05-17-2009, 09:04 AM
The lack of strategy comes through again and again....
The BJP may actually have harmed itself beyond repair. Both in 2004 and in 2009 - the INC has amply demonstrated that it is strategically miles ahead of the BJP. One friend who left a cushy job in the UK to become an advisor to Jaitely, actually was disgusted enough after 18 months to go back to the UK. This strategic gap is putting the BJP on the path to becoming far less relevant by 2014. Introspection will not help - if it does not have the right ability to think issues through.
So, for example - If I were the INC leadership - I would simply do two things - (a) ensure that Nitish leaves the NDA and (b) bring down the Karnataka BJP government. This will further ensure ensure that the BJP remains on the road to becoming a western-INdia only party.
You can see the above strategy coming for miles - lets see if the BJP can do anything to avoid this fate.
Issues like the near-zero zones (states or regions where the BJP hardly has any foothold directly or indirectly) have been known for a while - but, the BJP believes that it can win power without doing anything about these zones. No strategy at all about winning or any building any foothold in these zones at all.
Same goes with media strategy - this issue has been brought up for 10 years now with both the BJP and the RSS - but to no avail. I was amazed to see the reach of media (both national and vernacular) in 2004 - it is even deeper now. But here again, no strategy or attempt to fix this, at all.
Consider the youth demographics - India is moving to a point of about 500M youth - these people do not remember partition or Jinnah - how do you reach them? Maybe Modi can do something here - but, who else? This has been a known issue - but, yet again - no apparent overarching strategy.
The BJP may actually have harmed itself beyond repair. Both in 2004 and in 2009 - the INC has amply demonstrated that it is strategically miles ahead of the BJP. One friend who left a cushy job in the UK to become an advisor to Jaitely, actually was disgusted enough after 18 months to go back to the UK. This strategic gap is putting the BJP on the path to becoming far less relevant by 2014. Introspection will not help - if it does not have the right ability to think issues through.
So, for example - If I were the INC leadership - I would simply do two things - (a) ensure that Nitish leaves the NDA and (b) bring down the Karnataka BJP government. This will further ensure ensure that the BJP remains on the road to becoming a western-INdia only party.
You can see the above strategy coming for miles - lets see if the BJP can do anything to avoid this fate.
Issues like the near-zero zones (states or regions where the BJP hardly has any foothold directly or indirectly) have been known for a while - but, the BJP believes that it can win power without doing anything about these zones. No strategy at all about winning or any building any foothold in these zones at all.
Same goes with media strategy - this issue has been brought up for 10 years now with both the BJP and the RSS - but to no avail. I was amazed to see the reach of media (both national and vernacular) in 2004 - it is even deeper now. But here again, no strategy or attempt to fix this, at all.
Consider the youth demographics - India is moving to a point of about 500M youth - these people do not remember partition or Jinnah - how do you reach them? Maybe Modi can do something here - but, who else? This has been a known issue - but, yet again - no apparent overarching strategy.