Author: Ramesh Patange
Publication: Organiser
Date: May 12, 2002
Introduction: The BJP in its anxiety
to humour the coalition partners has lost the trust of a major section
of its constituency. It should identify its voters as the middle class,
merchant and business class farming community and to a certain extent the
backward class and the working class. They should be convinced that their
interest and aspirations are honestly addressed
The coming to power, of the Bharatiya
Janata Party has resulted in long-lasting changes in the political perspective
of India. The BJP-led NDA Government is indeed the real non-Congress rule.
Since the death of Lokmanya Tilak the real nationalist current in the Congress
dried up and its place was taken by anti-Hindu minority appeasement and
under the mask of modernism a new anti-Indian heritage ideology was imposed
on the Congress party. Since Independence the Congress has been ruling
the country without let or hindrance, therefore this un-Indian ideology
of the Congress under Nehruvian leadership came to be accepted by the Indian
people.
Over the years the Congress adopted
a type of socialism and the fringe parties also followed suit. The Congress
'assumed' secularism, the other parties also jumped on the band-wagon.
So much so that Mulayam Singh's party of goons also disguised itself under
the garb of secularism. The only exception to this thoughless drift was
the BJP. It adhered to its cultural nationalism, defending its nationalism
of Indian culture. And on the basis of this nationalist ideology and agenda
the party was installed by Indian voters at the helm of affairs. It must
be recognised that the main source of the party's strength is its nationalist
ideology and programme.
But the NDA Government under the
leadership of the BJP is a coalition of more than two dozen parties of
indifferent voters' support. Among these allies in the coalition with the
singular exception of the Shiv Sena all other parties have not severed
their umbilical chord of Congress brand of socialism and secularism. Yet
it is no mean achievement that the BJP under the leadership of Atal Behari
Vajpayee was able to alienate these parties from the hidebound Congress
ideology. This separation of some rather free-thinking political parties
from the Congress-fold brought about by the BJP is the first step on the
path of political transformation that is bound to be completed within the
next decade.
India is the largest democracy.
Again its citizenry is peace loving and mostly law-abiding. Such a nation
takes considerable time to adopt social and political change. The change
does not take the form of a sudden-often-bloody revolution but a gradual
evolution. The process of change started by the Vajpayee Government is
sure to snowball into a major sociopolitical transformation. The event
of the Vajpayee Government assuming power at the Centre is therefore of
great historical significance.
Had the Central Government comprised
parties wedded to cultural nationalism the Prime Minister could have carried
out many revolutionary changes. But there are parties in the ruling coalition,
which have different ideologies. Therefore the main-if not perhaps the
only-goal of this coalition is to complete its five-year tenure. If in
an earnest effort to pursue his programme the Prime Minister treads on
the toes of any of his allies, the very existence of his Government is
in jeopardy. And if that fear materialises, the BJP would be proved to
be incapable of even merely running a government. Therefore running the
administration has assumed paramount importance. And as a corollary to
this situation is the three-year-old rope-walk we have witnessed. This
involves giving in on many issues, compromises on others, and ambiguity
even on important issues. This has given rise to the public perception
that poet Vajpayee's Government is a Government without a firm stand, a
Government that readily yields to pressure.
The BJP-led Government at the Centre
is under pressure from the other side also, i.e., in addition to the pressure
from its allies, there is growing pressure from the like-minded organisations
which subscribe to the ideology of cultural nationalism. The economic policy,
the Ramjanmabhoomi problem, the rather soft attitude towards Pakistan,
action against Islamic terrorists, fraudulent conversions engineered by
Christian missionaries, and such other issues have proved that the Vajpayee
Government falls short of the requisite tough stand on these issues. This
has often angered these organisations and their members.
The BJP in the Central Government
in its anxiety to humour the coalition partners has lost the trust of a
major section of its constituency. This has resulted in the BJP losing
in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttaranchal. The BJP being the largest
party in the, Central ruling coalition could not be of any help to its
State units in their election campaigns. The last straw on the camel's
back is the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. If this downward drift
is not checked betimes, the elections to the Lok Sabha two years hence
will prove its logical conclusion. All the efforts made so far to expand
its constituency will be in vain.
If that fearful fate overtakes the
BJP, the political coalition that will succeed the NDA is sure to ring
the death-knell of democracy and endanger the future of the country. Islamic
terrorists will swarm every street and lane of the country. They will not
be checked in the name of the fatuous secularism. And the Hindus who would
resist them in self-defence will either be shot dead or arrested under
the pretext of rioting. Hindu organisations will be rendered incapable
of carrying out their programme by misuse of the law. Christian missionaries
will be free to carry on large-scale conversions and the plan of dotting
the countryside with churches, and launching on a campaign of "havesting"
the Hindus as ordained by the Pope. Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand will go the Mizoram-Nagaland way. The foreign-financed
so-called humanitarian and environmentalist organisations will operate
like political termites to render the country a hollow hulk. The number
of secularists who value pelf, position and prestige above the welfare
of the nation will spread like the congress grass. All the media will then
be their mouthpieces.
As the BJP weakens, the ideology
of cultural nationalism loses its votaries. But the BJP is not a fiefdom
of any leader or a group. It is the Congress tradition that prides on the
dynastic reign of Nehru-Gandhi. But the BJP is a real democracy. So some
leaders' views or actions may invite criticism, but the party squarely
stands on its ideological pedestal of cultural nationalism. This ideology
of cultural nationalism is far far away from the fraudulent secularism
of the Congress. Indeed cultural nationalism is the positive alternative
and a potent antidote of the Congress-brand secularism. Moreover cultural
nationalism is the elixir of life for the nation which is found today in
a weak and despondent state. If this ideology is politically vanquished
that would prove a national disaster.
An ideology becomes politically
powerful when its votaries are elected in a majority. Mere ideology is
not enough to win an election. There are other contributing factors and
marshalling all those factors in good measure is necessary to win an election.
Some of these factors are (1) public image of a political party, (2) emotional
appeal, (3) an army of dedicated workers, (4) efficient administration
where the party is in power (5) selection of proper candidates, (6) Coalition
with parties strengthening chances of winning. Here for want of space mere
mention is made. Of these public images, emotional appeal, dedicated workers
and efficiency are the factors a political party has to develop itself.
The stronger these factor the greater the magnetic power of attracting
new voters, as also smaller political parties or groups.
But the ideological war in the political
sphere the BJP has to wage on its own strength. Supporting parties and
workers can at best supplement the BJP's own strength. But they cannot
attempt to form the BJP's intrinsic strength. The dire defeats in several
State Assembly elections should set the party on a journey of self-criticism.
It should review the past elections and locate the main factor that has,
taken the party from a mere couple of seats in the Lok Sabha to the current
largest single party status. Then it will not be difficult to find out
why its "constituents" are displeased with it. When the reason for these
traditional voters of the party distancing themselves from the BJP is discovered,
that reason will have to be removed. In several States the voters have
preferred the Congress. But that is not because they are enamoured of the
Congress or its Alice-in-blunderland leader. The voters are angry because
the BJP has not met their expectations, and BJP's errors have driven the
voters to the Congress. When this 'negative voting is understood, there
will be realization that there is no threat originating from the doddering
Congress party under an alien leader.
BJP should now be able to identify
its voters as the middle class, merchant and business class, farming community
and to a certain extent the backward class and the working class. Each
of these groups have their special economic problems. They are not identical.
But with an adept blend all can be, to a certain extent, mollified, if
not satisfied. What is required is that the voters should be convinced
that their interests and aspirations are honestly addressed. In the current
annual Central Budget this is not achieved. Thus the middle class voter
is angry with the Budget and also the BJP. New Labour laws in the offing
are feared to introduce the hire-and-fire system a la the USA. Therefore
the workers, even subscribing to the BJP-led unions, are dissatisfied.
The farmers are losing subsidies their crops do not get good market. Therefore
farmers also are unhappy. In these days of depression, and dwindling purchasing
power, common people are more concerned with their efforts to make both
ends meet. Thus the hitherto emotive matters do not move them any more.
Therefore the problems of these classes should receive utmost attention.
Bharatiya Janata Party so far has
derived much benefit from its emotional appeal. But there is a limit to
cashing on this for too long. So long the dilapidated structure stood in
Ayodhya as a constant reminder of the historical shame, it could emote
Hindus with the prospect of a temple in its place. But today, however ramshackle,
a temple does stand' in the Ramjanmabhoomi and so the earlier intense appeal
has lost some of its drawing power. Of course the appeal still can be revived.
Ayodhya is not the sole emotive
issue. Pakistan sponsored terrorism, Kashmir question, Pakistan's michiefs
are issues that touch the minds of all sections of the people. Hindus feel
pariahs in their own country because of the pseudo-secularists. That is
why Hindus are angry with the self-styled secularists. Advani had consolidated
this anger during his Rathyatra.
Social justice is also an equally
vital issue. People in the lowest rung of society are seeking their identity.
They aspire to participate in power, they want to take their legitimate
part in national and State decision-making. This turmoil is no longer mute,
and. BSP should prick its cars to listen to it, and lend its helping hand
to raise these people to the participatory level in powersharing both at
the Centre and State level. BJP can say. "Vote BJP and share power".
Thus a participatory system should
be evolved, cultural nationalism should be wedded to this participatory
system both politically and socially. The participation in decision-making
at all levels in the party and at the Centre and State levels should be
afforded to the Dalits, the neglected and the deprived. Participation at
once kindles the feeling of "it being one's own".
In two years the coming Lok Sabha
elections year will witness a concerted onslaught on the BJP by the discredited
pseudo-secualrists, their foreign mentors, Christian missionaries, Islamic
separatist elements profusely financed by foreign purse-strings, leftists
and sundry socialists. All these have already begun preparations for this
last showdown more than two-three years back. The Wise Indian electorate
will net be fooled by these anti-national elements. But if the BJP commits
errors of judgement or even blunders these anti-national elements can come
very near victory, if, not accomplishing a downright rout of the BJP. Therefore
the BJP will have to review its three-year rule at the Centre and make
a determined effort to avoid the past mistakes or any once in the future.
