A secular BJP - The Statesman
Editorial
()
24 May 1997
Title : A secular BJP
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Statesman
Date : May 24, 1997
The BJP was never seriously in the race that saw Mr I K Gujral
breasting the tape. Is this a sign of maturity from a party
chastened by its misadventure of May 1996? Partly. But it is not
as if it did not try. Only, the regional satraps were as wary of
the BJP as they were 10 months back. Disappointed BJP leaders may
note with grim satisfaction that it was fear of their capability
that finally persuaded the Congress and the U F to get together
again. They must also be aware that theirs is the only party with
an upwardly mobile opinion poll rating. But the fact remains it is
backroom boy I K Gujral, and not the hugely popular A B Vajpayee,
who is in the chair. And the single largest party in Parliament is
looking at, at least on paper, four years in opposition wilderness.
What if the Gujral regime dies in infancy or adolescence? It is
unlikely the BJP will be in a better position. For one, the
regional parties will find it difficult to say yes after having
said no twice. For another, Rashtrapati Bhavan may well decide
that another election is what the country needs for a stable
government. Thus, the BJP should be looking at either a long stint
in opposition or fresh elections. In both cases it needs a new
strategy, or at least some rethinking on old strategies.
One necessary revision should concentrate on what, in other
contexts, is termed fallacy of composition. The BJP has tended to
view power in States as stepping stones to power in Delhi. This
partly explains its courting the brash BSP in U P yet again.
Lucknow was in a way compensation for what Mr Vaghela did in
Gandhinagar. Holding on to the apron strings of Messrs Bansi Lal
and Parkash Singh Badal, in Haryana and Punjab respectively,
reflects the same mindset that prompted them to once woo Ms
Jayalalitha. But assembly elections and those at the national
level are two different ball games. Specifically, States where the
BJP does well at the assembly level may return BJP M Ps as well,
but States which reject the party for their vidhan sabhas may still
consider it to be a good choice for Delhi. It is these States on
which the BJP will have to focus and it follows that hitching its
wagon to regional overlords is not necessarily the best option. To
wit, the BJP needs a national platform. The one it already has -
now apologetic, now strident, the Hindu identitymixed with free
market economics - will not sway the South and the East. The BJP
could fruitfully consider whether emphasising its lack of chaos
vis-a-vis other parties should be adorned with a commitment to
secularism. This will sound preposterous to many BJP workers. But
given that, first, the so-called secular parties have debased the
concept to the point of vacating the "secular" space; second, that
in Mr Vajpayee the BJP has a credible face and, third, that
secularism insofar as it means tolerance in civic society remains
important in India, the party could well be looking at a winning
formula.
The Congress is rotting. The U F may unravel. The BJP merely
needs to change.
