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Sudheendra Kulkarni

BJP ideologue

Jul 03, 2012 | Closed

BJP's gameplan on selection of PM candidate for 2014 elections

Chat with Sudheendra Kulkarni on BJP's gameplan on selection of PM candidate for 2014 elections at 4 pm this Monday.

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Narendra Modi is the most popular politician in entire opposition spectrum today?The whole of middle class is rooting for him?Why is BJP hesitant to declare him PM candidate. Asked by: chinmay
Friends, I enjoyed the discussion session with you. I would've like to carry on. But the time is up. Thank you, thank you, for your ideas, suggestions -- even for your criticisms.
Muslims are known for solid vote bank voting.Muslims also have very high electoral turnout.Dont you think Modi as PM candidate will lead to massive minority consolidation behind Congress Asked by: chinmay
I'll answer your question, Chinmay ji, by saying that no voter should vote with a caste or a communal mentality just to defeat a candidate or a party. They should vote on the basis of merit or otherwise of a candidate or a party. I personally believe that the BJP needs to understand Indian Muslims, and Indian Muslims also need to understand the BJP. Both sides have a lot of work to do in order to bridge the divide between the two. However, the thinking sections of Indian Muslims are beginning to realise more and more that the community should not continue to remain a "votebank" of the so-called secular parties, which are self-serving and have no real concern for the needs and aspirations of our Muslim brethren. I would like to see this trend getting stronger.
Sir, Do you think primaries will be good option and why Indian political parties afraid of primaries? Asked by: dhaval pathak
We do not have a presidential form of government, as in the US. Therefore, primaries have no place in our system yet. However, I do feel that our system needs to become more and more paricipative in the time to come.
In recent UP elections OBCS massively voted for SP inspite of congress giving Muslim reservation from their share.Dont you think BJP did a mistake in highlighting the reservation issue when those affected themselves didnt bother Asked by: chinmay
I don't think that we committed a mistake by highlighting the issue of communal reservations. As the recent pronouncements of the AP HIgh Court and the Supreme Court testify, our stand on this issue has been a principled one. It is not anti-minorities. The reasons for our poor performance in the UP assembly elections lie elsewhere. We'll learn proper lessons from our failure.
Given the controversy over secular image of the leader, it would make sense not officially announce any PM candidate and let final numbers post election decide the fate of various leaders. Your comments! Asked by: Jagdish Agarwal
The "secularism is in danger" cry is a lie. It is only meant to hide the failures and betrayals of the UPA government. It is a vain attempt to fool the "minorities". Does the price rise affect Muslims and Christians less? When the BJP government in Chhattisgarh makes a superb job of implementing the PDS, does it help only a section of society or all sections of society? Isn't it a fact that Gujarat's spectacular achievements in various socio-economic fields, under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi --fully 2/3rds of all the installed capacity of solar power in India happens to be in Gujarat alone, just to give a single example -- have helped Muslims in Gujarat? The BJP does not discriminate between one set of Indians and another, when it comes to governance and development and delivery of justice. And you'll see that we will win the support of diverse sections of Indian society -- including in states where we are relatively weak -- in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Dear SudheendraJi, there is lot of expectation from the BJP now.Trust you live up to it. BJP prime problem has been that it cannot put up or does not have a leader of the stature of the Great Atalji to lead it. We are all waiting for you, but please do not flatter to deceive Asked by: Narayanan
Narayananji, we don't believe in "flattering", and we certainly won't "flatter to diceive". We have a responsibility towards our nation, which is facing numerous problems created by the UPA's misrule. People expect us to rise to the occasion, and we will. We need the best wishes and active support of people like you. And don't hesitate to point out our shortcomings.
Hi Mr Kurlkarni, I remember reading your oped in IE after your release from jail in alleged cash for vote scandal, about your ordeal and experience in Tihar jail. You also briefly mentioned about leftist ideologue Kobad Gandhi and his apparent innocence. Now my question to you is -- will BJP consider pm candidate's views and strategies to deal with internal security issues like Naxlism issue, misuse of security agencies in detaining innocent tribal and human right violation in various tribal district of India. Or you think BJP consider these issues trivial Asked by: prashant
These are not trivial issues. But let me make it clear that there cannot be any compromise with a party or an organisation that believes in overthrowing the Indian State by resorting to organised violence. This stand of the BJP is supported by many others across the political spectrum. However, in the same breath, I'll say that India needs to change the direction and content of its development to meet the needs and aspirations of the poor, especially the tribals.
With even sections of hindus rejecting BJP dont you think its time BJP dropped its controversial position on kashmir issue, Muslim reservation,ram mandir so that it could broaden its appeal among minority groups Asked by: chinmay
Chinmay ji, the BJP's approach to each and every issue is from the standpoint of nationalism. We don't look at issues from the perspective of appeasing either the Hindus or any other community. Take the Kashmir issue, which you've mentioned. Doesn't it concern the entire nation? Please recall that the 1994 Parliament resolution that affirmed the PoK to be an integral part of India was not a BJP resolution. It had the backing of the entire Parliament, and the Congress was in power at the Centre then. Similarly, the issue of Muslim (rather, religion-based) reservation has now siezed the attention of the higher judiciary and our stand is being vindicated. Does that make the judiciary "communal"? As I mentioned earlier, the BJP is a nationalist party that cares for all -- irresepective of their caste or creed. India belongs to all, and all belong to India.
Mr Kulkarni Isnt it too early to decide PM Candidate? I believe focus should be on gathering numbers. Now there is strong influence of regional parties except a few people dominated by BJP and Cong. Howmuch is BJP confident of getting regional parties support? Asked by: Dr Ketan
Dear Dr. Ketan, as I've mentioned earlier, the BJP leadership will decide on the issue of its prime ministerial candidate at the appropriate time. We have a proper game plan. Right now, we are moving ahead on two parallel tracks. Firstly, we will oppose, both inside and outside Parliament, the UPA government for its failures and berayals -- and these are legion. However, our strategy does not rest only on the anti-incumbency of the UPA government. We are working on a constructive agenda of Good Governance and Development, on the basis of which we will seek a POSITIVE MANDATE from the people. Already, our state governments' performance has been commendable and this has been acknowledged even by the Central Government. With the BJP as the core of the NDA, we are sure that more regional parties will get attracted towards our alliance. There will be people's pressure to this effect. We are fully aware of our responsibilities. And this time,
Do you get worried by the secularism drumbeats by all and sundry, how much do you think this is going to affect BJP's chances this time Asked by: Ratnesh
Ratnesh ji, we don't expect the secularism drumbeats to stop beating. But we do hope -- indeed, we are confident -- that these drumbeats will influence less and less people. They are making a vain attempt to keep the 'communalism-vs.-secularism' debate alive, whereas the real issues that will dominate the next parliamentary elections will be good governance, pro-people development, revival of the economy, reversing the price rise that is robbing the poor and the middle classes of their earnings, curbing corruption through effective legislative and administrative measures, smoother Centre-State relations, etc. On each of these issues, the UPA has been fully exposed and discredited. Just to hide their failures, their spokesmen will try to divert the people's attention -- especially the attention of our Muslim brethren -- by shouting "Secularism is in danger"! This lie will not work, this time around. As far as the BJP and NDA are concerned, we SHALL care for all, irrespective of their caste and creed.
Is it not the right time to go alone in Bihar and emerge as a major force to reckon with as we did in Karnataka? Asked by: Manish Sharma
We have a coalition government in Bihar. The Janata Dal (U) is a valued partner of the BJP, both in the state and at the Centre. The coalition government, headed by Shri Nitish Kumar and ably assisted by Shri Sushilkumar Modi, has been performing well. We would like to see our alliance become stronger in Bihar.
what is your perception on BJP lsoing out due to inner dissensions? agreed it is being played up by the media. But there are problems. being a die hard supporter of BJPand the earlier Jan Sangh I strongly feel that the leaders show maturity and sort out their problems inhouse and have a cpommon game plan to come to power in 2014. Asked by: Anonymous
You express the concerns and thoughts of millions of well-wishers of the BJP. I can tell you that the Central leadership of the BJP fully respects the ground-level feedback of the kind that you have articulated. Thank you. Keep expressing your views and giving your suggestions.
Sir, I am from UP. For BJP to get 175-180 seats in 2014, it has to get 25+ seats in UP. With the current state of affais in the party, BJP would find it extremely difficult to hold on to its tally of 10 seats from the state. Even now, BJP does not have any leader in UP (like Modiji, Shivraj Chauhanji, Raman Singhji, Vasundhara Raje etc) who can appeal to the public. I have talked to lot of youngsters in the State. All of them have asked me "who is the leader in UP BJP?" Why is BJP not getting its act together in the state. Asked by: S.Bose
I entirely agree with you. UP is crucial for the BJP. Our poor performance in the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha elections is a matter of concern. However, after having spent over two months in the state at the time of the assembly elections, I feel that the people of UP are mature enough to see the difference between state and central elections. They too would like to see a change at the Centre. They too are well aware that a khichdi sarkar of mainly regional parties -- of the kind the Congress propped up in the late 1990s in the form of two unstable United Front governments -- cannot be good for the country. Of course, between now and the parliamentary elections, the BJP will have to take a number of corrective measures to win the minds and hearts of the people. There is no easy path to success.
Would it not make sense to announce by early 2013, so that candidate can socialize with people and other parties and gain acceptance Asked by: rsg
There are lots of questions about the BJP/NDA's prime ministerial candidate. I interpret this as people's growing mood to see that the NDA ends the misrule of the UPA and provides, once again, a government of the kind that Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee led between 1998 and 2004. Our party and the alliance will decide on the prime ministerial candidate at the right time, keeping in mind the people's keen desire for a change of rule at the Centre -- from bad governance to good governance.
Sir, Don't you think, NDA and UPA are strangely placed? NDA has a weak central leadership and strong regional leadership [ MODI/JEYA/NITISH/NAVEEN ETC, and the opposite is for the UPA, a strong central leadership with weak regional leadership. Asked by: S ESHWAR
Hello, Namaskar and Good afternoon to all of you on the IBN Live dicusssion. Let me start with Shri Eshwar's interesting question. The perception that the BJP/NDA has strong regional leaders is certaintly the fact. But I don't agree that we have a weak central leadership. Ours is a democratic and collegiate leadership. There is no dynastic control over teh BJP. I assure you that, close to the next parliamentary elections, even you will begin to perceive that the BJP/NDA leadership at the Centre is strong and capable of showing the way to the nation.