After massive defeats in Delhi and Bihar, the ruling party has to work on three fronts: Building up its State leadership; reducing its dependence on coalition partners; and keeping the focus on the development agenda
Much has been written about the failure of the BJP in Delhi and Bihar. However, it will be too naïve to associate its defeat in these two State elections to a few tactical errors, as if all is well within the party.
The larger malaise creeping into the party ever since its big win in the 2014 general election is too obvious to be ignored. The first aspect of this malaise is the metamorphosis of the BJP into a Congress-like outfit, in not promoting a State leadership. With strategic direction coming from the central leadership, the BJP has not been encouraging its State leaders to take a lead in party matters.
In case of Delhi, the BJP could have used the clean image of Mr Harsh Vardhan to declare him as the chief ministerial candidate. In Bihar, the clean image of Mr Sushil Kumar Modi, who is a well-known administrator, could have been used to counter Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in terms of governance.
In fact, as Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Bihar, when the BJP-JD(U) was in alliance, Mr Sushil Kumar Modi had contributed enormously, but the same did not reflect in the election propaganda of the BJP. Perhaps, the BJP has forgotten that it was only due to the encouragement given to the State leaders, who provided good administration, that it won elections in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks that it is his responsibility to win each and every election in India, he is mistaken. Mr Modi has always insisted that India’s growth will be led by State Governments, with the support of the Union Government. Is this philosophy not applicable for the BJPIJ
Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr lK Advani, senior leaders of the BJP, always nurtured State leaders, without much discomfort. It is only due to their support that Mr Modi groomed himself as a good administrator, a powerful State leader and has now occupied the centre-stage after the BJP’s majority win in the the 2014 general election.
In the same vein, Mr Modi should give enough space to the State leaders to function. State leaders should be made responsible so that they win the elections with the strategic support from the central leadership. Mr Modi cannot be a protagonist for every election battle across the country, although his overarching popularity may be used for value addition.
In India, democracy has been maturing fast, so much that one size cannot fit for all and one leader cannot win all the elections for any party, which includes the BJP. Unlike other parties, who want to groom their family members for leadership positions, the BJP has great scope in nurturing talent and dedicated partymen at various levels for leadership positions.
The decimation of State leaders by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her primacy left the Congress rudderless. This practice continued thereafter and finally, resulted in the lack of powerful and charismatic State leaders, who could win the elections on their own for the Congress. The BJP should not try to imitate the Congress in this regard.
The second aspect of malaise in the BJP is that it depends too much on alliance-building for victory. BJP leaders should rather strengthen the party to win the elections on the theme of good governance and development.
True, the BJP’s decision to go alone in Maharashtra did not help it win a majority. The BJP had to depend on the Shiv Sena for sustenance, but the election established the BJP as the dominant partner, which would have never happened, if it had decided to go along with the Shiv Sena before the election.
In the 2014 general election too, the BJP did very well in the States where it went alone or with minimal alliance, compared to the States where it relied too much on alliance parties. During the Bihar Assembly election, the BJP’s alliance with the lok Janshakti Party, the Rashtriya lok Samata Party and the Hindustani Awam Morcha did not benefit neither the party nor its alliance partners.
The third and critical aspect of the malaise is that the ruling party has withered away from its developmental agenda. It should concentrate more on the developmental work that it had promised during the 2014 general election. It should speak about its vision, share its plans, implementation model and the outcomes in a constructive way.
However, as a political party that got a mandate from a vast majority of people, the BJP has every right to fix anomalies, such as different civil code for different religions, minority rights surpassing majority rights, education not incorporating rich traditions of Indian culture such as lifestyle, science, medicine, maths and philosophy.
If the BJP wants to bring in a Uniform Civil Code, as directed by the Supreme Court to ensure gender justice across religions, or bring new lease of life in education with the rich traditions of Indian culture, or provide the rights that were infringed upon for the majority, which would have never been done by other parties, it should do the same with good intention and a proper policy framework which can stand the scrutiny of law.
When other political parties oppose such corrective measures, this will give the BJP an opportunity to expose the double standard of pseudo-secular parties. This is how the BJP should extend its core support-base. The BJP should also remember that correcting anomalies does not get the nod of an average voter, unless it happens concurrently with robust economic growth that brings jobs for the youth and moderate inflation that allows the people to enjoy the benefits of economic growth.
(The author is a doctorate in public systems from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad)