BJP allies tell ThePrint that some self-introspection is in order for the NDA captain if it wants to win 2019.
New Delhi: The defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday in three states means that a “general fear in all classes of people, especially the minorities, stands extinguished”, Naresh Gujral, an MP of the party’s ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), has told ThePrint.
Gujral’s comment is emblematic of the rising concern among several BJP allies on the direction the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) captain has taken despite its mandate for ‘vikas’ and good governance, especially the manner in which the party has divided-and-ruled the population.
His reference to the “extinguishing of fear” is a direct reference to the reported lack of democracy within the NDA, where several small allies feel the BJP rides roughshod over them and is dismissive of coalition dharma.
‘The arrogance of the BJP’
One BJP partner who spoke on the condition of anonymity said “the arrogance of the BJP has managed to resurrect even a party like the Congress”.
“The people will forgive you a lot of things,” the leader added. “Corruption, lack of development and even the promises that you have broken. But they won’t forgive your arrogance.”
If the BJP doesn’t learn its lessons from its defeat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the leader said, it could be reduced to 150-175 seats in the Lok Sabha. The BJP currently has 272 members in the lower house.
Gujral’s remarks were echoed by Janata Dal (United) spokesperson Pavan Varma, whose party is in alliance with the BJP in Bihar. Varma said that with the latest elections, voters had taught several lessons to both the ruling party as well as the Congress.
“As allies we are saying that there are several positive takeaways for the BJP,” Varma told ThePrint. “Its communal agenda is not working and it must do self-introspection on matters of rural distress and unemployment.”
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‘Good for BJP allies’
“This result (in five states) is very good for the BJP’s allies,” the former diplomat said. “The BJP has not been wiped out and the Congress victory is not startling. It should be aware that the matrix could change very quickly.”
The results of the assembly elections Tuesday came a day after Upendra Kushwaha of the Bihar-based Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) quit both Modi’s council of ministers as well as the NDA.
At an NDA meeting Monday, on the eve of the beginning of Parliament’s winter session, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) as well as the JD(U) sent no representatives.
At the meeting, a representative of the Shiv Sena, with which the BJP’s relationship has been precarious for a while, is believed to have “taunted” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked “when he and his party were going to build the Ram temple”.
Sources said the Shiv Sena representative pointed out how a huge meeting – the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Dharmasabha – was held in the capital over the weekend, with senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders in attendance, to ask the same question.
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Old resentment
Said one ally who attended the NDA meeting, “Prime Minister Modi was effusive [at the meeting] and wanted to answer all the questions regarding the amount of work his government had done.”
On the Ram Mandir question, however, there was no answer from the Prime Minister, the ally added.
Asked if some heads could roll in the BJP as a result of its poll losses, both Gujral and Varma said that although change was good, there was no time left to make any with the 2019 general elections around the corner.
This is not the first time that Gujral has been openly critical of the manner in which Prime Minister Modi is running the NDA.
In August, at a discussion during a book launch, he had said that the Modi government “needed the Vajpayee touch” to put together a successful pre-2019 election coalition arrangement.
On one point one will not agree with Shri Naresh Gujral. Voters will not forgive lack of development and too many broken promises. To be perfectly fair, all governments are arrogant. Ask allies how they felt / were treated after UPA II was formed, the Congress having crossed 200, dreaming of a simple majority in 2014. 2. It is interesting how the number is beginning to sag. Till yesterday, the conventional wisdom was 175. Now a range of 150 – 175. 3. One good takeaway from these results is a growing realisation that the gunpowder on religion / identity is soaked all through. Not much sizzle or crackle left.