Will political opportunism cost the BJP?

With the Bharatiya Janata Party sitting on 90% of election funds, according to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who did not name the party but gave only a hint, the BJP can be said to be better placed than any of its rivals, perhaps in India’s entire electoral history, in being able to publicize its achievements and recruit new members with offers of the loaves and fishes of office.

The BJP can also pat itself on the back for having found a sure way of winning elections via its nationalist propaganda. With a hostile neighbour pursuing a policy of unleashing terrorism on India, the BJP’s jingoism has a wide appeal. Not only can none of its opponents match it, they also cannot decry the playing of a ultranationalist card lest they are accused of being "anti-national".

Both from the point of view of funds and poll rhetoric, therefore, the BJP is riding high. It also has the advantage of having in Prime Minister Narendra Modi a popular orator, and in Amit Shah an excellent organizer, who has turned the BJP into a highly efficient election machine.

The other parties fall well short on all these counts. They neither have a speaker who can mesmerize the audience, nor organizations which work like well-oiled equipment. Given these advantages, it is not surprising that Shah, who doubles up both as Union home minister and BJP president, has predicted that the BJP will rule from panchayats, or village councils, to parliament for 50 years.

Considering that the BJP has reached this near-invincible stage with the help of its own cadres and foot soldiers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its ideological mentor, philosopher and guide, it appears odd that the party should be so eager, as at present, to persuade all and sundry to enter its parlour.

Encouraging defections from the Congress and other parties in Tripura and other north-eastern states, as well as Goa and Karnataka, appears unnecessary, therefore, considering how well the party is doing on its own.

The danger from the kind of unrestricted entry it is allowing is that the BJP may be flooded with elements who can harm it.

There is no doubt that new members are flocking to the BJP not from any ideological conviction, but purely for material gain. But the BJP is not only letting them in, it is also conferring ministerial positions on some of them. As is already evident, notably in Goa, the party’s established members, who have been there a long time, are unhappy about this new trend. Although the BJP’s legislative “strength” may increase, enabling it to form a government or stabilize an existing one, the long-term effect on the party’s internal cohesion and ideological stance cannot be beneficial.

Already, the BJP has had to moderate its opposition to consumption of beef in Goa and the Northeast. Now, the entry of Catholics into the party in these states will force it to dump its longstanding objections to the proselytizing activities of Christian missionaries, one of the cornerstones of the BJP’s worldview.

In a way, such a change of attitude is to be welcomed. But will the BJP become “secular” as a result and begin to resemble the Congress, even as the latter is trying to imitate the BJP with its “soft Hindutva" approach ?

What such a curious switching of ideological positions between the two national parties means is not so much that they are shedding their extreme positions as that they have chosen to dispense with principles, by turning their back on their original dogmas.

One reason for the Congress’s degeneration is that it lost its doctrinal moorings. The BJP may face the same danger if it pursues its present unabashed opportunism. The party cannot be unaware of the fickle loyalties of its new members.

It is obvious that they will stay as long as the going is good. But the slightest hint of the BJP losing its grip will make them again look for other options.

In the meantime, the party’s core ideology will be undermined. Given its fascist orientation, the liberals will hail such a dilution.

But will the RSS and its hard-line affiliates like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) accept it ? Clearly, Indian politics is entering uncharted territory.

One reason for the Congress’s degeneration is that it lost its doctrinal moorings. The BJP may face the same danger if it pursues its present unabashed opportunism. The party cannot be unaware of the fickle loyalties of its new members. It is obvious that they will stay as long as the going is good