POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 29 August 2009   

BJP: Humpty Dumpty Falls

CAN THE RSS PUT IT TOGETHER AGAIN?

By Poonam I Kaushish

 Skeletons and abuses are tumbling out of the BJP’s cupboard so thick, fast and vicious that it has become virtually impossible to keep track of them. From calling the Party a kati patang, likening it to the violent white American group Ku Klux Klan whose aim is to protect and further the rights of white Americans by intimidation., its leadership akin to Humpty Dumpty, a conglomerate of factions and coteries, its President Rajnath Singh who behaves metaphorically like Alice in Blunderland, the Leader of Opposition short of being a liar vis-à-vis the Kandhar episode et al. Clearly, things couldn’t get any worse!

Today, buffeted from within and without by post-poll trauma, riddled with infighting, leaked letters and expulsions the Party lies in the political ICU on a ventilator. It is a moot point whether the Hindutva Party like the Sphinx will rise from the ashes, as the RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat hopes. Or will it like the Bismarck ship sink without a trace?

Importantly, the BJP has only itself to blame for going down-under. In fact, since its two consecutive shock defeats in the 2004 and 2009 general elections, the Party has not been able to come to terms with it nor explain its defeats in any coherent manner. Wherein it has increasingly been reduced to a maelstrom of competing factions whose composition keeps altering according to the aspirations and interests of ambitious individuals who make for the so-called central leadership.

Add to this, the Party President Rajnath Singh’s obsession with intrigues and short-terrorism authority pronounced by his preference for the mediocre. Examples:  He has made the removal of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje as leader of the State unit a matter of personal honour. No matter that she enjoys the support of the majority of MLAs. And former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Khanduri too has raised the ante of his replacement. A toss between a blind man leading the blind.

The situation has worsened as Advani, the only one after A B Vajpayee to command respect across factions, fades out. With no clear line of succession in place naturally dissidence raised its ugly head and opened up a can of worms. Bringing to the fore a multitude of cantankerous issues including the lack of direction, drift from its core ideology, questioning Advani’s motives and actions. Leaving its cadres completely confused and rudderless. Notwithstanding, RSS sarsanghchalak Bhagwat’s clear oblique message of hope and confidence: BJP will rise from the ashes.

Worse, given the sense of drift, some of its allies like Naveen Patnaik’s BLD and Chautala’s INLD have drifted away while the Shiv Sena closely watches the developments. Compounding this is the Party’s poor performance as the Opposition in the Parliament. It is unable to comprehend why all the issues it raises no longer seem to engage the people’s attention, at least not with the same degree of passion as it used to in the last decade.  

Needless to say senior leader Jaswant Singh’s reported eulogy on the much-hated Jinnah and the scrutiny of the Saffron Sangh’s icon in his book 'Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence' was the last straw that broke the camel’s back and all hell broke loose. How dare he articulate convictions about Jinnah which he knew were at odds with the Party’s so-called “ideological deviation from core RSS beliefs,” namely the creation of a Hindu Rashtra. Wherein it pictures itself in the mould of the 'iron man' Sardar Patel, blunt and direct, even hawkish at times, but above all zealously guarding the nation's interest and rivaling the abstract Nehruvism portrayed by the Congress.

Predictably, he was expelled from the Party. It can be argued that the former Foreign Minister should have known better. Given that Leader of Opposition Advani too had to step down as Party President in 2005 over his comments on Jinnah on a visit to Pakistan. But the manner he was removed was shocking --- over the phone. Indeed the BJP had touched a new low and exposed its ‘narrow thinking.’

Seeing a completely disoriented Party with a severe credibility crisis and cadre moral at nadir having little power to set things right, a worried RSS covertly stepped in. The sarsanghchalak Bhagwat made plain that the BJP’s survival as a live and robust organisation was critically dependent on its ability to groom younger leaders at all levels. “It’s a universal rule that the younger generation must replace the older one. Today, the top-level of BJP is in the age-group of 75-85… it should be 55-60,” he emphasized in his media inter-action and TV interview.  Recall, his predecessor Sudarshan too had asked both Vajpayee and Advani to relinquish office in 2005 post the BJP’s defeat in 2004.

The RSS has been keen that Advani help facilitate a generational shift in BJP with a new President due to be elected later this year and also with regard to a new Leader of Opposition. The key question is whether the Sangh fountainhead will be able to step in even now and ensure an end to the open season, blood letting and fierce power struggle in the BJP before it implodes into smithereens.

In fact, Bhagwat’s media sound-bites were more for its cadre’s consumption than to grab headlines. Even as the sarsanghchalak tried to distance the RSS from its political arm, “It is for BJP to decide…,.” his message rang loud and clear: Stop kicking new ideological footballs everyday and return to your core ideology instead of enmeshing in power struggles. Clearly, more a public relations exercise to dispel thinking that the RSS was no more than a social-cultural organization. No matter that the obverse holds true. Given that the BJP cadre is from the RSS. The bee-line by senior BJP leaders to the RSS Delhi office in Jhandewala to meet Bhagwat said it all.

As the Party comes to grips with the worst crisis in its 29-year old history it remains to be seen whether it has the wherewithal and vision to metamorphise in to a 21^st century Party. For that more than young leaders it needs to form a cohesive whole instead of pulling in different factions and directions. Broaden its vision and come up with ‘out of the box’ solutions to complex issues, bridge the communal divide a la President Obama’s beer summit with renowned black Howard professor and a white police sergeant. More so, given that over 50 per cent of India’s population is in the age group of 18 to 35.

Follow Chinese ideologue Mao Ze Dong philosophy, bombard the Party headquarters, clean up everybody from the top and replace them with people who are competent, honest and dedicated. Be it through halaal (slow execution) or jhatka (one swift execution). It needs to reconstruct immediately to shore up its sagging image and morale of a fractured entity that had lost its verve and was drifting aimlessly. As also put a premium on bridging trust-deficit between top leaders.

More than anything the Saffron Sangh has to go in for total transformation from a rabid fire-spewing, sword-wielding, intolerant breed of adherents and modify it in keeping with the times. Call it destiny or what you may, but the Party with differences has got another opportunity to get its leaders to submerge their differences, subsume their egos and present a united face. To regain its long lost glory of a ‘Party with difference!’ Will it bite the bullet? ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)