When faced with a strong regional force, on the other hand, the limits of the BJP’s post-2014 strategy have caught up with the party, as happened in Delhi earlier and now in Bihar.
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The first open challenge to the leadership came from the veterans like Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Yashwant Sinha, who charged that the party was forced to “kow-tow to handful” and it has been emasculated in the past year. “To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar is to ensure that no one is held responsible”, said the brief hard-hitting statement signed by Sinha on behalf of the four leaders. Only too aware of the need to reassure investors, this week the government announced sweeping liberalisations to the regime regulating foreign investment, including in sectors like retail, banking, construction, broadcasting and even defence. Nor have we seen an assembly poll in which dozens of central ministers campaigned and Prime Minister addressed 30-odd rallies. While the PM’s resignation can definitely be ruled out for the moment, Shah’s position does seem to be under threat. He spent more than three months in jail after which he was released on bail. And then Mr Shah warned that a victory for the grand alliance would lead to celebrations in neighbouring Pakistan.
The BJP, in a statement, later said it was “fortunate” to have been led by leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani for decades, and welcomed any guidance and suggestion from the party’s “seniors” on victories and defeats. Gadkari maintained that Advani and Joshi are “our highly respected leaders and neither I nor any other party functionary has ever shown any disrespect to them. People gave absolute majority to one party after a gap of 30 years”, the Union Minister recalled. By not doing so, by retreating behind an implacable wall of silence and denial, they will be doing the party enormous disservice.
The BJP’s performance in Bihar in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was, in any case, much worse than its success in Uttar Pradesh. “But they do have moral authority and they have been ignored. They have nothing to lose, and they have spoken”, says analyst Shekhar Gupta.
This rebellion doesn’t really mean that the old guard has been resurrected.
Against the worldwide trend of parliamentary politics becoming more centralized around the leaders of governments and elections becoming correspondingly more presidential, the BJP fought the election without a declared leader as its designated chief minister.
“People went to Modi looking for a Prime Minister but they found a Lalu in him”, he said.
The lack of an alternative leader also left the BJP no option but to bank on Modi’s vote-garnering skills, vesting his popularity, prestige and authority in the campaign and elevating a state election into disproportionate national import.
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After all, a small rebellion can be a blessing in disguise.
