Abhishek Banerjee, a Member of Parliament better known as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew is not known for humour or wit. But he had the audience in splits at a recent event in Kolkata as he took on the Bharatiya Janata Party for its ‘double speaks’: “Aapke saath rahein to chamatkar, aapke bina rahein to balaatkar…aapke saath hon to Ramlila, aapke binaa hon to character dheela (in your company, it’s miracle but if it’s without you, it’s rape… with you it’s Ramlila, without you it’s loss of character)!”
He sounded familiar. Remember Arshad Warsi’s outburst in Ishqiya: “Tumhara ishq ishq, hamaara ishq sex (your love is love and my love is sex)!”
Warsi’s and Banerjee’s words rang in one’s ears as Jyotiraditya Scindia made a grand entry in the BJP last week. A chaiwalla’s party welcoming the high profile ‘Maharaj’ of Gwalior (‘Maharaj sahib’, to his personal staff). So, what happens to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet theme of dynastic politics?
Addressing a rally in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan in May last year, the prime minister had berated dynasts in every state, naming “the Scindia family” in Madhya Pradesh, Hoodas in Haryana, and Abdullahs in Kashmir, among others. “They try to suppress those who rose from poverty. They suppress the talent of deserving people. In the 21st century, how can these people lead the country? That is why when I question their dynastic politics…they feel bad. They are infuriated.”
Well, Scindia will soon be a Cabinet minister in Modi government— expectedly, the only one after Amit Shah, and probably S Jaishankar, to run his own ministry and not just append signatures on the files sent to him.
So, does Scindia’s entry in the BJP signal — or force — any change in Modi’s views on dynastic politics? The answer is yes and no.
Also read: Jyotiraditya didn’t want to become Rahul. He could’ve become Sachin. Will end up like Varun
Dynastic politics for Congress is realpolitik for BJP
Coming to the ‘no’ argument first. The BJP has been as dynastic as any other party. It’s just that when the opposition parties field a dynast in the election, BJP leaders project it as evidence of dynastic politics. But when the BJP does the same, it’s projected as realpolitik, a political masterstroke. IndiaSpend published an analysis of the dynasts in Indian politics last year. Among many interesting findings was the fact that since 1999, the Congress has had 36 “dynastic MPs” and the BJP 31.
To sustain Modi’s chaiwalla and anti-rich image, the BJP propaganda machinery would spin stories about how dynasts in the BJP were never promoted by the prime minister. Look at how then Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh’ son, a sitting MP then, was denied ticket by the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s son Dushyant Singh, a four-term MP, has been given no responsibility in the government or the party. Varun Gandhi, a three-time MP, has been left high and dry even as his mother, Maneka Gandhi, was dropped from the Cabinet in Modi’s second tenure. Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s son, B.Y. Raghavendra, an MP, has no friends in New Delhi BJP circles.
To be fair to the BJP’s propaganda machinery, all these examples are true. In fact, there are many, many more. But if one were to go into the real reason for their neglect, their being dynasts is certainly not the principal factor. They themselves or their parents happen to be on the wrong side of the BJP high command today. Those who are on the right side — say, Anurag Thakur, son of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal—become ministers or get important organisational posts (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late Pramod Mahajan).
In fact, the BJP hasn’t been behind any other party in India when it comes to promoting dynastic politics. In the last Maharashtra assembly elections, one out of every five BJP candidates came from political families.
Also read: Why Scindia political dynasty is unique and what Jyotiraditya’s exit says for Congress
How Modi gets away
So, how is it that Prime Minister Modi keeps attacking dynasts? He knows his politics, better than you or I do. His anti-dynast rhetoric draws public traction, no matter how many dynasts the BJP fields. So how does it work for the BJP?
Well, Modi, can do no wrong for at least twenty-two crore people who voted for him last year. He has managed to personify dynastic politics in the Nehru-Gandhi family. Modi has used his hypnotic appeal to have people believe that Rahul Gandhi symbolises everything that is bad about dynastic politics—from winking in derision of a chaiwalla to wanting to beat the prime minister of India with a danda, someone who goes on foreign vacations, lacks an understanding of politics and governance, lacks common sense (“a tube light”), and is wanting in patriotism, and what not.
Also read: Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee — the crorepati MBA Amit Shah called ‘Bengal’s Rajkumar’
Scindia takes the sting out of Modi’s anti-dynastic politics
When the BJP released the names of its nominees for Rajya Sabha seats last week, Scindia’s name on it made headlines. Nobody seemed to even notice that another dynast, Udayanraje Bhosale of Satara, a descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji who faced charges of murder and extortion in the past also figured on the list. Or, for that matter, Indu Goswami from Himachal Pradesh for whose nomination the call came straight from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The backgrounds of an Udayanraje, a Brijendra Singh (son of Chaudhury Birendra Singh, a Cabinet minister in NDA I), or a Dushyant Singh might be of little interest to anyone beyond Satara, Hisar and Jhalawar. Because, to repeat, Narendra Modi has got them to believe that Rahul Gandhi is the ‘Only Real Dynast’ ailing the country’s politics.
But Scindia’s entry will change it all. He is not a constituency-only leader. He is a national face, someone people acknowledged as No3 in the Congress after Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Scindia and Rahul Gandhi wearing the same-colour Burberry quilted jackets on white kurta-pyjama and walking side by side; Scindia sitting on top of vehicles right beside Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Vadra during roadshows; and Scindia and Gandhi engaged in intense discussions in the Lok Sabha are images that wouldn’t soon fade away from the public memory.
Since entering politics 18 years ago, Scindia has been seen as part of an extended Nehru-Gandhi family. From now on, every time Modi talks about dynastic politics and Rahul Gandhi, Scindia’s image would inevitably come in people’s minds. A brilliant administrator and politician with great oratorical skill, Scindia will continue to be all over TV and in newspaper headlines in the coming months and years.
Rahul Gandhi should be thankful to him. His friend has finally taken the sting out of Modi’s anti-dynast politics.