Has the BJP finally learnt its lessons

9

Tweet

If I am to reply in one word on my title, the answer will be a flat 'NO'. Also at the very outset it is pertinent to state that for a democracy to function effectively, a strong opposition is critical.

I have been covering the BJP for nearly three years now and I must admit that there isn't a better party for a political reporter to be covering than this offshoot of the Jan Sangh. News is always in plenty but may I add not always for the right reasons. Its intriguing that like any other party the BJP too has its share of problems but it's the strange knack of all the wrong stuff making news headlines which separates the BJP from the rest.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections the BJP failed to topple the UPA and what made matters worse was the fact that the people of India gave the Congress a bigger mandate than in 2004. The party's 'Chintan Baithak" is over, the question though is that did the party seriously reflect on the reasons for it's defeat and the subsequent corrective measures which are so desperately required. Once again things went awry, at least a perception was formed about the 'baithak' being eclipsed by the news of Jaswant Singh's expulsion, suddenly everything took a back seat and a fresh round of mudslinging started. I personally find it difficult to believe that the chintan baithak went a long way in sorting the mess the BJP is in nowadays.

May I also add that the manner in which Jaswant Singh was axed is proof enough that the top BJP brass is now desperate bordering around the absurd. After all when the party had disassociated itself from the leader in question, was there really a need to go to such an extent. However to be fair to Rajnath Singh things have gone so horribly wrong over many months now that the party really sees nothing working which can bring the house in order and so as the old saying goes 'Desperate times call for desperate measures' is being implemented to the hilt. This seems to have had some result as the rebellious brigade led by Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie etc have gone into a shell and hopefully for the party have cooled off. Though its important to state here that all that they raised was not entirely incorrect and many of their questions still remain unanswered.

Lets not go into the past, lets talk about the recent turn of events. Soon after the parliament session ended on the 7th of this month news started to do rounds that the RSS has asked Advani to search for his successor, on the last day of parliament Sushma Swaraj had boldly stated that Advani will continue as the leader of opposition for five years, and a few days ago RSS chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat clarified that no such commandment was issued to Advani. Net result of this entire series of developments was nothing but once again a reflection of the confused state of affairs in the party.

People are critical of nepotism and dynasty politics. I firmly believe that calibre is a must and there cannot be an overriding force which stems this prerequisite. While much has been said and written against dynasty politics, I sometimes wonder how the saffron brigade harps on this when they themselves practice it diligently. If this wasn't true then where are the Manvendra Singh son of Jaswant Singh, Dushyant Singh son of Vasundhara Raje , Pankaj Singh son of Rajnath Singh, Anurag Thakur son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, B Y Raghavendra son of Yediurappa etc coming from. Moreover the dynasty system has worked well for the congress and I personally feel it's futile for the BJP to carry on it's tirade against the grand old party over this issue. Bottom line if it hasn't worked till now it is not going to work in the future. This is one area where the clear hierarchy, as is laid down in the Congress has ensured that there is never a finger raised when it comes to who calls the shots, what has been said by a Gandhi is the gospel truth here, In the BJP though it's a different story and with too many contenders for the top spot almost everytime things end up getting messy. How else can one explain the void which remains till date after the exit of Vajpayee from active politics. How else does it explain the continuance of Advani even after the dismal performance of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

There is another area where the Congress has got an edge over the BJP. This is the issue of second rung leadership. In stark contrast to the BJP, the Congress has made it's gen-next battle ready. Jyotiraditya Scinda, Jitin Prasada, Milind Deora, Deepinder Hooda are already in the big league. The BJP is failing to look beyond the Arun Jaitley's , Sushma Swaraj's, Ananth Kumar's, all these undoubtedly have an important role to play in the future of the party but they cannot be called young guns.

As the BJP braces itself for five years in opposition, the party needs to ensure that its ideology is in consonance with the changing times, also the party urgently requires freshness, both in it's leadership and vision.

However, the biggest challenge before the party is to find a leader with the acceptance and command of Atal Behari Vajpayee. The party has to understand that only when things are sorted at the top will the middle and lower level's fall in place. Also, egos of the second rung leadership have to be put on the backburner and a simple mantra needs to be chanted by the leaders, it's called "PARTY FIRST".