Ahmedabad, 16 June 2013

So finally, the Modi movement has begun. The BJP has chosen its own time and place to declare Mr. Narendra Modi as the head of its 2014 poll panel. This political masterstroke has not only made Mr. Modi the face of the BJP’s election campaign but has also kept the BJP’s options open for the Prime Ministerial position. This may keep the Prime Ministerial hopes alive for the contending leaders within the BJP and backroom doors open for the negotiations to form any potential coalition. Beyond anything else, the initiation of the Modi movement proves that the BJP means business.

Internal conflicts, status quo bias and resistance to change are obvious for any democratic political party like the BJP. The majority of political parties in India including INC, SP, BSP, JD (U), Trinamool Congress, DMK, AIDMK, NCP, BJD, and Shivsena are quasi-dictatorship. It is not surprising that we hear about the leadership disputes and ideological differences only in the BJP and not in any other political parties. When intelligent and committed individuals have to make a decision where an entire nation is at stake, ideological differences are bound to happen. If such disputes don’t exist then the BJP should not be called as the party with a difference. Such differences must continue to persist in order to maintain the check and balance. However, the party should either be transparent about such differences or make sure that such differences and strategies are not leaked in the media by the ‘sources’.

Mr. Advani’s resignation letter suggests that his action was the result of his dissatisfaction with the personal agendas of the BJP’s leaders and overall functioning of the party. However, the circumstantial evidences and the reports from the main stream media (MSM) suggest that it was Mr. Modi’s elevation that has prompted Mr. Advani to resign from the important posts in the BJP as it was a direct attack on Mr. Advani’s reported ambitions. It is also stated that Mr. Advani was concerned that Mr. Modi’s appointment would distract the BJP from executing its anti-corruption crusade against the Congress and may put it in the defensive mode to support the secular credentials of Mr. Narendra Modi. Although Mr. Advani’s actions were untimely, unwarranted and self-destructive, his reported concerns and ambitions are quite natural in any democratic political party.

However, Mr. Advani’s assessment is wrong. More than Mr. Modi’s anointment, Mr. Advani’s age is not favoring his ambition. As far as Mr. Modi’s ‘secular credentials’ point is concerned, Mr. Advani must understand that the albatross of ‘secularism’ has been suffocating India for the decades and has created the nuisances in the form of the vote-bank politicians. Mr. Modi’s war against the ‘secularism’ driven vote-bank politics is the only way India can get rid of this albatross. The idealistic party created by Dr Mookerji, Pandit Deendayalji, Nanaji and Vajpayeeji must adhere to such nationalistic ideals and must not consider Mr. Modi’s lack of ‘secular credentials’ as the curse. More importantly, The BJP in various forms has been defending its own ‘secular credentials’ since the independence. Modi or No Modi, 2014 elections will be about Modi and unless the BJP fights tooth and nail against the prevailing notion of secularism in India, it will have tough time to project itself as the party with a difference.

Bihar and UP are essential for the successful conclusion of the Modi movement. However, the BJP’s ally in Bihar, Mr. Nitish Kumar, is infected by the virus of ‘secularism’. His presence in the NDA is inconsistent with Mr. Modi’s fight against the vote bank politics. He must be in the seventh heaven with all the media publicity that he has been getting over the last few years. He very well knows that just like Mr. Keshubhai Patel, Mr. Arjun Modhavadia, Mrs. Teesta Setalvad, Mr. Sanjiv Bhatt and many others in anti-Modi brigade, one of the major reasons, if not the only reason, that Mr. Kumar gets prominent presence in the national media is Mr. Modi. He may very well continue his anti-Modi chanting in order to reinforce his ‘secular credentials’. However, he should be well aware of what has happened to the members of the anti-Modi brigade. If Mr. Modi’s crusade against the prevailing definition of secularism gets full steam ahead, the Nitish factor will become insignificant for BJP in Bihar.

Regardless, Well Done BJP for initiating the Modi movement and sticking to your guns amidst the reports of the internal conflicts, personal ambitions, and external pressures. It is the right thing to do and the BJP has done it right.