The fanfare, pomp and splendour that surrounded the holding of the meeting of the BJP National Executive in Bengaluru was visible even to the most casual observer. This was the first major meeting outside of Delhi after having come to power at the national level. The choice of city for holding this conclave was interesting. Karnataka is one of those few states where the Congress is still in power though it suffered a reversal in the state in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP which was a hopelessly divided house and demoralized unit at the state level soon after the Assembly defeat in 2013 had bounced back with a renewed energy riding a wave of discontent against the UPA. It is another matter that the national leadership of the BJP is a critical uniting factor at the state level, what with the slew of former Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers and its ranks each aspiring to steward the state unit in the future!
It was interesting that the BJP chose a hotel as the venue for the National Executive meet which was bang next to the official residence of the Chief Minister. It was amusing to see the competitive display of banners, buntings, cutouts by both the Congress and the BJP in and around the venue of the main events. A linked development was the High Court directive to conduct the BBMP civil polls by May 30 this year. The BJP rally in the city verily became the first campaign meeting for the BBMP polls. The Prime Minister used the occasion to emphasize his commitment to developing a genuine federal partnership by actively involving the states in the process of growth and development. He did not lose the opportunity to take a swipe at the UPA and claimed that his government had released more funds to Karnataka than the previous government had done! The Party President could not resist capitalizing on the embarrassment that the Congress and its leadership finds itself in, with its youth icon on a prolonged sabbatical at an undisclosed location. The BJP took full advantage of the Congress government in the state being clearly on the defensive and the party at the state level being hopelessly divided and directionless.
The body language of the BJP leaders who attended the National Executive meet was visibly upbeat. The setback created by the Delhi defeat seemed to be a matter of the past, what with the AAP suffering serious internal convulsions and frittering away much of the goodwill that the electoral landslide had brought them. A Congress still searching for a revival strategy and with its key leader missing in action, the BJP was clearly gloating at the discomfort of the main opposition. The efforts of the Janata parivar to reunite continue to be riddled with contradictions history does not seem to be on their side! While the honey moon period of the Modi government seems clearly over, the opposition appears clearly ill equipped to launch a frontal attack on the inability of the government to translate its electoral promises to reality. Two other important developments have not been capitalized on by a divided, unenthusiastic and directionless opposition. The Land Acquisition Ordinance being re-issued is clearly a mockery of parliamentary norms and conventions. The attack on the government appears to be feeble and lacking conviction. The issue provided the opposition a great opportunity to hold the government to account. The initial momentum seems to have been frittered away.
Secondly, a range of questions on the sense of unease among the minorities has not been addressed by the opposition. One had hoped that the range of statement emanating from the second rung leaders of the BJP and its associates would have been categorically denounced by the party leadership and firm action taken against those responsible for such irresponsible comments. The Opposition too has failed to pin down the government on the issue. Any ruling party or government needs to consciously sustain, uphold and promote and inclusive agenda. Over the last year there have been several reassurances of the same. However, when ground reality points to a different tune, it was hoped that the government would have been firm in dealing with efforts at divisiveness and the opposition constantly drawn attention to the need for action. Unfortunately, one sees little conviction in performance on either side.
A National Executive meet of a ruling party provides an opportunity for stock taking and course correction. One was hoping for concrete proof of both. The optimist would of course argue, like ruling party politicians have done, that course correction and stock taking is for public declaration but for conscious implementation. The coming days would indicate the will of the government and the determination of the opposition.
Dr Shastri is a Bengaluru based political scientist who is the Pro Vice Chancellor of Jain University
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