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The Daily Star July 05, 2004 Editorial The 'tallest leader' is a dwarf: BJP returns to hard-Hindutva Praful Bidwai writes from New Delhi The BJP's June 22-24 national executive meeting in Mumbai will go down as a story of incomprehension of and bitterness at its electoral defeat, washing of dirty linen in public, organisational disarray, ideological confusion, and leadership crisis. The BJP has failed to understand its debacle's causes and to devise a strategy for revival. It emerged from the meeting badly mauled, with divergences between Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr L.K. Advani becoming visible. The BJP is now ripe for a virtual takeover by the RSS and its hardline associates. Its "tallest leader", it turns out, is only a dwarf. Mr Vajpayee's stature has shrunk to a fraction of its earlier size. Once a master tactician, he has fallen to the level of the run-of-the-mill politician, given to thoughtless statements and less-than-mature retractions. Mr Vajpayee fired the first salvo on June 13, when he blamed Mr Narendra Modi for the BJP's electoral losses and said the issue would be taken up in the national executive. He was promptly rebuffed by party president M. Venkaiah Naidu. Two days later, four VHP-RSS leaders in their late 70s and 80s, led by Mr Ashok Singhal, demanded the resignation of the Vajpayee-Advani duo and a public admission that the BJP lost because "they discarded Hindutva-related issues." They also asked the party to fix a "retirement age" for leaders. It's laughable that these geriatrics should demand a "retirement age". But the cruellest irony was that their line -- of attributing the BJP's defeat to its departure from hardline-Hindutva --was accepted by the party only days later! Mr Vajpayee misread the party's mood. He got used to having his way -- by sulking at criticism, or by cracking the whip. Last year, he made Mr Naidu retract the vikas purush-loh purush formulation inside 24 hours. Earlier, he refused to sack principal secretary-confidante Brajesh Mishra despite pressure. Mr Vajpayee's clout derived primarily from the Prime Ministership, and secondarily, from NDA allies. He has lost the first. The allies have shrunk to under half their size. When Mr Vajpayee realised he had overplayed his hand, he retreated. This shows Mr Vajpayee hasn't been serious about opposing an RSS takeover of the BJP. Or else, he would have put up a fight, by cultivating support for himself. Instead, he staged a cheap stunt in Mumbai -- by saying that he wouldn't lead the party. A day later, he said this was "a joke". Ultimately, he entertained Mr Modi over breakfast! This is typical of Mr Vajpayee's inconsistent behaviour -- witness his 2000 statement declaring himself a swayamsevak, but then "clarifying" that the term meant being a "servant of the nation", or his 2002 about-turn in Goa over sacking Mr Modi. Mr Vajpayee cannot pretend he's a "moderate". He is as steeped in Hindutva as any other swayamsevak. It's just that he favours a less loud, less "in-your-face", softer approach to the same goal. Even that's not acceptable to his party. In Mumbai, the BJP undertook no serious introspection. Rather, it looked for scapegoats and hardened its ideological stance. It refused to recognise that India's political coordinates have changed and it's seriously out of tune. The last election turned on two axes: livelihood issues, and rejection of ethnic-religious identity politics. The BJP trotted out question-begging explanations for its defeat like "overconfidence", "complacency", and its "image" as a party given to 5-star indulgence. But the national executive was held in a 7-Star hotel where delegates had access to seven restaurants, a gymnasium and sauna! The explanation that prevailed in Mumbai was advanced by margadarshak Advani. The party lost because it neglected its three-legged "ideological constituency" of "karyakartas, our ideological parivar, and our social support-base." The BJP didn't neglect this triad. It drafted in Mr Modi and Ms Uma Bharati among its star campaigners. Mr Vajpayee shared election-rally platforms with Mr Modi more than once. The RSS canvassed for the BJP door-to-door. Mr Advani's "explanation" uses circular reasoning based on dogma: we lost because we didn't win, and we didn't win because we redefined ourselves, to become what we aren't. So return to hardline Hindutva and the allies will come rushing back. New ones will join in: Ajit Singh, Karunanidhi, Paswan... The BJP is day-dreaming. It cannot possibly retain its allies or recruit new ones by returning to its "ideological constituency". Hard-Hindutva will scare them away. The BJP's past strategy of capitalising on public disenchantment with the Congress cannot work today. The public is willing to give the Congress another chance because it's offering a compassionate government pledged to correcting gross disparities and fighting communal bigotry and fundamentalism. By building regional alliances, the Congress has re-inserted itself into the space BJP occupied. As the BJP moves towards strident communalism, its first-generation top leadership is no longer in full command (although Mr Advani has improved his position). The power-struggle among its second-rung leaders is unresolved. They are too many: Messrs Naidu, Mahajan, Jaitley, and Ms Bharati and Sushma Swaraj. Clarity will emerge only after the Maharashtra Assembly elections, due in September. The BJP-Shiv Sena calculates that the Ishrat "encounter" killing will polarise opinion and help communalists. This may be wishful thinking. Most people are repulsed by the "encounter". The Congress-NCP will do well by roping in the BSP, which commands five percent of the vote. Nationally, the BJP has lost its advantage. If it clings to hard-Hindutva, it will decline further. The UPA is making some excellent moves. The Common Minimum Programme and the National Advisory Committee are good examples. The Committee has some outstanding members like Aruna Roy, Jean Dreze, Madhav Chavan, and N.C. Saxena. They could provide sound policy and help keep the government on course. If Mr Manmohan Singh's team handles the budget well, popular support for the UPA will surge. The BJP, then, could be consigned to the margins for a long time. Praful Bidwai is an eminent Indian columnist. ______ Courtesy-Harsh Kapoor/SACW www.sacw.net |
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| << July05, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]CHRO digest July 5th |
July06, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]Mumbai court orders 13 accused in Bakery case to surrender >> |
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