Dilemma
I wouldn't be surprised if Lal Krishna Advani signs a 'Thank you' card today. But he’ll be in a dilemma of where to send. Look at the reasons.
Just think about the status of BJP before 6 days. After an unexpected loss at the hustings in May 2004, BJP was struggling to come to terms. Having used to occupy the corridors of power for six years, it couldn't digest being in the other side. At first, if Sushmma Swaraj made a moron of herself by announcing that she would tonsure her head if Sonia became the Prime Minister, Sonia gently rubbed salt on the wound by renouncing the chair. Not only did BJP lose an issue, but in one stroke Sonia built-up a larger than image for herself. "She was never after power", claimed the Congress. BJP was literally speechless.
Thanks to BJP's time tested formula of stalling the parliament, Manmohan Singh became the first Prime Minister, who was unable to introduce his council of Ministers in the parliament. That none of them were worth introducing is another story. Though their diatribe against the tainted ministers had a very valid reason, the way the Opposition conducted themselves clearly showed that they were yet to accept defeat. BJP's - especially the senior leadership's image took a further nosedive when they conducted themselves in a very silly manner over the meeting with Manmohan Singh, where they alleged that the Prime Minister behaved in a rude way. Manmohan's version of events appeared credible and Advani looked like a school boy when he refused to listen even after the Prime Minister called him up personally to clear the air.
Not that the Congress was performing creditably in the seat of power. BJP had ample opportunities to put the ruling coalition in the mat. The Sutlej-Yamuna canal legislation by the Punjab Government (now everyone has forgotten that serious issue), shooting up of inflation, mis-handling of Manipur crisis, removal of Governors appointed by the previous regime, Veer Savarkar controversy started by Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dharam Singh's cheap publicity stunt to arrest Uma Bharathi, Arjun Singh's desaffronisation attempts - with in few months of assuming power, Congress gave opportunities to BJP/NDA like Tirupathi laddus. If each of these above issues were debated in the Parliament properly, the ruling coalition would have fumbled & tumbled into submission. Rather, BJP chose to ignore them all and created a ruckus. In all, they were proving to be bad losers.
If these were not enough, its heavy loss in Maharashtra, Uma Bharathi's open defiance and subsequent removal from the party etc further dented the image and put a big question mark on its revival. When the Congress Governor at Goa S.C.Jamir, demonstrated his mastery in pleasing Sonia, BJP's voice & howls were silenced by the elections to the three State assemblies. Even last Sunday when the results of the assembly elections were declared, although Lalu lost Bihar, neither was BJP able to fully capitalise the anti-incumbency wave nor it was able to survive the same in Jharkand. The results were only not-too-bad in BJP's perspective. When Palaniappan Chidambaram presented the budget on Monday, BJP found itself in a position where Atal Behari Vajpayee, for the sake of protest, had to condemn the withdrawal tax proposal.
Come March 2, things changed at a pace that no one expected. One man, Syed Sibtey Razi showed the nation what Congress is capable of. Governor being summoned by the President, the Government forced to be on the defensive, Congress spokesmen hastily disassociating Sonia from the actions of the Governor, media comparing Sonia with Indira Gandhi, editorials talking about the emergency-like situation, Natwar Singh trying to woo the Opposition leaders by singing praise about NDA government (yes, it happened on Friday at RS), Venkiah Naidu back with the press with his chirpy one-liners, Advani beaming with pride, BJP in an upbeat mood, shell shocked people - so, you know how things changed in a matter of few days. Not that this has completed a BJP revival, but don’t be surprised if this proves to be a turning point at a later date. Indian politics is a difficult road. You’d find U-turns at the least expected point.
Whom do you think Advani would send his ‘Thank-you’ card to? Sonia or Razi? Tough choice!
Just think about the status of BJP before 6 days. After an unexpected loss at the hustings in May 2004, BJP was struggling to come to terms. Having used to occupy the corridors of power for six years, it couldn't digest being in the other side. At first, if Sushmma Swaraj made a moron of herself by announcing that she would tonsure her head if Sonia became the Prime Minister, Sonia gently rubbed salt on the wound by renouncing the chair. Not only did BJP lose an issue, but in one stroke Sonia built-up a larger than image for herself. "She was never after power", claimed the Congress. BJP was literally speechless.
Thanks to BJP's time tested formula of stalling the parliament, Manmohan Singh became the first Prime Minister, who was unable to introduce his council of Ministers in the parliament. That none of them were worth introducing is another story. Though their diatribe against the tainted ministers had a very valid reason, the way the Opposition conducted themselves clearly showed that they were yet to accept defeat. BJP's - especially the senior leadership's image took a further nosedive when they conducted themselves in a very silly manner over the meeting with Manmohan Singh, where they alleged that the Prime Minister behaved in a rude way. Manmohan's version of events appeared credible and Advani looked like a school boy when he refused to listen even after the Prime Minister called him up personally to clear the air.
Not that the Congress was performing creditably in the seat of power. BJP had ample opportunities to put the ruling coalition in the mat. The Sutlej-Yamuna canal legislation by the Punjab Government (now everyone has forgotten that serious issue), shooting up of inflation, mis-handling of Manipur crisis, removal of Governors appointed by the previous regime, Veer Savarkar controversy started by Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dharam Singh's cheap publicity stunt to arrest Uma Bharathi, Arjun Singh's desaffronisation attempts - with in few months of assuming power, Congress gave opportunities to BJP/NDA like Tirupathi laddus. If each of these above issues were debated in the Parliament properly, the ruling coalition would have fumbled & tumbled into submission. Rather, BJP chose to ignore them all and created a ruckus. In all, they were proving to be bad losers.
If these were not enough, its heavy loss in Maharashtra, Uma Bharathi's open defiance and subsequent removal from the party etc further dented the image and put a big question mark on its revival. When the Congress Governor at Goa S.C.Jamir, demonstrated his mastery in pleasing Sonia, BJP's voice & howls were silenced by the elections to the three State assemblies. Even last Sunday when the results of the assembly elections were declared, although Lalu lost Bihar, neither was BJP able to fully capitalise the anti-incumbency wave nor it was able to survive the same in Jharkand. The results were only not-too-bad in BJP's perspective. When Palaniappan Chidambaram presented the budget on Monday, BJP found itself in a position where Atal Behari Vajpayee, for the sake of protest, had to condemn the withdrawal tax proposal.
Come March 2, things changed at a pace that no one expected. One man, Syed Sibtey Razi showed the nation what Congress is capable of. Governor being summoned by the President, the Government forced to be on the defensive, Congress spokesmen hastily disassociating Sonia from the actions of the Governor, media comparing Sonia with Indira Gandhi, editorials talking about the emergency-like situation, Natwar Singh trying to woo the Opposition leaders by singing praise about NDA government (yes, it happened on Friday at RS), Venkiah Naidu back with the press with his chirpy one-liners, Advani beaming with pride, BJP in an upbeat mood, shell shocked people - so, you know how things changed in a matter of few days. Not that this has completed a BJP revival, but don’t be surprised if this proves to be a turning point at a later date. Indian politics is a difficult road. You’d find U-turns at the least expected point.
Whom do you think Advani would send his ‘Thank-you’ card to? Sonia or Razi? Tough choice!
posted by Indian Voter at 3:30:00 AM
7 Comments:
I never thought BJP lost ground. Thier Hindutva agenda is only gaining stregnth. it would eb naive to assume that just because BJP lost power, they lost ground.
In the last LS elections, Congress had 145 seats and BJP had 139 seats. NDA suffered at the center because BJP's two allies in TDP and AIADMK were both ruthlessly plundered.
Also, in Maharashtra, NCP and Congress combined had a 2/3 majority in the outgoing house. In the present house, NCP and Congress combined could only garner a simple majority.
Hindutva is definitely holding its strength and in a way it is very dangerous for a nation with so many minorities.....
their hindutva agenda will always work in some states but elsewhere, i think the thing what matters most is grassroot development...i agree with u tht till last week, they were without issues...it was very evident with the way they tried to gain politcal mileage in the kanchi issue...but thanks to a stupid governor & an even more stupid congress, they have finally landed themselves with an issue..but i dont think that this will also give them a very gud hold...they will wait to create another babri or godhra...thats how they will get back to where they were....sadly!
Sudarshan, thanks for putting forth your views. I do appreciate your points.
However, what I tried to say in the post has nothing to do with BJP's numbers in LS or Hindutva.
I was talking about how BJP was increasingly and quickly making itself irrelevant by its deeds and how it has been given a life by Sonia/Razi now. The number drop in the LS election wasn't significant, but it was fast losing popularity after May 2004.
Hindutva is a separate issue. It is a sort of coat that BJP wd use in select seasons (read elections). While in power for 6 yrs, BJP kept the Hindutva logic & talks at bay for most of the time (though not always). So, I feel that BJP & Hindutva are not synoymous.
Capricious, I feel that BJP has extracted whatever it could from Hindutva. There is very little left to milk anything out of it. I think this would warrant a separate post to analyse it further.
Chitra, wait for the period after ABV & LKA. There is going to be a dog fight among the second gen leaders of BJP - Sushmma, Arun Jaitely, Pramod Mahajan etc. Unlike Congress, which has a single force (Gandhi Family) that wd bound the party, there is nothing similar in BJP and this could spell doom for the party.
You know what, demise of either BJP or Congress is not at all good for the country. Without another national party to keep it in check, disastrous experiments like Jharkand wd happen more frequently.
If the news sources are correct - it is Priyaranjan Das Munshi and Ajit Jogi who should be thanked by Advani
I think most of the political parties make a mockery of democracy, when they are in power. And as far as Advani's Thank You note is concrened he can send it to Congress Party President, because even for breathing they take the permission of Madam.
As far as Madam's "sacrifice" is concerned, I think we must be thankful to President Kalam, who drew home few home truths and explained the finer points of consitution to her. Though this news was later hushed hushed. But Madam has no choice but had to commit "sacrifice".
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