Two is BJP’S lucky number
between us
Number two continues to be important for the Bharatiya Janata Party, as last week it celebrated 40 years of its existence; if in the past, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani who provided direction and political leadership to the saffron outfit, today it is Narendra Modi and his trusted lieutenant, Amit Shah who are in command. From a party with solely two MPS in the Eighth Lok Sabha, the BJP still heavily relies on the power of two, though it has over 300 members in the House of the People.
However, what has changed is that the BJP, which was completely dependent on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for its logistical support, has become self-reliant after Modi successfully led the party to two very convincing electoral victories. The RSS, which, at one time, used to rule the roost, ensuring that Jaswant Singh was not sworn-in as the Finance Minister in the Vajpayee-led government, is seemingly now satisfied with several decisions taken by the selfassured Prime Minister.
The reason for the RSS being silent on many matters is that the astute Prime Minister and his deputy, are like never witnessed before, taking forward the Hindutva agenda in a strident manner. Simultaneously, they are expanding the political base of the organisation, by furnishing the BJP platform to many of those who thoroughly opposed the saffron ideology. The consequences are for everyone to observe, since the BJP today, like the Congress at one stage, has a consistently constant support base of around 35% of the electorate. In some states, the vote base touches up to nearly 50%.
Some years ago, The Sunday Guardian had carried a lead article penned by me which highlighted the BJP’S Vibhishan strategy that entailed roping in people from other parties, so as to knock down their own party governments in several states. Himanta Biswa Sarma, was singularly responsible for swaying the game towards the BJP in Assam, thereby opening the gates of the East for the Lotus power. In Uttarakhand, Vijay Bahuguna, Harak Singh Rawat and Yashpal Arya were amongst the leaders who rocked the Congress boat, thus facilitating the re-emergence of the BJP. In Uttar Pradesh, Jagdambika Pal, Rita Bahuguna and many foot soldiers of the grand old party switched sides to empower the saffron brigade. In Haryana, Chaudhury Birendra Singh and Rao Inderjit brought about the fall of the Congress, to assist in installing a BJP government.
There are many other instances as well, the latest being the crossing over of Jyotiraditya Scindia with over 20 MLAS, that led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government. Ironically, while hailing Scindia’s defection, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, sarcastically mentioned that the scion of the erstwhile Gwalior family had played the role of Vibhishan in ending the Congress regime.
Without a shadow of doubt, no other BJP leader has been the recipient of the kind of adulation Modi has received from the people of India. Vajpayee was a statesman, but he was never a hardliner, and liked to carry with him all sections, including those ideologically opposed to the BJP and the Sangh. He owed his Prime Ministership to his close associate and number two, Advani, who perhaps, would have made a very fine Head of the Government too. Advani was the real architect of the BJP’S unceasing rise, and it was because of his efforts that Vajpayee became the Prime Minister. Significantly, both Vajpayee and Advani pursued politics, not allowing ideological trappings to act as impediments. So far as the Sangh’s doctrine is concerned, it was only Murli Manohar Joshi, who, as president, adhered to the basics he had imbibed from RSS stalwarts—guru Golwalkar, Balasaheb Deoras and Rajinder Singh. He was decidedly the most efficient minister in the Vajpayee government, just as Nitin Gadkari is in the present one.
However, there is a common thread that binds the BJP leaders of the past and those of the present, barring Vajpayee—all of them were inspired by Balraj Madhok’s philosophy, using it effectively to drive home their political agenda. Vajpayee and Advani were groomed in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, rising to the top echelons of Indian politics because of their training in the original saffron cradle.
Interestingly, if one goes back to the Jana Sangh days, the party had 10 presidents in the first 15 years of its existence, and thereafter only two—vajpayee and Advani for the next few decades—excluding the interim period beginning in 1977, when for three years it was merged into Janata Party, losing its political identity. Advani took over the reins after the 1985 result, where only two of its MPS entered the Lok Sabha. Thereafter, there was no looking back, and it was primarily on Advani’s shoulders that Modi and Shah stood to carve out the most spectacular victories.
There is a common thread that binds the BJP leaders of the past and those of the present, barring Vajpayee—all of them were inspired by Balraj Madhok’s philosophy.