06-24-2007, 05:29 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> IOUs that BJP's ennui consumed
Swapan Dasgupta
<b>If convention deemed that the President of India be chosen along strictly non-partisan lines, there is little doubt that Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat would have had a pretty resounding victory - assuming Pratibha Patil was his only rival. Shekhawat may be a tried and tested saffron loyalist - he was elected MLA on a Jana Sangh ticket in 1952 - but his appeal runs across parties. Unlike other presiding officers imagined life in Rashtrapati Bhavan, he ran the Rajya Sabha effectively and fairly for five years and established his reputation as the archetypal politician's politician. Â
Unfortunately, Shekhawat's personal popularity in the Electoral College isn't guaranteed to secure him a victory. The undistinguished and dodgy (assuming that the revelations about murder and unpaid loans are true) Congress nominee has a clear numerical advantage. To win, Shekhawat must be in a position to encash each and every IOU he has accumulated over the years.</b>
That Shekhawat starts as the underdog is undeniable. The Congress believes that Sonia Gandhi's candidate is home and dry, particularly now that the Third Front (aka UNPA) has indicated that it cannot support any candidate supported by the NDA. Messrs Mulayam Singh Yadav and N Chandrababu Naidu are, of course, quite willing to gratefully accept the NDA's support for any candidate put up by them.
To what extent Shekhawat (assuming he contests) succeeds in overwhelming the tyranny of the whip with personal charm is the subject of ongoing speculation in the political class. However, much more than Shekhawat struggling against odds, it is the BJP which should start thinking why it finds itself on a sticky wick<b>et. Naidu was, for example, quite happy to be an ally of the BJP in 1999 and 2004. Why, in just three years, does he believe that it is a liability to be seen to be even associating with a stalwart with a BJP background? Why, to reinforce the point, is the BJP having such a torrid time persuading some of its NDA allies that Shekhawat is worth persevering with?</b>
The secular-communal debate does not provide any ready-made answers. There is nothing particularly contentious about Shekhawat as there is about, say, Narendra Modi. He has, all along been a centrist politician who has had his share of spats with the RSS. Nor has the BJP undertaken any viciously "communal" campaign since 2004 to warrant another bout of political untouchability. Why, therefore, has it once again become an object of disdain?
<b>The answer lies in the BJP's loss of political momentum. The BJP may still be the second pole of Indian politics but it is gradually acquiring the reputation of a party with a glorious past and uncertain future. The Third Front constituents may lack numerical advantage for the moment but they perceive themselves to be the rising force that will call the shots after the next General Election.</b>
<b>
This perception has been strengthened not merely by the BJP's disastrous showing in Uttar Pradesh but the party's complete unwillingness to acknowledge the rot that has set in. As things stand, the BJP is perceived as a party lacking leadership, clarity, purpose and, most important, integrity. Its anointed leadership show signs of either weariness or complete desperation. One wing is waiting for the other to falter while the ruling faction (yes it is nothing more than a faction) has retreated into the bunker and is busy detecting imaginary conspiracies. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, some people are merrily enjoying a lucrative private practice - running emigration rackets.
The rot in the BJP is not a State secret. It is known to its supporters, allies and detractors. The party is not seen as having the ability to either win a war of attrition or manoeuvre.</b>
<b>To break rank, legislators need to be excited by a longer-term political project - like the one they detected in Indira Gandhi's "conscience vote" call in 1969. As of now, a cross-vote for Shekhawat will be just for old time's sake.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Swapan Dasgupta
<b>If convention deemed that the President of India be chosen along strictly non-partisan lines, there is little doubt that Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat would have had a pretty resounding victory - assuming Pratibha Patil was his only rival. Shekhawat may be a tried and tested saffron loyalist - he was elected MLA on a Jana Sangh ticket in 1952 - but his appeal runs across parties. Unlike other presiding officers imagined life in Rashtrapati Bhavan, he ran the Rajya Sabha effectively and fairly for five years and established his reputation as the archetypal politician's politician. Â
Unfortunately, Shekhawat's personal popularity in the Electoral College isn't guaranteed to secure him a victory. The undistinguished and dodgy (assuming that the revelations about murder and unpaid loans are true) Congress nominee has a clear numerical advantage. To win, Shekhawat must be in a position to encash each and every IOU he has accumulated over the years.</b>
That Shekhawat starts as the underdog is undeniable. The Congress believes that Sonia Gandhi's candidate is home and dry, particularly now that the Third Front (aka UNPA) has indicated that it cannot support any candidate supported by the NDA. Messrs Mulayam Singh Yadav and N Chandrababu Naidu are, of course, quite willing to gratefully accept the NDA's support for any candidate put up by them.
To what extent Shekhawat (assuming he contests) succeeds in overwhelming the tyranny of the whip with personal charm is the subject of ongoing speculation in the political class. However, much more than Shekhawat struggling against odds, it is the BJP which should start thinking why it finds itself on a sticky wick<b>et. Naidu was, for example, quite happy to be an ally of the BJP in 1999 and 2004. Why, in just three years, does he believe that it is a liability to be seen to be even associating with a stalwart with a BJP background? Why, to reinforce the point, is the BJP having such a torrid time persuading some of its NDA allies that Shekhawat is worth persevering with?</b>
The secular-communal debate does not provide any ready-made answers. There is nothing particularly contentious about Shekhawat as there is about, say, Narendra Modi. He has, all along been a centrist politician who has had his share of spats with the RSS. Nor has the BJP undertaken any viciously "communal" campaign since 2004 to warrant another bout of political untouchability. Why, therefore, has it once again become an object of disdain?
<b>The answer lies in the BJP's loss of political momentum. The BJP may still be the second pole of Indian politics but it is gradually acquiring the reputation of a party with a glorious past and uncertain future. The Third Front constituents may lack numerical advantage for the moment but they perceive themselves to be the rising force that will call the shots after the next General Election.</b>
<b>
This perception has been strengthened not merely by the BJP's disastrous showing in Uttar Pradesh but the party's complete unwillingness to acknowledge the rot that has set in. As things stand, the BJP is perceived as a party lacking leadership, clarity, purpose and, most important, integrity. Its anointed leadership show signs of either weariness or complete desperation. One wing is waiting for the other to falter while the ruling faction (yes it is nothing more than a faction) has retreated into the bunker and is busy detecting imaginary conspiracies. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, some people are merrily enjoying a lucrative private practice - running emigration rackets.
The rot in the BJP is not a State secret. It is known to its supporters, allies and detractors. The party is not seen as having the ability to either win a war of attrition or manoeuvre.</b>
<b>To break rank, legislators need to be excited by a longer-term political project - like the one they detected in Indira Gandhi's "conscience vote" call in 1969. As of now, a cross-vote for Shekhawat will be just for old time's sake.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->