Guj turns Bad

Your striking cover image (Gujarat Model in Danger) is effectively a wake-up call for the BJP. The party needs to realise that India is a secular country that does not elect its leaders just on the basis of religion. Linguistic, community, caste and regional affiliations matter as much as development issues, anti-incumbency and a host of other local factors. For, if religion were the only deciding factor, wouldn’t the BJP have been in power since Independence? Modi need hardly concern himself with the loss of Gujarat since the blame lies squarely with Anandiben Patel, who was not able to handle either the Patel agitation or the aftermath of the flogging of Dalits in Una. And Vijay Rupani proved to be a great rabbit that Amit Shah pulled out of the hat at the last minute. Factionalism within the party led to Vijay Rupani being placed at the helm of Gujarat’s affairs. In this, he superseded Nitin Patel, who was considered a frontrunner for the Gujarat CM post till the very last. The recent case of atrocities against Dalits and Anandiben’s inability to contain the resultant furor left the BJP with no choice but to execute immediate course correction and hasten her imminent exit. Master strategist that he is, party president Amit Shah is in control of the state again and can now prevent its slipping out of the party’s hands in the forthcoming state assembly election. The BJP has only itself to blame for the rot that has set in Gujarat. Modi seems to be losing his shine just two years after he left Gujarat. He is making the same mistakes that are proving to be the undoing of the Congress—not nurturing state-level leaders lest they challenge his omnipresence. His decision to sideline veteran leaders on the pretext of advanced age (above 75) was one such exercise, leaving the BJP to make a choice from among second-rung leaders. Modi would do well to heed American writer Tom Peters quote: “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” One of the foremost rules of business management education is applicable to Modi and his Gujarat: the real test of a great manager is how his company functions in his absence. The situation in Gujarat was so out-of-hand that Modi was compelled to give a free hand to Shah, who selected his protege Rupani. But, it’s unreasonable to expect that a change of guard will be enough to cause the BJP’s troubles to subside in Gujarat. The leadership is now faced with the prospect of containing the Patels and Dalits.