Alpesh Thakor, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party Thursday, is among the numerous Congress leaders who have switched sides in the last few months. The former Gujarat legislator joined the party with another Congress defector, Dhavalsinh Zala, and hundreds of party supporters.
The BJP looks upbeat and its state units seem to be competing with each other to get new recruits (from opposition) into the party fold.
But scratch the surface, and one can hear voices of concern and disagreement over this unnatural rise in the number of ‘outsiders’ in the BJP.
‘Swelling is not growth’ seems to be the warning from some senior leaders in the BJP as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the party’s ideological fountainhead.
The fear is real, they say. These new entrants may not add any value to the BJP or its ideology but get undue and undeserving share in power and decision-making. Moreover, they will likely quit, without batting an eyelid, if and when the going gets tough for the party.
Who are joining BJP?
The BJP can’t depend on politicians like Alpesh Thakor, given the speed at which they switch affiliation.
The 43-year-old leader, the convener of OBC Ekta Manch, was at the forefront of protest rallies against Patel community’s agitation demanding reservation in 2015. In no time, he reconciled with Patidar leader Hardik Patel to fight against the BJP, and shortly before the 2017 Gujarat election, joined the Congress. He won from Radhanpur constituency, defeating his nearest BJP rival by a margin of nearly 18,000 votes.
Also read: BJP confident OBC leader Alpesh Thakor will join soon, Congress confident he won’t
A little over a year later, Alpesh Thakor began distancing himself from the Congress, and resigned from all party posts in April this year, while rejecting claims that he would join the BJP. Earlier this month, he and Zala voted in favour of BJP’s Rajya candidate S. Jaishankar (now foreign minister), and then resigned from the House membership.
Of the many turncoats the BJP has inducted, there are many with questionable track record.
In April, the BJP in Himachal Pradesh inducted six-time Congress MLA Singhi Ram, who was arrested in 2008 for arranging a fake Class 12 certificate for his daughter’s admission in college.
In West Bengal, the BJP welcomed Manirul Islam, the former Trinamool Congress leader, whose name has cropped up in cases of alleged torture of political rivals. The BJP had called him and others joining the party as ‘eminent personalities’.
Losing the X-factor
Defectors from other parties joining the BJP no longer seems like news – one could consider it a part of the party’s routine membership drive. But even as the BJP’s rank is swelling, there are concerns in some quarters about this unnatural increase in numbers. These sections are, however, aware of their limitations and the current political compulsions to not make those concerns public.
Also read: All in a day — Trinamool mayor close to Mukul Roy resigns, 14 Bengali actors join BJP
But the current BJP leadership would do well to remember what differentiates the party from the rest: its cadre-based core. It is due to the party’s organisational structure that it witnesses less defection as compared to other parties. This is why the BJP could grow from a party with two MPs in 1984 to 303 MPs in 2019.
And that’s exactly why the Congress has seen a reverse trend and is facing an existential crisis today, despite having 53 MPs in the House.
BJP has a lesson to learn
The political system over the years has vested excessive powers in elected representatives. Once elected, the politician has enormous resources in his/her command and almost unrestricted power to utilise and distribute it as s/he wishes. Legal and administrative indicators are followed more in defiance than compliance. The lawmakers become a law unto themselves.
In a way, political parties are reduced to mere platforms for individuals to acquire power and build their individual support base. The party’s interests take a back seat. Today, no party can say with confidence that it will play by the rules, follow the principles, and not compromise with its stated, core values for the sake of political expediency.
A party that is not driven by an ideology but political opportunism will sooner or later implode, as seen in the case of the Congress.
Also read: BJP’s unique stand on induction in poll-bound Delhi — AAP defectors not welcome
The BJP should be wary of letting this culture seep into its internal functioning. It must filter new entrants and keep the history sheeters, corrupt elements and serial economic offenders out. Many of those joining the party are motivated by the desire to be part of the ruling elite and keep their political pot boiling.
While the likes of Alpesh Thakor and Mukul Roy join the BJP, the party’s central leadership would do well to ensure its core doesn’t get diluted or that its loyal workers do not feel sidelined or ignored. A disgruntled cadre will not bode well for the BJP’s chances in the next election.
The author is former editor of ‘Organiser’. Views are personal.
On a lighter note, if the party is so welcoming of outsiders, it might wish to import a stellar Finance Minister.
To become the default party of governance, BJP needs to be open to a wider section of the people. Those who think that BJP must stay within a narrow ideology, don’t remember the 2 MPs they had in Lok Sabha once upon a time. BJP also needs to deliver and needs experience. For instance, Uma Bharti has not been successful either as a chief minister or a union minister. Many ideologues are better suited as people’s leaders but not as administrators. Yes, a core is necessary. Yes also. that BJP must avoid corrupt individuals. But this is a balancing act. The alternative is to be pure but out of power and unable to effect change.
BJP is just unbecoming of what it is. The students of Political Science have always been taught that BJP ( formerly Bhartiya Jansangh), has been a party with difference- a cadre based and strict ideology based organisation. It has of late learned lessons from others of growth, a growth totally unwarranted and uncalled for, which also negates and disrespects the mandate and love of the people.
For the first time in the country, Modi ji, as Prime Minister, declared that some numbers of Mamta’s lawmakers would be “soon joining BJP”. No Prime Minister had said so ever. He is after all the leader of the country first. A person as dedicated and committed as Modi ji should proclaim like this is also unbecoming of him as well.
The fact remains that BJP does not need it at all especially on the face of the huge support that the party enjoys and likely to enjoy in future too.
It is strange that BJP does not seem to know it’s own strength and lacking the confidence in its own being. The Karnataka drama is going on riding on defections only inviting the elements it would regret later. The same thing happened in Goa and the BJP welcomed it so colourfully. It has been manuvouring the same game in West Bengal instigating and instilling TMC workers to join it’s hands. The day is nearing when the BJP would be full of only opportunists and corrupts and ultimately would go the Congress way.
Besides, the real cadre of BJP who had been struggling for value and ideology for years together are getting demoralised and demotivated in a huge manner.
The outcome would be that these opportunists would have the field day all over the country and occupy all the power positions with the real BJP people giving way and sidelined. This will definitely compromise the quality and equity.
The party appears to be in hurry to grab power everywhere at any cost in any manner. It has stolen Gandhi from Congress but using all Mechiavellian ways in contrast to Gandhian way of moving to power.
Has BJP lost sight of it’s own goal altogether? And is it determined to go for numbers and numbers only? The Gujrat story goes on to prove that only.
It is rather strange that even RSS also is keeping mum or proving the tacit support to it. After all BJP is the baby of RSS only and the party has been created to fulfill it’s political ambitions and aspirations. What is going to happen to those ethos and ideology for which the BJP has been formed?
In fact, the BJP would not gain anything out of it but loose a lot in this misadventure. There will be no marking line of difference with any other party. And at the end of the day it will be full of Aaya Rams and Gaya Rams, who will keep moving to the parties they will get the cream if power.
The electorates should never be taken for granted any way.
If the country would feel that BJP believes in mathematics only the electorates would not think twice to desert it as well!
When a party is saturate with power and pelf it attracts many elements which decay its structure. Now this is exactly what is happening to BJP. It is natural. From this point of arrogance, it will be led into downfall by the new lumpen elements in due course of time. It has already taken on board such destructive elements. Mukul Roy and Alpesh Thakor are examples. I don’t think anyone can stop it.
Rats who defect for lucre will defect again and cannot be trusted. Chari has made a sensible argument and RSS must be feeling the same. Mosha duo in their lust for power is making the BJP look like Congress B.
Its the same story in Andhra, Karnataka and Goa; and earlier in Arunachal, Uttarakhand and Manipur. The BJP is no longer the party with a difference. The only difference is the amount of money it has, to engineer such defections. The BJP will eventually pay a heavy price for its indiscretion and “marrying in haste”.