra?

There is a common mistake made when handling the pandemic: First the lockdown is imposed to curb the spread of the virus. Then it is lifted for reviving the economy, and then  many things would  swing back to normal. Then the virus again goes out of control and another lockdown is imposed. This second lockdown will not be so effective since the virus would have already spread to new places.

Here is what Uddhav Thackeray said about it:

Countries who hurriedly lifted the lockdown or thought that everything was over, are now doing lockdown again. Take the example of Australia....

I would never say I'm withdrawing the lockdown completely. No, not at all, but I am slowly opening up one thing at a time. My strategy is that once opened, the thing should not be closed again... So it's not just about health, it's not just about the economy. Those who care only about the economy should worry a little bit about health and those who care only about health, --even if it is true and right today-- they should also worry a little bit about the economy. We have to differentiate between the two.

The pandemic is essentially supposed to be because of the virus. But the focus seems to be more on the lockdown and not on the virus.

What is the  lockdown like?' Uddhav Thackeray once asked, 'is it like this?'

Ghar ke bahar aake dekh, Dekhta hu tereko!(Dare to come out of your house, we [the officials] will get you then!)

"No, it is not like that," he said and asked people to think about the virus and not the government officials. It is not practical at times, but it definitely helps to talk about it.

When lockdowns are lifted, it is very tempting for a politician to say s/he has controlled the virus very well. Sometimes politicians give that impression even if it is not the case. Uddhav Thackeray did not succumb to that temptation. During a major 'unlockdown', he said that he did not want any false notion that the virus had subsided. He stated that the 'unlockdown' was because certain economic activities had to resume.

Maharashtra is reporting the most number of cases. Is Uddhav Thackeray really doing a good job?

It is not always correct to compare states. In some places the situation is worse so there will be more cases. Maharashtra is one of the biggest states in India, so if you look at per capita cases, it is not all that worse off than the other states. The question is whether that place could have been handled better or not.

Another thing is, it has been well established that many cases go undetected. Maharashtra conducted quite a lot of tests, second only to Tamil Nadu (Uttar Pradesh has done more now, but it started testing late). So Maharashtra is likely to have been good in detecting cases and not missing out on so many.

Why did Uddhav Thackeray not get tempted by certain political gains?

Uddhav Thackeray was running a government which was responsible for the well being of the people during the coronavirus pandemic. In such a situation, it is very obvious that it is not the time for politics. Things can easily go out of control. It should actually be surprising that many politicians did play politics during this pandemic.

When the opposition criticises the government over something, the government retorts. Then there is a never-ending back and forth between the government and opposition. Uddhav Thackeray had a different response:

I don't care about critics. I am honest with my work. No worries as long as people have faith in me.