Advices To BJP Party

[shamu]

^^
Regarding Kulkarni, is there any attempt going on to destroy BJP from within? I see rise of Varun also in that light.

[Guest]

<b>The changing face of India: BJP fading in Gujarat too!</b>
http://www.freepressjournal.in

M.V.KAMATH

The BJP presently is showing signs of fading in Gujarat. The BJP lost ground in Saurashtra, the region where it had swept the Assembly elections. Where and among whom did the Congress outdo the BJP in Gujarat? <b>Among Dalits (Congress won 62 per cent to BJP's 20 per cent), among Adivasis (Congress bagging 55 per cent to BJP's 37 per cent) and understandably among Muslims with Congress bagging 69 percent to BJP's 13 percent.</b>

It is over sixty years since India became independent and 1947 onwards we have had fifteen national elections. In these sixty odd years the mindset of the people has changed drastically. <b>Ideological concepts have given way to more prosaic ones like caste and creed and people now vote not on issues of merit but whether the candidate belongs to one's caste.</b>

So in Andhra Pradesh what is important is whether one is a Reddy,a Kamma, a Kapus, a Yadav, a Gowda, a Mala, a Madiga or a Muslim; in Tamil Nadu whether a candidate is a Thevar, a Vanniyar, a Mudaliar or an OBC, in Uttar Pradesh, to provide one more example, whether one is a Rajput, a Yadav, a Kurmi, a Lodh, a Jatav, an OBC or a Muslim.

Ideology hardly matters. Kalyan Singh's alliance with the Samajwadi party reportedly angered a substantial proportion of Muslims (18 per cent). The Congress gains among Kurmi-Koeris at the cost of the BJP is attributed to former Samajwadi Party leader Beni Prasad Verma joining it.

In Bihar, 69 percent of Brahmins voted for the BJP-JD (U), as did 80 percent of Rajputs, 62 per cent of Kurmi-Koeris and 58 percent of lower OBCs. Whom did the Yadavs vote for? Again for Lalu Prasad Yadav (65 per cent).

<b>Muslims would not vote for BJP.</b>

Infact, in Uttar Pradesh, according to a research paper published in The Economic & Political Weekly (16 May), the aim of Muslims was to consolidate their vote in the way the Dalit vote was put together by the BSP `so that the community can then call the shots, negotiating with other communities and parties for political power'.

Reportedly in Uttar Pradesh, Muslims have formed two parties, the Ulema Council (UC) and the Peace Party of India (PPI), with the aim of raising their voices "against oppression and injustice in a secular country". They are reported as saying: "We want to find out who stands with the victim and who stands with the oppressor".

The argument was that "before Independence 37 percent of Muslims had government jobs while that figure has now come down to 2 percent", quoted Maulama Khalid Rasheed Firenghaimahal, Naib Imam of Idgah, Lucknow. <b>Is the government - any government in India responsible for the large scale migration of upper class Muslims from India to Pakistan? Has any government deliberately discriminated against Muslims in admission to schools and colleges? Has it occurred to Muslims that the money spent on hundreds of madrassahs could well have been used to set up regular schools and colleges on par with government-sponsore d institutions? Has it ever been a matter of concern to Muslims that when they deliberately choose to separate themselves from mainstream India in dress and deportment with men wearing white skull caps and women wearing burqas, they are marginalising themselves knowingly or unknowingly? Would someone kindly explain the nature of `oppression' Muslims are suffering from, so that at least some efforts can be made by concerned citizens to halt it? Has any government levied a jiziya tax on them? In Uttar Pradesh, apparently, Muslims voted "for the strongest non-BJP candidate who can defeat the BJP".</b>

How nice! That will, no doubt, explain the success of the Congress in some Muslim constituencies.
<b>
Only it is a poor reflection on India that votes are cast not on ideological but on caste and religious considerations.</b>

According to The Hindu (26 May) which published a post-poll survey ( the NES 20098) carried out by the Lokniti team of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in Andhra Pradesh, the Congress victory was by default, <b>the youth vote is a `myth'</b>,<b>considering that the pattern of youth vote did not vary significantly from that of the rest of the population</b>.

An equally interesting fact that has emerged is that while the Muslim support for the Congress and the Left fluctuated between 32 per cent in 1998 and 40 per cent in 1999, the support of Muslims for the Samajwadi Party has slipped from a high of 25 percent in 1996 to 10 percent in 2009, and that, apparently, had nothing to do with ideology.<b> Have we come to such a stage that ideals do not matter, caste identities do, and in Mumbai, at least, Maratha identity as well? </b>What hit the BJP in that great city was the intrusion into politics of the hate-filled Maharashtra Navnirman Sena which won no seat but ate into the BJP-Shiv Sena vote bank drastically? A sad fact to remember is that in the elections, leadership did not apparently matter.

<b>According to the survey what showed clearly is that Congress success did not mean that it was won either by Dr Manmohan Singh or Rahul Gandhi, let alone Sonia Gandhi. The impact of the Prime Minister on election results was "at best, modest". </b>But does the election results mean that it is the beginning of the revival of Congress? Not necessarily, according to the survey. The point is made that "<b>despite boosting its tally by an impressive 61 seats, the Congress did this by increasing its vote share by a mere 2 percent of the vote, almost identical to its 1999 vote share.</b> That is something to ponder over. <b>What should alarm the BJP leadership is the finding that the party in power is in retreat in Gujarat. The survey makes two points: One, that the BJP is no longer the small but crucial player that it used to be in some states, and secondly, the party presently is showing signs of fading in Gujarat.</b>

The BJP lost ground in Saurashtra, the region where it had swept the Assembly elections. Where and among whom did the Congress outdo the BJP in Gujarat? Among Dalits (Congress won 62 per cent to BJP's 20 per cent), among Adivasis (Congress bagging 55 per cent to BJP's 37 per cent) and understandably among Muslims with Congress bagging 69 percent to BJP's 13 percent.
<b>
According to the survey, it was Narendra Modi's "continuing popularity" that enabled the BJP to stem the tide.</b> He remains the preferred choice for the Chief Minister's job with 45 per cent of the respondents voting for him with no rival crossing the 10 per cent mark. But the party's massive lead of over 10 percentage points over the Congress in the 1990s has shrunk to only 3 percentage points in the last two Lok Sabha elections.

The point is that for the BJP the danger light is on. Summing up the situation for the BJP, the survey says: ``It is a party with a smaller catchment areas, a declining capacity to reach out to newer groups...perhaps it is time for the party to ask the Big question: Aren't these limitations related to the narrow and divisive approach the party has espoused?" Good question. It is for the current - and second generation BJP leadership to ponder over it. It has another five years to re-establish itself, and certainly it is not an impossible task.

[Capt M Kumar]

<!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> It is time BJP learns from Vodafone’s ZooZoo ad campaign and how it has scored over almost all other campaigns that tend to depend on the superstar power. The cost-effective and hugely successful ZooZoo campaign for Vodafone has taken the country by storm. Not because it has a Khan or a Sachin endorsing, but a simple script that has an emotive connect with people in light-hearted fashion.

Action Point: How about BJP formulating a series of inexpensive ad and marketing campaigns from time to time (and not just during elections) that connect with the people while delivering the intent and the message with honesty? Are the “War Room” controllers listening?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quicki...how/4559666.cms

[Guest]

Two thought provoking posts in this thread. One article by M V Kamath, one of my favorite writer, commentator on political issues for past couple decades. The trend in Gujarat seems to be concerning and it's not reported elsewhere. Rajesh_G, you around to comment?

The other post pasted by Savithri is the article by Anil Chawla. Personifies what's precisely wrong with BJP and not some cockamamie stuff about people rejecting Hinduism over western culture (this election wasn't about religion or culture at all). Sad part is that those accountable for election debacle are still around and doubt anything's changed from inside. If BJP needs advice, it needs to read that Anil Chawla article and do one small good thing a day, rest will follow.

[ramana]

Viren, What did you find insightful about MV Kamath's article other than the Gujarat numbers? And it was clear in all post mortems that there was internal sabotage in Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP and Uttar Khand. The seats that BJP should have won were not won. And the party knows why but is paralysed to take corrective action due to demographics. There is a problem with condoning betrayal or treachery. It rears its head again in others if these are appeased. In India those who betray never pay the price. They are accepted back without any price. Elections are not games but war by other means.

Caste and group polarization was used in the second general elections in 1957 in Andhra Pradesh to ensure defeat of Commies by INC. Since then AP is the political laboratory to develop tactics. Its sad that Mr Kamath finds that now. India thru the ages had divisons. The great leaders found common causes to unite the people to give up their differences and move ahead. After MKG no one has found a unitying cause to unify the people.

[Guest]

Ramana, What was interesting in Kamat's article is the Gujarat's downward trend. Something I don't believe it's be reported before (at least first I've read). Internal sabotage within Gujarat is nothing new, always see it in local Gujarat elections - we even saw it during Dec 07 elections. But all this didn't amount to hill of beans as Modi was there.
Of late, Modi's be portrayed as next PM in waiting (hopefully LKA would retire to some ashram soon). Modi's move to Delhi will trigger some internal crisis and powerplay. Are we seeing the affect and not the cause?

[ramana]

Viren, Need to go to the site of EPW and read the survey.

MVK says firstly:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"despite boosting its tally by an impressive 61 seats, the Congress did this by increasing its vote share by a mere 2 percent of the vote, almost identical to its 1999 vote share.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So what happened?

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->An equally interesting fact that has emerged is that while the Muslim support for the Congress and the Left fluctuated between 32 per cent in 1998 and 40 per cent in 1999, the support of Muslims for the Samajwadi Party has slipped from a high of 25 percent in 1996 to 10 percent in 2009, and that, apparently, had nothing to do with ideology.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

The reality is non Hindutva opposition collapsed in UP & Bihar.

He then says about Gujarat:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The BJP lost ground in Saurashtra, the region where it had swept the Assembly elections. <b>Where and among whom did the Congress outdo the BJP in Gujarat? Among Dalits (Congress won 62 per cent to BJP's 20 per cent), among Adivasis (Congress bagging 55 per cent to BJP's 37 per cent) and understandably among Muslims with Congress bagging 69 percent to BJP's 13 percent.</b>

<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Those segments did not benefit from BJP's programs and need to be re-addressed as to why?

However he says:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->According to the survey, it was Narendra Modi's "continuing popularity" that enabled the BJP to stem the tide. He remains the preferred choice for the Chief Minister's job with 45 per cent of the respondents voting for him with no rival crossing the 10 per cent mark. But the party's massive lead of over 10 percentage points over the Congress in the 1990s has shrunk to only 3 percentage points in the last two Lok Sabha elections.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

IOW Modi is Ok but not the party. Since LS dont effect Modi they didnt vote for his party.


So mixed analysis with a lot of extraneous facts included.

[Guest]

What is there to read from Anil Chawla's response to Sudheendra's article except if it is enjoyable when someone bashes L.K.Advani.

No doubt there are erros and failure of BJP leadership and many of its leaders. Bash them all and have dinner. Good then INC will win 10 more seats.

Any average RSS member/hardcore Sangh supporter's theme is alway if BJP wins then it is the greatness/strategy of RSS that worked. If BJP loses then bash it.

Laptops usage, social engineering and surveying are concepts used by everyone around the world in elections. What is so wrong about it?

For INC - all TV channels, foreign NGO agencies, evangelical organizations do and give independent feedback for them to take decisions. They do it constantly so that they can spend a 1000 crore on creating an MNS and other spoilers across the country.

For BJP - Only one agency with very little org structure. Who gives the money? Can these bashers help BJP by atleast surveying as opposed to bashing.

Regarding criticising the BJP for not expanding - How much did RSS expand during the last 20 years, last 10 years and last 5 year. Is it 20% of electorate or 10% of electorate? The entire RSS cadre and its sympathizers may not be beyond 5% of electorate.

BJP got 120 seats not because of some permanent Hindutva voters. They are able to do some social engineering and hindutva is just a garnish on top of that. They miserable fell short of the needed to get to power. The BJP bashers in the hindutva parivaar first needs to realize that before bashing BJP and its leaders.

Having a great agenda or some great principles never gets votes to get to the power. While bashers can keep that way, evangelization will increase by a percent every year.

It is important to learn the tricks of the day. First win the game by the existing rules and then change the rules. Can these bashers give one strategy to cheat the p-secs and win the election. Oh no!! We are all idealists and cannot sin by cheating.

In their delusional thinking, they think by working hard, we can easily educate the voters about Hinduism and nationalism to get required 30 to 35% votes to win a seat. While these folks educate 10 persons another 10 are converting to christianity. 15 persons go to voting booths becaues INC gave them 3000 rupees a piece. Another 15 RSS cadre gets killed in Orissa and no one shows even simpathy.

Other than bashing, they are woefully short of ideas.

[ravish]

A TELEGRAPH REPORT OF INTEREST
Quote

0: Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh virtually raised a banner of revolt against colleagues L.K
Advani and Arun Jaitley in a meeting of the party’s core committee today
The Darjeeling MP circu- lated a one-page note at the meeting in which he called for a parity between “inam”(reward) and “parinaam”(result)
Apart from Advani and Jaitley,those who attended the meeting included Murli Manohar Joshi, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Rajnath Singh Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar
The note was promptly handed back to Jaswant for
r
e fear that the media might lay their hands on it. But news leaked soon after, setting off a buzz on what Jaswant might have meant
The general interpretation - - was Jaswant had vented his ire against the appointment of Advani and Jaitley as Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, passing up veterans like himself and Joshi, who also won a hardfought battle from Varanasi
BJP sources said Jaswant prefaced his note by saying that he had put his views in writing as he might not be able to “say exactly what I mean”
When Jaswant demanded a “free and frank” discussion on the BJP’s rout in the Lok Sabha polls,Rajnath reportedly promised an introspection
session would be held shortly
The BJP chief also said a three-member team would be set up to look into the causes of the defeat
Sources said the BJP had reconciled itself to Advani’s re-anointment but the pitch against Jaitley was “becoming
shriller by the day”
In a meeting of the BJP parliamentary party yesterday, another veteran, Arun Shourie, had questioned the propriety of Jaitley and Advani’s political aide Sudheendra Kulkarni commenting about the party’s showing in different publications
Sources said Rajya Sabha MP Shourie began by saying Jaitley and Kulkarni were “good friends” of his,but went on to question if it had been “proper” of them to analyse the poll verdict before the party formulated its position
In an article,Kulkarni had blamed the RSS for making a “strong” leader like Advani look “weak, helpless and not fully in command”. He then recommended that the Sangh
take tips from the way Sonia Gandhi and Rahul “made an essentially weak PM like Manmohan Singh look strong by backing him solidly”
In another publication, Jaitley had said there was a surge in favour of the Congress and Manmohan’s image had “created a sense of sympathy, that a man who wanted to deliver was being obstructed from proceeding further” principally by the Left
He did not mention the BJP’s obstructive role in Parliament but said: “Sober governance helps, shrillness does not. Moderation and understatement are virtues.” The BJP, including Ad- vani, distanced itself from Kulkarni’s stand. Joshi supported Jaswant today
Unquot

[Guest]

Muppalla,
In India, there is no alternative media, blogs/internet access is very little and no independent radio.

Loser always receive bashing from media and within. In BJP purse is with party not like Congress where purse is with individual Sonia and everyone worship locker/swiss account code number. Why I think Congress will divide further based on region?

[Guest]

Bashing Advani is different from bashing BJP. Let's not confuse the issue here.
I've yet to see one point by point analysis to keep Advani at helm. No doubt if Advani had won he'd have been hoisted as a genius. But it didn't happen. So, let's move on. Why the product who's shelf life's expired is continuing to be marketed is a mystery.

[Bodhi]

<!--QuoteBegin-Viren+Jun 11 2009, 06:36 PM-->QUOTE(Viren @ Jun 11 2009, 06:36 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bashing Advani is different from bashing BJP. Let's not confuse the issue here.
I've yet to see one point by point analysis to keep Advani at helm. No doubt if Advani had won he'd have been hoisted as a genius.  But it didn't happen. So, let's move on. Why the product who's shelf life's expired is continuing to be marketed is a mystery.
[right][snapback]98620[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

One rather genuine person suggested that the whole BJP's U-Turn (not just defeat) was a CIA coup, and Advani a US-paid agent within BJP. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

But when you come to think of it...

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+Jun 11 2009, 06:54 PM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ Jun 11 2009, 06:54 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->One rather genuine person suggested that the whole BJP's U-Turn (not just defeat) was a CIA coup, and Advani a US-paid agent within BJP.   <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

But when you come to think of it...
[right][snapback]98621[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Tell them CIA is in slumber for next 4 years. Currently, they are too much busy dealing with Miranda right problem. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Plus currently, no US Ambassador in Delhi, even after four month of Bambi in WH and six months after his election. India is in low category, pay off leaders and get whatever.
Think about, Bambi is paying $12 million per head for Gitmo heroes to be guest of Palau.

[Husky]

Maybe related.

http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2009/06/kan...bjp-knives.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Wednesday, June 10, 2009
<b>kanchan: Blame game begins in BJP, knives are out!</b>
jun 10th, 2009

the fact, however, is that the election was most probably rigged using fraudulent EVMs. there is no point in breast-beating. if that were the case, any amount of good work by the bjp would have come to naught.

anyway, see the comments on sudheendra kulkarni and the response to his article by anil chawla. i personally get the creeps (literally, my skin crawls) when i come across this kulkarni fellow. and he is an IIT product and a trusted advani confidante? heaven help us. and now you know why advani has been furiously backpedaling away from hindutva.

the americans apparently have their mole(s) at the top of the kkkangress.

perhaps it would be fair to say the kkkangress have their mole(s) at the top of the bjp.

kindly note that i am naming no names nor libeling anyone.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kanchan Gupta


http://kanchangupta.blogspot.com/2009/06/b...es-are-out.html

--
Kanchan Gupta
Associate Editor,
The Pioneer,


Posted by nizhal yoddha at 6/10/2009 10:05:00 PM\


<b>3 comments:</b>

karyakarta92 said...

    Sudheendra K, the ex secular taliban has successfully brainwashed Advani with his psec drivel. Without purging this obnoxious nut, the BJP is destined to it's one time 2 seat status in Parliament. I think it's time to dissolve the party and form a new one that truly represents Hindu interests
    6/10/2009 10:14 PM
witan said...

    A news report in Rediff says: Congress anticipated 200 plus seats after LS poll'09

    These anticipations of the Congress lends even more credence to the suspicion (based on Information technology and science) that the Congress had managed to put a Trojan software in the Electronic Voting Machines that would stochastically divert votes to the Congress party. The total rout of the BJP in Delhi points in the same direction. The Congress knew beforehand that it would win "200 plus" seats.
    6/11/2009 1:24 AM
M. Patil said...

    In my own constituency Medak, AP, Congress MP won with just a majority of 3,000 votes. The MLA elections in that constituency were won by TDP. This pattern is repeated in several constituencies in AP. Some pundits attribute it to voter sophistication. I disagree, I'd say check those EVMs.

    Malavika
    6/11/2009 12:07 PM<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

In any case, the christo KKKangress looks like it has taken the place of the christo British. And the BJP seems to be playing the secular-and-sycophant role of the erstwhile Congress. Who takes the place of the Hindu Mahasabha, though? If *only* we were so fortunate. But why would one expect an HM at this point in time? After all, plotting some basic time-series of motivation trends, shows me: Hindu Dharma > Nationalism > 'nationalism' and now we're in the secularism phase. Next step psecularism and then... it's a miracle! Yes, it always is. A perfectly orchestrated (and predictable) 'miracle'.

[Guest]

Ravish,

You wrote:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In another publication, Jaitley had said there was a surge in favour of the Congress and Manmohan’s image had “created a sense of sympathy, that a man who wanted to deliver was being obstructed from proceeding further” principally by the Left.
He did not mention the BJP’s obstructive role in Parliament but said: “Sober governance helps, shrillness does not. Moderation and understatement are virtues.” <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Can you give me the publication?

[Guest]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/BJP-sho...how4655216.cms]<b>BJP should Give Up Hindutva </b>[/URL]

NAGPUR: Criticising the BJP<b> for its "inconsistency" in toeing the 'Hindutva' policy</b>, senior RSS ideologue M G alias Baburao Vaidya said the party should give up the policy as it has "failed" to attract commoners.

Narrating the history of the then Jana Sangh which later converted into BJP, Vaidya, in his weekly column in local Marathi daily 'Tarun Bharat', said BJP had adopted Gandhian socialism, but could not stop itself from being labelled as a communal party.

<b>After the 1984 general elections drubbing, BJP again started chanting 'Hindutva'. BJP came close to power</b>, but could not sustain its strength. <b>Party leaders had no patience and almost forgot 'Hindutva' and its basic principles,</b> the former RSS spokesperson alleged. <i>{He nailed it, this is the fundamental problem with BJP - a party with no principles, but using anything to come to power. Even now, the only chant seems to be - power at the cost of principles - of course, they will couch it, but its the same story}</i>

"The party came to power again (in 1999), but after losing it in 2004, it again turned towards 'Hindutva'. BJP mentioned 'Hindutva' in its election manifesto in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, but it miserably failed to attract the common voters and citizens in the country," Vaidya said.
<b>
"The BJP has failed to convey the real meaning of 'Hindutva' to the people. Probably they thought not deemed to climb the pedestal of power with 'Hindutva' line</b>. Hence, <b>BJP should now disassociate itself with 'Hindutva'." he said, but added, "If the BJP gives up its 'Hindutva' line, it will automatically snap its umbilical cord with the Sangh."</b> <i>{This is the next logical step, that should happen. BJP has held back Hindus for almost a generation now}</i>

However, he said, it would not have any impact on the RSS.

BJP would have ample opportunities to get a modern outlook, Vaidya added.

"If BJP gives up 'Hindutva', regional parties like Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Telugu Desam Party will rush to it and internal bickering in the JD(U) will also finish," he said.

<b>I will remain wedded to Hindutva: Rajnath</b>

Responding to RSS' attack on the party's "inconsistency" on Hindutva, BJP President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said he will remain wedded to the core ideology for all times to come.

"I want to put this bluntly that I still abide by the ideology of Hindutva which I have followed ever since I commenced my political career. And I will remain wedded to it for all times to come," Singh told reporters in Ghaziabad.

The BJP chief was responding to a question about RSS ideologue M G Vaidya's remark in RSS' Marathi publication 'Tarun Bharat' in which he (Vaidya) he charged the party with being inconsistent on Hindutva.

[Guest]

Leave Hindutva? BJP left it a long time ago
Anshul Chaturvedi Sunday June 14, 2009
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...tva-bjp-left-it

Logging onto the TOI homepage, looking at the big story of the hour, I read the headline "BJP should give up Hindutva: Vaidya" and pretty much choked. I was glad that I wasn't holding my regulation afternoon cup of coffee, else it would have been all over the office table. <b>I mean, give up Hindutva? In God's name, this is like asking Delhi University students to give up the practice of covering the head with the saari ka pallu — you can’t see it in the first place, it disappeared ages back, what’s the talk of giving it up all about?</b> <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

The story says: "Criticising the BJP for its 'inconsistency' in toeing the 'Hindutva’ policy, senior RSS ideologue M G alias Baburao Vaidya said the party should give up the policy as it has failed to attract commoners.”

On both these points, I am with the gentleman in question, and no, I don’t have to be an RSS sympathiser to do that. <b>The facts that the BJP has had little consistency in anything over a long time now, and has singularly failed to appeal to the average Indian citizen, are fairly self-eviden</b>t But I am not stepping into the nuances of the Sangh-BJP relationship or their internal lovers’ quarrels. <b>I am simply surprised how it is taken for granted that a) there is a political philosophy that goes by the name of Hindutva, and b) that the BJP is the default custodian of it.</b> <i>{There ya go...}</i>

When the BJP bounced back from its dismal two-seat performance in the 1984 elections to become a party of some national reckoning, and brought this phrase into the lexicon of the political debate in a big way, what was the 'Hidutva' agenda it was espousing all about? <b>Wasn’t it, at the core of it, centred about a) building a Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, b) moving to abrogate Article 370 c) espousing a uniform civil code for the country?

Nobody, but nobody in the country today believes that the BJP actually means to — or perhaps ever meant to — build a Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.</b> It may well have been a plan of great symbolic significance — the idea being to enable the party to appropriate the tag of the vanguard of Hindu sentiment, by having a "Rath Yatra" culminate in a social upsurge that hopefully would lead to a definitive, monumental symbol of "Hindu pride", something the RSS-VHP-BJP troika could stake claim to, in perpetuity. Everybody who equated a Ram temple at Ayodhya with his religious beliefs, or came to offer his salutations there, would perhaps step out seeped in admiration for the political group that shared his belief and enabled it to come true.

But the BJP didn’t give enough weightage to the fact that in the Indian ethos, the common man has never been too keen on anyone attempting to play mediator or bridge between him and his God.

I'll illustrate the point with something of personal recall value here — Vivekananda had gone to the ancient Kheer Bhawani temple in Kashmir in the course of his travels, where he saw the structure in a somewhat dilapilidated form, and thought to himself, ‘If I had the resources, I would make a grand temple for the Mother here’. He later recounted to his disciples that no sooner had he thought this, than he heard the voice of Mother Goddess scold him gently, saying, ‘Do you think I cannot erect a seven storey temple of gold here if I want to? Shall I protect you or will you protect me?’

Now, this example isn’t about politics, but the point is — there really isn’t any appropriation of devotion that can be done by brick and mortar, and that’s fundamental to the country, the culture, at its deepest. And Ayodhya anyway saw no construction, only a demolition. Which served to brand us as a nation collectively, even though there was very little support to begin with for what happened on December 6, 1992 – a mob action masquerading as cultural revolution of sorts. As time has gone by, even the rabble that exulted that day has seen that that moment did little good to anything and anybody. It is a moment we could have well done without.

Secondly, even if the BJP had in some manner of political masterstroke managed to actually take the issue to a bloodless process of the temple actually coming up (highly unlikely), I am not sure if beyond the committed cadres of the saffron outfits, the average man on the street who writes “Hindu” where asked to state his religion would have ever identified Ram as an electoral issue on a sustained basis.

At that point of time, let’s not forget, it was Mandal vs Mandir on the political agenda. Mandal came into effect in a definitive, irreversible way, and continues to make a difference to the lives of people in a very direct way, even today — but that hardly gave VP Singh electoral invincibility. There is no reason to believe that the Mandir agenda would have given the BJP some numero uno appeal in the political spectrum either, even if a Mandir had ever been built in a peaceful manner, or public support for it being built in such a manner had sustained. Today, it is a non-issue even as the consequences of the Babri demolition continue to extract a price.

<b>Assuming that it believed in its agenda to begin with, the BJP did absolutely nothing on taking the debate over Article 370 forward.</b> There was not as much as a squeak from them on the issue when mainstream political parties in J&K took positions that came very close to separatism. The PDP manifesto for the last elections has had some amazing proposals that should have had the BJP seething. But no such thing happened. <b>The fact of the matter is that 370 isn’t a right-wing, centrist, or left-wing issue. It is an issue that still remains to be addressed, in terms of whether it has served to integrate or alienate the state from the rest of the Indian union.</b> That question does need to be addressed. The tragedy is that it was taken up by the BJP — and therefore branded as part of the “Hindutva agenda”, so no other party would touch it thereafter — purely for symbolic effect, along with the “Akhand Bharat” jargon, and then left midway, with little to show for actual effort or even an attempt to keep it on the national agenda.


<b>As to the issue of a uniform civil code, if you see the question in a purely unemotional perspective, it is actually a very secular debate, there needn’t be any right-wing branding of it. </b> A communist state would have a largely uniform civil code. It isn’t about encroaching on any section’s rights, if taken up without preconceived notions or hidden objectives. Again, this issue is largely untouchable for all other political parties now, once the BJP added it to the right-wing agenda, branded it (making it unfit for use by any secular party thereafter), and then generally let it be.

So what has been the "Hindutva" perception of the BJP? Think saffron agenda plus BJP and what do you think of first, today? The Gujarat riots? Strongman Modi? Is that anything to do with Hindutva, or anything Indian? And if tacitly encouraging rabid mobs to violently liquidate people belonging to a minority group were to be equated, however bizarrely, with some upholding of the extreme Hindutva agenda — well, the Congress beat the BJP to it way back in 1984, frankly. Communalism and the mob culture permeate all sections of our polity, and that is an ugly, uncomfortable truth.

I am not sure if the BJP any more has the prerogative of adopting or giving up Hindutva, insofar as it is an electoral plank. <b>The Indian voter gave it up some time ago</b>. Let’s talk governance, and not let governance-related issues be appropriated by any political spectrum. Deliver or perish is the message the voter is delivering, consistently. <b>And if any cadre-based party, be it right-wing or left-wing, needs to be obsessed with an ideology to hold itself together, dare I suggest a simpler one: Integrity.</b>

[ravish]

In case the BJP’s current leadership do not take corrective measures on the various points brought out by Shri Jaswant Sinha in his letter of resignation, the party will do even worse in the next general election. Unfortunately, we find that the BJP President has already put a ban on members from criticizing the present leadership. This speaks for itself as to how democratic the BJP has become as far as its internal affairs are concerned.

[Guest]

Ravish, are you going to take up on the offer to post UPA achievements? Let me know.

[ravish]

Virenji,
It is perhaps too early to start trend on UPA's achievement. Let it settle down then we should discuss its peformance.