The new trinity: How Yogi, Himanta and Fadnavis are shaping the course of ‘modified’ BJP

The new trinity: How Yogi, Himanta and Fadnavis are shaping the course of ‘modified’ BJP

These three leaders have, much like Narendra Modi in his Gujarat days, combined their administrative track records with shrewd and ruthless politics

Advertisement
The new trinity: How Yogi, Himanta and Fadnavis are shaping the course of ‘modified’ BJP

The year 2014 changed Indian politics forever. The BJP triumphed in the general elections, but carefully hidden a layer below the electoral mandate was the triumph of a particular brand of politics within the party. This was an aggressive and calculative brand of politics. It was fully aware of the importance of state power, and of the cut-throat nature that shaped India’s political landscape. It was unafraid of experimenting with what was unexplored, or of offending the usual suspects. Ever since its emergence as a force to reckon with on the Indian political scene, the BJP had shared an uncomfortable equation with this brand of politics.

Advertisement

Since it became a serious national player in the 1990s, certain sections of the media, the intelligentsia and other opinion-makers had gone on an overdrive to label the BJP as communal. This was a party which, according to them, neither understood the country’s plural and secular ethos, nor did it function according to the idea of India. Very soon, sections of the party began falling in the trap that had been set for them. In their quest for validation from this class, they attempted to remain distant from the very factors that had propelled them on to the national stage. But for this class, it was never good enough. Although it was only a negligible minority, and that too among the elite, who took this class seriously, the BJP was hooked. This class skilfully shifted the goalpost for the party each time the party came close to whatever they espoused, and the party too kept running, like a mule chasing the ever-elusive carrot.

Then, another terminology hit the market—a party with a difference. The idea was that the BJP was less corrupt, less ruthless and more principled than other parties on the spectrum. But being thus was not enough, the party now needed a certificate about it from this class in order to hold on to that status. So whenever this class thought a certain move from the BJP would raise its electoral fortunes, television debates would be conducted about whether the BJP was really a party with a difference. Opinion pieces would be written about it. This would send the party into panic. Power could be foregone, but even the half-hearted approval from this irrelevant class could not be forgone under any circumstance. Decisions would be reconsidered, even rolled back sometimes.

Advertisement

This class of course never held other parties to the same standard, because the entire point of the exercise was to keep the BJP on the backfoot. It is because of this approach that Narendra Modi almost lost his chief ministership in 2002, five months after he had taken over. Yeddyurappa, one of BJP’s tallest leaders who established the BJP in south India for the first time, was not so lucky. He was forced to quit as chief minister in 2011, and the party even managed to alienate him briefly before Modi welcomed him back. Yeddyurappa went on to be acquitted of the bribery charges on the pretext of which this class had been gunning for him.

Advertisement
File image of BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. News18

However, this approach faced stiff resistance from a different brand of politics within the party. Narendra Modi, after having survived the initial hiccup, refused to back down. Not only did he wear religion and nationalism on his sleeve, he combined them with his image as a man of development, projecting the entire package as a sustainable model. Moreover, he was flamboyant about it, conducting large-scale events, building a brand, and adopting various means and technologies of communication to spread his message.

Advertisement

The BJP’s first government in the South too would have been impossible to form without ruthlessness and ambition. Like government formations everywhere, it involved heavy backroom dealings. The elite opinion-makers of Delhi, seeing the BJP break into the South, doubled down on these dealings by casting the spotlight on ‘Operation Lotus’ and the Reddy brothers of Bellary. They pretended as if the world had never witnessed something as unethical. Luckily for the party, common sense prevailed and they allowed the operation to reach its logical conclusion. Elsewhere too, in states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the party had finally found a footing, and fiercely guarded its electoral interests.

Advertisement

In 2014, this brand of politics took complete control of the party. Cadre, technology, resources and every other variable were mobilized across the country at a scale never seen before. Narendra Modi received a mandate that brought down the curtains on the three-decade long coalition era. The BJP had earned many uncharitable labels from the usual suspects on this journey, but it had remained zealous, and kept its eyes on the ball. At the political level, the Modi era signalled the arrival of this brand of politics in the BJP, a brand that had sprouted in spurts but had never established itself fully. Although the 2014 elections had given BJP a simple majority, it had remained non-existent in many parts of the country, much like the Vajpayee era. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah set about altering this equation from day one, making shrewd and aggressive inroads in states where the party had never been a serious player.

Advertisement

Months after Narendra Modi was sworn in, the BJP used his popularity to go it alone in Maharashtra and Haryana. The Shiv Sena had always been BJP’s senior ally in Maharashtra, but by going it alone and winning twice as many seats as the Sena, the BJP was successful in making their traditional ally play second fiddle both nationally and in the state. In Haryana too, the gamble paid off, with the BJP forming its first government. Although the BJP has made inroads in West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana over the last eight years, the region where it established itself most successfully in the Modi era has been the Northeast. The North East was the Congress party’s last fortress, since after 2009 it had been the only part of the country where the Congress state government continued to get re-elected. Ironically, it was the first region in the country to become ‘Congress-mukt’ as well, and has remained thus ever since. The BJP either heads or is part of the ruling coalition in every state of the region, making it the region’s foremost political force.

Advertisement
File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Wikimedia Commons/PMO

This brand of aggressive and calculative politics, though, has been sustainable because Modi and Shah have encouraged and entrusted individuals who function without falling into the same elitist traps that the party’s old guard was prone to tumbling into. Devendra Fadnavis, the biggest mass leader that Maharashtra has seen in years, has infused life into the party machinery to such an extent that the state unit is capable of maintaining a loyal base and sustaining itself irrespective of how the backroom games play out. Moreover, as chief minister, he systematically dismantled the lobbies and gravy trains that had served to prop up many Maharashtrian politicians for decades.

Advertisement
File image of former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI

In Uttar Pradesh, the party chose Yogi Adityanath after receiving a massive mandate in 2017. Yogi has made a name for himself as a defender of civilisation, an upholder of law and order, and a harbinger of development. These qualities have almost concealed how he remains among the shrewdest politicians on the spectrum today. Delivering for the party in the 2019 general elections, he also managed to get the BJP re-elected to the state Assembly with a massive mandate earlier this year, in what was a first-of-its-kind re-election in the state’s history.

Advertisement
Yogi Adityanath

In the North East, the BJP has relied on Himanta Biswa Sarma, the mass leader and troubleshooter par excellence, for overthrowing the Congress completely and establishing the party as the state’s default political option.

Himanta Biswa Sarma

These leaders have, much like Narendra Modi in his Gujarat days, combined their administrative track records with shrewd and ruthless politics. Not shying away from controversy, they see clearly the perils of falling into the elitist traps awaiting every rising star in the BJP. They understand the importance of state power and publicity. It is hardly surprising therefore that they have emerged as the trusted lieutenants of the top duo. The Radisson Blu in Guwahati where Devendra Fadnavis’ political fate is being decided, is one of the key landmarks in Himanta Biswa Sarma’s own Assembly constituency. And if local media reports are to be believed, the forty or fifty odd rooms being occupied at the hotel, had been booked one week before the MLAs landed in the city. Clearly, the party’s irreverence towards an elite bunch of opinion makers is serving it well.

Advertisement

The writer is an author and political commentator. He has authored the book, ‘Himanta Biswa Sarma: From Boy Wonder to CM’. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

Read all the Latest News , Trending News Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

Advertisement
Latest News

Find us on YouTube

Subscribe

Top Shows

Vantage First Sports Fast and Factual Between The Lines