10-10-2007, 04:22 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Bangalore burlesque </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Time for BJP to put house in order
Like the posse of policemen in the prototypical Hindi film, the BJP central leadership always gets to the scene of the drama after the action is over. In Karnataka, a wild, last-minute operation by sections of the local BJP led to the ludicrous sight of outgoing Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy first resigning, then driving back to Raj Bhavan and telling the Governor not to dissolve the Assembly and recommend President's rule but, instead, swear in a BJP Government with JD(S) support. Considering over the past fortnight Mr Kumaraswamy and his father, the irrepressible Mr HD Deve Gowda, had humiliated the BJP, insulted its politics and refused to hand over the Chief Minister's office to it, as per an agreement reached 20 months ago, the turnaround was astonishing. Admittedly, Mr Kumaraswamy was under pressure from party legislators worried about a caste revolt - the BJP's chief ministerial aspirant is a Lingayat, the Gowdas are Vokkaligas - and terrified at the prospect of a snap poll. What could have been the BJP's compulsions? It had captured the moral high ground, escaping from a scandal-ridden coalition in the best possible manner.<b> Recent local bodies' elections had indicated that the BJP retained its standing - it was the single largest party in the 2004 Assembly election - and the party should have been ready for another battle.</b> Instead, it displayed desperation for power, right down to a farcical midnight manoeuvre. The strangest part of the episode was that the central leadership seemed to have little clue as to what was going on in Bangalore. The State unit was presumably acting on its own, having invoked the BJP constitution's equivalent of Article 370.
If Karnataka was an aberration, it could have been forgiven. Yet, the negligence - deliberate or otherwise - of the BJP's national functionaries is most apparent in Gujarat. <b>Two former Chief Ministers - one should have retired long ago and the other is incapable of winning a municipal seat - have turned bolshie. One is comparing BJP rule in Gujarat to Nazi Germany. The other, with his cohorts, is negotiating an entry into the Congress and being fairly open about it. What is the BJP doing? Precisely nothing. The central leadership of the party appears to be unwilling to take disciplinary action and is happy to let the wound bleed</b>. The phrase 'cutting your nose to spite your face' naturally comes to mind.
Every political party has its problems with dissidents and rebels. Its true test comes in how it deals with these issues. A strong, decisive leadership will take firm action, will not be cowed down or bullied - and will automatically find its credibility rising with the electorate. This is the lesson the BJP has to draw. On the other hand, if the centre cracks, if State satraps begin doing their own thing - sabotaging the larger party directive or forming Governments or even fighting elections autonomously - a party's national leadership will end up looking hollow. At this rate, the BJP runs the risk of not resembling an all-India party but a conglomeration of mostly fractious provincial units. Which alternative would it prefer?
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
Time for BJP to put house in order
Like the posse of policemen in the prototypical Hindi film, the BJP central leadership always gets to the scene of the drama after the action is over. In Karnataka, a wild, last-minute operation by sections of the local BJP led to the ludicrous sight of outgoing Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy first resigning, then driving back to Raj Bhavan and telling the Governor not to dissolve the Assembly and recommend President's rule but, instead, swear in a BJP Government with JD(S) support. Considering over the past fortnight Mr Kumaraswamy and his father, the irrepressible Mr HD Deve Gowda, had humiliated the BJP, insulted its politics and refused to hand over the Chief Minister's office to it, as per an agreement reached 20 months ago, the turnaround was astonishing. Admittedly, Mr Kumaraswamy was under pressure from party legislators worried about a caste revolt - the BJP's chief ministerial aspirant is a Lingayat, the Gowdas are Vokkaligas - and terrified at the prospect of a snap poll. What could have been the BJP's compulsions? It had captured the moral high ground, escaping from a scandal-ridden coalition in the best possible manner.<b> Recent local bodies' elections had indicated that the BJP retained its standing - it was the single largest party in the 2004 Assembly election - and the party should have been ready for another battle.</b> Instead, it displayed desperation for power, right down to a farcical midnight manoeuvre. The strangest part of the episode was that the central leadership seemed to have little clue as to what was going on in Bangalore. The State unit was presumably acting on its own, having invoked the BJP constitution's equivalent of Article 370.
If Karnataka was an aberration, it could have been forgiven. Yet, the negligence - deliberate or otherwise - of the BJP's national functionaries is most apparent in Gujarat. <b>Two former Chief Ministers - one should have retired long ago and the other is incapable of winning a municipal seat - have turned bolshie. One is comparing BJP rule in Gujarat to Nazi Germany. The other, with his cohorts, is negotiating an entry into the Congress and being fairly open about it. What is the BJP doing? Precisely nothing. The central leadership of the party appears to be unwilling to take disciplinary action and is happy to let the wound bleed</b>. The phrase 'cutting your nose to spite your face' naturally comes to mind.
Every political party has its problems with dissidents and rebels. Its true test comes in how it deals with these issues. A strong, decisive leadership will take firm action, will not be cowed down or bullied - and will automatically find its credibility rising with the electorate. This is the lesson the BJP has to draw. On the other hand, if the centre cracks, if State satraps begin doing their own thing - sabotaging the larger party directive or forming Governments or even fighting elections autonomously - a party's national leadership will end up looking hollow. At this rate, the BJP runs the risk of not resembling an all-India party but a conglomeration of mostly fractious provincial units. Which alternative would it prefer?
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