BJP MODIfied

(14 Sep 2013)

The long drama has finally ended with the BJP anointing Narendra Modi as their PM candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. For every political observer and analyst, the developments in the last few months have been nothing short of potboilers even though the last scene of the melodrama had long been known!

Many would for years to come remember L K Advani as not only one of the founding pillars of what today BJP is, not only as someone who mentored the rise and rise of Modi, not only as their ‘iron man’, but also as the man who was an eternal ‘PM-in-waiting’ candidate. The closest he would ever consider himself to the coveted job was when he played Atal Behari Vajpayee’s deputy. Is this then an obituary of the illustrious political career of the patriarch? A rationalist would perhaps guess so.

What does this mean for BJP now? Narendra Modi has long been seen as someone who does not believe in the philosophy of a ‘number two’. He has been the Numero Uno in his own right. He has crushed many a political aspiration en route to his nomination yesterday. But is it really fair to blame Modi for how he does what he does? Not quite.

Although BJP claims to have some great leaders in their rank and file, it is no secret to the informed lot of the country that after Vajpayee and Advani, there probably was no one who came even a distant third. Advani – who is 85 now – as BJP’s PM candidate failed to galvanize the masses to vote for the lotus brigade in the previous Lok Sabha elections. Modi on the other hand has been an exceptionally successful leader in selling his Gujarat ‘growth & development’ story to the youth of the country. He is tech savvy, he has connected well to the youth, he has dared the Prime Minister to face him in a presidential-style debate, he has traveled extensively throughout the country, and he has projected himself as a potential alternative to some sections of the population at a time when the UPA is plagued by a series of scams. He has by far emerged as the powerhouse of the BJP, someone that the party can bank upon when they seek people’s mandate next year, and when they get into what many call the ‘semifinal of sorts’ in the form of the assembly elections later this year.

Some voices from within the party have resented the elevation of Modi to this level, calling him a ‘polarizing leader’ even within his own party. They believe, charity, for Modi indeed began at home, in 2002 when he almost lost his job in the wake of allegations of not doing enough to control the Gujarat riots. Modi still has blood stains on his face. But BJP, backed strongly by the RSS, could not have risked an ageing and often ‘rebellious’ Advani as the PM candidate, nor could they think of an equally popular leader who could be coronated. Many political pundits would say the timing for BJP in naming Modi could not have been better, with a still-confused Congress party not sure of officially announcing a reluctant Rahul Gandhi as their mascot, and some politically important states going to the assembly polls shortly.

It remains to be seen how the BJP reaches out to its allies, after suffering a bitter marriage break-up with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), and convinces them to support the Narendra Modi-led party in the elections. Considering the volatile nature of coalition politics, while some may back out citing discomfort with Modi’s track record, there may be some parties that will not mind riding the popularity wave and joining the NDA bandwagon. Only time will tell if Modi will continue to be as authoritative and as ruthless as he has been in his home turf, now that he has assumed a national role and he has to work with a battery of senior national leaders like Sushma Swaraj.

As for L K Advani, we will miss him. Even though the BJP on paper calls him their ‘tallest leader’, we know who the new king is!