09-23-2007, 10:09 PM
BJP in Vizzy state of mind
Revelling in the nail-biting excitement of the T20 World Cup, I often look back to the pre-TV era of radio commentary. There are many voices from the age of description -- particularly Bobby Talyarkhan and the Calcutta trio of Pearson Surita, Sydney Friskin and Berry Sarbadhikari -- that resonate in the minds of Indians. But there is a special place for the most outrageous and infuriating of them all: the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, 'Vizzy'.
The most intriguing thing about Vizzy's commentary, like his Captaincy and three-Test appearance for India in 1936, was that it had precious little to do with cricket. Everything about Vizzy was centred on the one subject he knew and loved best -- himself.
In the midst of an interesting session, it was routine for Vizzy to go off on a tangent about his schooldays, hunting achievements, conversations with Ranji and Plum Warner and even the state of traffic. Occasionally, he would return to cricket to let listeners know that India had lost two more wickets between his tiger story and the traffic grumble.
Vizzy was a crashing bore. He was also remarkably vain. He actually believed that he was making a seminal contribution to cricket. Surita once told me that the diminutive prince even employed a "little man" who transcribed every word his master uttered -- presumably for the Collected Works that never saw a publisher.
Cricket being a metaphor for life, there is an irresistible temptation to believe that Vizzy's ghost was lurking around Bhopal, the venue of BJP's National Executive meet.
The National Executive couldn't have been better timed. For two months, politics has been witnessing a spectacular churning. The cosy Congress-Left alliance of convenience that saw the UPA Government through for three years is on the verge of coming unstuck. Election fever has gripped the political class and the 14th Lok Sabha is on the verge of becoming history. Opinion polls, which predicted an easy UPA victory in early summer have now recorded a discernible slippage in Congress and Left support. A dormant sense of Hindu disquiet, initially aroused by the UPA's lamentable failure to confront jihadi terrorism, has turned to profound irritation after the Government's insensitivity on the Ram Setu episode. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has added fuel to fire by choosing this moment to once again invoke the iconoclastic legacy of Periyar. To cap it all, the Third Front, the so-called UNPA, appears to be rapidly disintegrating, thereby providing enormous opportunities for the NDA to replenish its strength in Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Assam.
For a party that has been torn by existential dilemma since losing power in 2004, the political situation is much more favourable than its supporters ever imagined. The escalating anti-incumbency against the Congress is calculated to benefit the principal Opposition party which, in most States, is the BJP or its allies. In addition, the national ambitions of BSP leader Mayawati are likely to be extremely detrimental to the Congress and, by implication, help the BJP. In MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BSP may even lessen the weight of anti-incumbency against the BJP-run State Governments. Despite the UPA lead at the starting block, this is a winnable election for BJP and NDA.
Of course there is a caveat. To win, the BJP must convey the unmistakable impression of wanting to win. It has to promise the people what the UPA has failed to give the country -- stability, decisive leadership, uncompromising national security, economic growth with a human face and a commitment to fair play and justice. Commitments such as these can strike a chord in the electorate but only if the BJP itself looks credible. At present, its credibility is dependant on either the goodwill of successful State administrations like Gujarat, Punjab and Orissa or popular revulsion against State Governments run by the Congress and allies.
<b>
Every General Election is an amalgam of national mood and State-centric verdicts. The BJP is in a position to benefit partially from the growing fragmentation of national politics into local compartments. However, this is not matched by a corresponding ability to mould the all-India discourse. At the national level, the Left has made more of an impact than the BJP.</b>
It does not require rocket science to know why there is a mismatch between BJP's potential and ability to deliver. Leadership uncertainties and organisational focus have not merely damaged its reputation as an opposition party but virtually destroyed its claim to be the natural party of Government.
The priorities before the National Executive were chalked out well before the first delegates trooped in. The gathering didn't need to be told that elections are round the corner, that the UPA has failed to address the crisis of agriculture and that the official attitude to the Ram Setu smacks of insensitivity. The National Executive isn't made up of political innocents, it is the cream of the BJP.
What was needed were deliberations on strategy, ground-level feedback on priorities and a dispassionate assessment of strengths and weaknesses. The National Executive should have been a rigorous workshop on preparations for an effective election campaign. It should have been the place to sort out the leadership issue which is the principal bottleneck before the party. Instead, a nervous leadership, painfully aware of its imminent irrelevance, fell back on expedient diversions like preaching Ram Setu to the converted and securing brownie points for an unsigned letter that reduced its tallest leader to a factional mascot.
In 1936, Vizzy 'led' a disastrous Indian tour of England. The visit saw the most accomplished Indian player being packed home for insolence and the least accomplished one being conferred Knighthood. Whether playing or commenting, Vizzy was a model of consistency. In his mind, cricket was just a never-ending Vizzy. The Vizzy legacy was generously evident at Bhopal this weekend.
Revelling in the nail-biting excitement of the T20 World Cup, I often look back to the pre-TV era of radio commentary. There are many voices from the age of description -- particularly Bobby Talyarkhan and the Calcutta trio of Pearson Surita, Sydney Friskin and Berry Sarbadhikari -- that resonate in the minds of Indians. But there is a special place for the most outrageous and infuriating of them all: the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, 'Vizzy'.
The most intriguing thing about Vizzy's commentary, like his Captaincy and three-Test appearance for India in 1936, was that it had precious little to do with cricket. Everything about Vizzy was centred on the one subject he knew and loved best -- himself.
In the midst of an interesting session, it was routine for Vizzy to go off on a tangent about his schooldays, hunting achievements, conversations with Ranji and Plum Warner and even the state of traffic. Occasionally, he would return to cricket to let listeners know that India had lost two more wickets between his tiger story and the traffic grumble.
Vizzy was a crashing bore. He was also remarkably vain. He actually believed that he was making a seminal contribution to cricket. Surita once told me that the diminutive prince even employed a "little man" who transcribed every word his master uttered -- presumably for the Collected Works that never saw a publisher.
Cricket being a metaphor for life, there is an irresistible temptation to believe that Vizzy's ghost was lurking around Bhopal, the venue of BJP's National Executive meet.
The National Executive couldn't have been better timed. For two months, politics has been witnessing a spectacular churning. The cosy Congress-Left alliance of convenience that saw the UPA Government through for three years is on the verge of coming unstuck. Election fever has gripped the political class and the 14th Lok Sabha is on the verge of becoming history. Opinion polls, which predicted an easy UPA victory in early summer have now recorded a discernible slippage in Congress and Left support. A dormant sense of Hindu disquiet, initially aroused by the UPA's lamentable failure to confront jihadi terrorism, has turned to profound irritation after the Government's insensitivity on the Ram Setu episode. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has added fuel to fire by choosing this moment to once again invoke the iconoclastic legacy of Periyar. To cap it all, the Third Front, the so-called UNPA, appears to be rapidly disintegrating, thereby providing enormous opportunities for the NDA to replenish its strength in Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Assam.
For a party that has been torn by existential dilemma since losing power in 2004, the political situation is much more favourable than its supporters ever imagined. The escalating anti-incumbency against the Congress is calculated to benefit the principal Opposition party which, in most States, is the BJP or its allies. In addition, the national ambitions of BSP leader Mayawati are likely to be extremely detrimental to the Congress and, by implication, help the BJP. In MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BSP may even lessen the weight of anti-incumbency against the BJP-run State Governments. Despite the UPA lead at the starting block, this is a winnable election for BJP and NDA.
Of course there is a caveat. To win, the BJP must convey the unmistakable impression of wanting to win. It has to promise the people what the UPA has failed to give the country -- stability, decisive leadership, uncompromising national security, economic growth with a human face and a commitment to fair play and justice. Commitments such as these can strike a chord in the electorate but only if the BJP itself looks credible. At present, its credibility is dependant on either the goodwill of successful State administrations like Gujarat, Punjab and Orissa or popular revulsion against State Governments run by the Congress and allies.
<b>
Every General Election is an amalgam of national mood and State-centric verdicts. The BJP is in a position to benefit partially from the growing fragmentation of national politics into local compartments. However, this is not matched by a corresponding ability to mould the all-India discourse. At the national level, the Left has made more of an impact than the BJP.</b>
It does not require rocket science to know why there is a mismatch between BJP's potential and ability to deliver. Leadership uncertainties and organisational focus have not merely damaged its reputation as an opposition party but virtually destroyed its claim to be the natural party of Government.
The priorities before the National Executive were chalked out well before the first delegates trooped in. The gathering didn't need to be told that elections are round the corner, that the UPA has failed to address the crisis of agriculture and that the official attitude to the Ram Setu smacks of insensitivity. The National Executive isn't made up of political innocents, it is the cream of the BJP.
What was needed were deliberations on strategy, ground-level feedback on priorities and a dispassionate assessment of strengths and weaknesses. The National Executive should have been a rigorous workshop on preparations for an effective election campaign. It should have been the place to sort out the leadership issue which is the principal bottleneck before the party. Instead, a nervous leadership, painfully aware of its imminent irrelevance, fell back on expedient diversions like preaching Ram Setu to the converted and securing brownie points for an unsigned letter that reduced its tallest leader to a factional mascot.
In 1936, Vizzy 'led' a disastrous Indian tour of England. The visit saw the most accomplished Indian player being packed home for insolence and the least accomplished one being conferred Knighthood. Whether playing or commenting, Vizzy was a model of consistency. In his mind, cricket was just a never-ending Vizzy. The Vizzy legacy was generously evident at Bhopal this weekend.