Political Diary

New Delhi, 15 March 2014

Congressisation Of BJP

TOSS UP: DUFFER, BLUFFER, MUFFLER

By Poonam I Kaushish

An SMS doing the rounds encapsulates the quandary of the aam aadmi as the countdown to Elections 2014 nears. Who should he vote for? Choices: Duffer, bluffer or muffler? Given that Messers Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, BJP’s Narender Modi and fledgling Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal are busy fighting ubiquitous Kafkaesque ghosts, characterized by surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger with the devil taking the hindmost!

Understandable, as the poll will blaze a new trail in contemporary politics, hopefully, ushering in a new chapter in India’s turbulent political history. The emergence of a mature electorate and 1.2 lakh new voters are shunning the garbage of time-worn clichés and promises galore and plumping for freshness and development.

Importantly, all eyes are on BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate NaMo. Will he cross the Rubicon 272+ Lok Sabha seats and put his Party in India’s driver’s seat? Will his perceived charisma and larger-than-life Brand Modi, a la the West, bombardment help overcome the image deficit and gain acceptability as a national leader? Can he .garner allies post poll?

Towards that end, the Party’s desperation is understandable. For himself and his Party, the upcoming poll is a make-or-break exercise. True, the BJP appears poised to make big gains, a comeback after a 10-year drought thanks to Modi energising the Party's rank and file. Unless, of course, it falls victim to its historic inability to live up to its promises juxtaposed with Modi’s authoritative ‘it’s my way or the highway’ machismo which make regional satraps and fence-sitters jittery.

At the moment, Party President Rajnath Singh-Modi combine are busy sewing alliances with all and sundry at one end and rewarding Congress defectors and tainted leaders with tickets. No matter if it smacks of opportunism at its crassest best.

The first of the mark is serial political pole vault champion LJP Chief Ramvilas Paswan who has jumped of the Congress-RJD bandwagon to the Hindutva camp after 12 long years.  Recall, the 67-year-old LJP Chief joined the BJP-led NDA Government from 1999-02, quit post Gujarat’s 2002 riots and joined the Congress-led UPAI Government in 2004. Only to walk out on the eve of 2009 elections along-with fellow Bihari RJD’s Lalu and remained in political wilderness.

The Saffron Sangh’s ‘Suitable Boy’ Modi is also testing the waters with friend AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa and  Trinimool’s Mamata, notwithstanding West Bengal’s stormy petrel hooting for her Tamilian counterpart and Anna Hazare’s plumming for her as Prime Minister.

Former President Nitin Gadkhari has asked MNS’s Raj Thackeray not to field candidates against the BJP leaving old faithful Shiv Sena red-faced. Feelers have also been sent to Telengana’s TRS’s Chandrasekhar Rao alongside TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu. Both continue to blow hot and cold. Naveen’s BJD plays hard ball. 

Besides, in its quest for another shot at power, the Party has buried the hatchet and bought peace with erstwhile “corrupt” and controversial compatriots Karnataka’s ex-Chief Minister Yedurappa and Sriramulu, reportedly close to jailed mining baron Janardhan Reddy who had left the Party in 2011, never mind if it cocked a snook at NaMo’s much tomtomed anti-corruption crusade. As also inducted crooked Congressmen and known Sangh baiters. 

True, one can argue that given the high electoral stakes, the Party desperately needed to shore up its caste combinations. But, this has exposed the BJP’s desperation and fissures within the Saffron Parivar.  Underscored by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj making public her dissent over Sriramulu saying the decision was taken despite her “stiff opposition”.

Worse, factionalism and personal allegiance to various leaders is the touchstone of today’s BJP. Various leaders are busy ensuring tickets for their respective loyalists so that post poll in the event the Party needs more allies, they could emerge the “consensus” candidate. The confusion at the top is fast percolating down to the rank and file.

This is not all. That dissensions are rife is highlighted by the delay in announcing its candidates for 100 seats, especially in its “core” UP which accounts for 80 seats. Arguably, if there is indeed, a Modi wave, why the hold-up? Why are senior leaders scouting for safe seats? Rajnath Singh wants to fight from Lucknow instead of Ghaziabad and Arun Jaitely from Amritsar. See the tussle over Varanasi, old war-horse Murli Manohar Joshi refuses to abdicate for Modi. Why did it take Modi so long to declare where he will contest from?

What is more worrying is that the BJP has acquired the debilitating features of the “Congress culture”. Internal rivalries, local resistance to sitting legislators and its overdependence on “negative vote” emotionally secured. Today, as Kejriwal tom-toms both Parties have come to be perceived as ‘aik hi thali ke chatet batte.” Confessed a leader, “Unfortunately, na to Congress ke pas danav hai, na hamare pas devta.”

As for the Congress the less said the better. The Grand Dame seems to be heading for it’s worst-ever performance. That the Party knows of its impending electoral Waterloo is apparent as Cabinet Ministers and senior leaders are shying away from poll battle. Some use magnanimous excuses, “I decided to sit out, want to give a youngster a chance or I want to work for the Party.” Sic.

Others adlib of making supreme sacrifices, “Didn’t want to contest but the Party wants a strong opposition”. Really? Only a handful have the courage to speak the truth, “The Congress is facing an adverse situation nationally with its tally shrinking to double digits thanks to huge erosion of middle class support.”

Resulting in a big question mark whether our Indian Hamlet has the ability to lead the Party, more important for how long can it continues to cling to the old feudal mould of one-person centric style,  Sonia-Rahul duo constitute No 1, 2, 3….10 in the Party hierarchy.

Undeniably, the entry of AAP has inserted an X factor in the battle with Kejriwal’s audaciously taking on the Congress-BJP. But for reasons best known to him, the self-styled anarchist seems to be shooting himself in the foot. His shoot-and-scoot tactics of allegations against political leaders is going against him leading to dismay among his supporters and public. Delhi’s auto rickshawallahs have dubbed him traitor.

His latest salvo against the media as a “sold” entity paid a “heavy amount” to promote BJP’s Modi has earned him brickbats from across the political spectrum and journalists. One, he has not backed his allegations with proof, two, he ducks queries about his hypocrisy and double standards over using a media organisation’s private jet and staying in a Government bungalow after demitting the Chief Minister’s kursi.

What next? With each Party making swift deft moves and counter moves everything is up in the air. The challenge for the Congress- BJP is to regain credibility in the face of criticism that they are part of collusive politics that revels in crony capitalism and nurtures nepotism.

Whether Election 2014 will see Modi ensconced in 7 Race Course Road only time will tell. With the ‘communal’ friends and ‘secular’ enemies rolled in to one, hangs a question:  What does it total? Lust for power and more power. ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)