That the self-avowed ‘party with a difference’ no longer lives up to its moniker is a fact even BJP veterans concede.
The so-called Congressisation of the BJP now appears, at least optically, to be complete. Insiders argue that this is an unfair characterisation of a political party which has its roots in a meritorious organisational framework despite the South Asian penchant for promoting kith and kin having surfaced in some measure within the fold but not, they underline, at the apex.
This is, perhaps, a plausible argument to explain away the dissidence buffeting the BJP on an almost-daily basis in states going to the polls in 2022 and its implications for the party’s prospects in the 2024 General Election; it is, however, not a sufficient one.
A third chief minister in Uttarakhand in four months, and infighting in major states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab are clear signs of the irreconcilable ambitions of the many who have flocked to the BJP in recent years. But it would be unthinking for observers to put the dissent down only to recent entrants.
The sense of entitlement which has crept into party loyalists who feel they should be rewarded for sticking with the party in its years in the wilderness has also surfaced across states. Even in relatively smaller states where elections are scheduled next year such as Goa, Manipur and Himachal Pradesh, party managers are having a tough time dousing the flames of dissidence to try and prevent, or limit, electoral setbacks.
In fact, the systemic nature of the dissident problem for the BJP is evident from the fact that its troubles are not limited to poll-bound states. Karnataka, Assam, and Tripura too are on the boil. The first sign that the cumulative impact of these fissures is having a national impact ~ where, it should be iterated, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership remains unchallenged ~ would be if senior leaders thinking past 2024 dig their heels in against any move to pass the baton on to a favourite.
What is giving the BJP breathing space is the shambles the main opposition party finds itself in. It is proving to be tough for the Congress to balance the need to prevent dissidents from wrecking the party with ensuring Nehru-Gandhi family loyalists are rewarded. Ideological commitment is, of course, far more marked by its absence in the Congress than it is in the BJP; the power tussle in the Congress’ Punjab unit serves to illustrates the point.
The move to manage dissidence by accommodating leaders of the Group of 23 who have demanded organisational reform ~ possible Rajya Sabha berths for Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mr Mukul Wasnik, and talk of either Mr Manish Tiwari or Mr Shashi Tharoor replacing Mr Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as party leader in the Lok Sabha ~ is further evidence of the party’s willingness to hand out carrots to quell rebellion.
The problem is the Congress, unlike the BJP, has no stick to wield when required.