In his masterpiece, Decolonizing the Hindu Mind, Koenraad Elst makes a very perceptive observation about the BJP. He concludes that the BJP–ever since its inception–has always played the game by the rules set by its opponents. In his brief but lucid piece analyzing the BJP’s 2009 poll disaster, he underscores the same point and expands it to suit the present context. Here it is, in full.
BJP apes Congress, fails
Koenraad Elst
Right-wing parties all over the world have a common trait: Once in or near power, they betray their own support base. The BJP is no different. It is needlessly described as a ‘Hindu chauvinist’ party which it is not. To prove its ‘secular’ credentials, the BJP chose to become the ‘B’ team of the Congress. And was rejected by the voters
With great satisfaction, the world has taken note of the defeat of the Hindu nationalists: “The Indian voter has rejected Hindu chauvinism.” Subtleties such as the likelihood that the BJP has been abandoned by many of its supporters for not being Hindu chauvinist enough, don’t come into the picture. The typically Indian failures of the BJP that explain its defeat, I now leave to Indian authors to discuss. What has caught my attention is a trait the BJP shares with Right-wing parties all over the world.
The label ‘Rightist’ is open to various definitions, the themes with which Rightist parties attract voters are different from country to country, and even on a single theme, their positions may differ between countries. But they have one behavioural trait in common: Once in or near power, they betray their own support base.
In France, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy came to power on a distinctly Rightist platform, which he largely disowned once installed as President. Thus, he had promised to oppose the entry of Turkey into the EU, but the first thing he did was to nominate as his Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner of the opposition Socialist Party, a declared supporter of Turkey’s entry.
In Britain, the Conservative Party is a copy of New Labour on all issues of consequence. People who favour its traditional positions now turn to the UK Independence Party or even the proletarian British National Party. Those who insist on loyalty to the old party-line, even top-ranking veteran Norman Tebbitt, are threatened with expulsion.
In the US, the real (so-called paleo-) conservatives have been frozen out of the Republican Party and are being starved by institutional boycotts. The party shuns matters of principle and limits its supposed conservatism to mindless flag-waving. While the party base favours Christian politics, the part elite downplays ideology and promoted as presidential candidate the faux war martyr John McCain, a liberal in the Culture War. Like other plutocrats eager to suppress labour wages by exploiting illegals, he laughed at the party activists’ demands for curbs on immigration. Consequently, conservative mobilisation for the party during the elections was lacklustre and defeat inevitable.
Doesn’t all this remind you of the BJP? The party favours mindless flag-waving over ideology and takes its constituents for granted. It assumes that they have nowhere else to turn and will follow the party in all its erratic policy shifts. Well, not really erratic, there is a transparent logic in the party’s betraying its core party-line: It dreams of enjoying the warmth of approval from its enemies, who happen to dominate the cultural and media sectors. It tells its voters: Since you are lambasted as reactionary communalists, we don’t want to be on your side. But no matter what non-Hindutva postures it adopts, the hoped-for approval from the secularists remains elusive.
In 1991 already, right after the election victory that made the BJP the leading Opposition party, it discreetly disowned the Ayodhya movement that had earned it this breakthrough. The media scapegoated Mr LK Advani for the subsequent Babri Masjid demolition, though everybody knew that it had taken place in spite of him. He had gone there to demonstrate to the secularists that he was the one man who could control Hindu anger and prevent it from demolishing this symbol of secularism. When the crowd bypassed him, he broke down in tears, and ever since, he has been deploring the event as the ‘blackest day’ of his life. Disowning his role of flag-bearer of Hindutva, he should have bowed out gracefully. Instead, his clinging on to the leadership reminds us of Mr Jean-Marie Le Pen, the aged French Rightist leader who has sacrificed his party to his own pitiable ambitions.
While Ayodhya was ‘merely’ a symbolic issue, the more political demands were likewise cast aside. When in power, the BJP didn’t make the slightest move towards a Common Civil Code, abolition of Jammu & Kashmir’s separate status or Governmental non-interference in Hindu schools and places of worship. The single attempt at doing anything pro-Hindu — Mr Murli Manohar Joshi’s exercise in rewriting the Marxist-distorted textbooks — turned into a horror show of incompetence.
During the latest campaign, the BJP downplayed ideology (except erratically in the Varun Gandhi incident) and betted all on ‘good governance’. Some BJP State Governments have provided that, to be sure, and in these States the BJP has been rewarded. But it could never be a decisive election-winner because Congress hasn’t done too bad in that regard either. Ever since Mr Manmohan Singh read out the 1992 Budget, the world sees his signature written all over India’s economic success. Even BJP contributors to that success, like erstwhile Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie, won’t deny him that honour.
In these circumstances, only a clear ideological profile, mature but distinct, could have won the election for the BJP. If it didn’t want that ideological distinctness and was content to remain the Congress’s B-team, the party could have learned from Mr Sarkozy to show this only after the election. Before, it should at least have kept up the pretence of being a party with a difference.
This kind of coldly-dispassionate analysis is rare in the intellectually-vacuous Indian media. And I completely agree with it. Instead, even columnists noted for turning out reasonably good pieces live in a state worse than denial: they resort to conspiracy theories like doctored EVMs. A rather disappointing piece from Rajeev Srinivasan receives a factual rebuttal here. Frankly, the BJP’s rout didn’t come as a surprise to me. I pegged its numbers in the range of 120. It fell short by 4. More on that later.
Tags: 15th Lok Sabha, Anti-Hindu UPA, Anti-national UPA, BJP, BJP Debacle, Commentary, Congress, Elections 2009, India, Indian Elections 2009, Indian Politics, Indian Polls 2009, Italian Queen, Koenraad Elst, Left, NDA, Politics, Sonia Gandhi, UPA, UPA Returns to Power
I must say that even though I agree with the article, the title is **highly inappropriate**. This is because the BJP tried to catch up with Congress only on sekoolarism. Regarding everything else, regarding things that could have helped, BJP was far away from the congress. Here are a few examples that come to my mind.
While the congress lured rural voters by going for populist measures (loan waivers to farmers), BJP tried to go “whats best for the country” as told by the “middle class, journalist, educated” people. Did congress think what’s good for the country? No, and it won. Whereas, BJP didn’t think whats good for the party and it lost.
DMK gave free color TVs while Modi cut of electricity in villages, refused SOPs to diamond workers, small businesses. While it got one extra seat in Gujarat, its vote share went down.
Congress played up the Raj Thakreys, Vijaykant and Chirus to divide anti-congress votes whereas BJP even refused to let Varun Campaign outside Philbit, even though his demand was overwheming. Why? Again because this “educated class” of people thought it was too extreme. Did they vote? No. Maya clamped NSA while the Muslims voted for Congress.
The reality is the good boys don’t win elections, shrewd, cunning and manipulative ones do. I’m tired of BJP playing the good boy of politics to appease some high class (not caste) educated Indian voters in a/c auditoriums in metros. People who don’t vote! It’s high time BJP apes congress where it matters – try appeasing it’s vote bank, i.e. the Hindus.
I totally agree with Mr Elst’s line of thought. BJP has been trying to turn secular ever since it got into power in 1999 riding on a Hindutva agenda. Ever since then it has given up on all core issues.
bahu sameecheenam.
100% true. It is laughable that the BJP is berated as a Hindu communal party which it is not. I have felt that Hindu nationalists still bet on the BJP only because it carries, they hope, some few seeds of common sense and love for Hindu civilization.
Hindu intelligentsia should have seen through Shri Advani’s innovative (pseudo-secular) rhetoric as an openly willful embrace of secularism. Sheer poison.
I still have great respect for Shri Advani. After all, he was the one who made political Hinduism a force. But something horribly went wrong. Perhaps, as Elst says, the need for secular-liberal companionship was too strong.
The other fact is that we are stuck with the BJP. It need major repair not destruction.
After a real long time, I visited your blog, Sandeep. Anyways, lets get down to business. Out of all the major reasons for the decibel of BJP; I believe, the “Media” factor has done more damage. Playing the Victim Card ain’t gonna help anymore, its time, BJP buys a major stake in the leading Media Houses, through-proxy will be better. The way Sardesai and the NDTV brigade campaigned for Congress and the “Secular” allies of UPA, one cannot, but be held back and think of banging his head on the wall. Another reason, apart from the ones already mentioned in the op-ed has to be the inter party rivalry. Unlike, Congress BJP doesn’t have a final power loaded with a Veto(Read Gandhi) with it.
I saw the Indian Express reports yesterday, all of them quoting BJP contenders stating one thing: “Modi hampered our prospectus”! I believe, if its, Modi which will be the the BJP’s PM Candidate in 2014; He need to play a National Role than that of a Gujrati CM(Common Man), this including a sharp recruitment from Campuses for future “young” leaders; 60 year old people can not be claimed as “young” by any yard stick.
@Palahalli
Its not that we have a choice when we go out to Vote; there aren’t any “Right-Wing” parties in India except BJP. Shiv Sena is limited to Maharashtra.
Did my last comment get moderated for some reason?
[...] Sandeep’s blog article [...]
So what can we do to counter ELM’s negative propaganda against the BJP?
If the bloggers were the only voters, BJP would have won hands down, but that does not seem to be the case.
BJP’s biggest blunder was, it did not make any effort to project Congress as the REAL and the biggest COMMUNAL party whose every policy is based on communal lines. “Communal Congress” could be a stronger catchword than “pseudo secularism”.
I beg to differ on some points mentioned in this analysis of BJP’s defeat.I don’t think BJP lost because it was percieved to be less chauvinistic by any yardstick.If anything the BJP’s too little too late action against Sri Ram Sene and the reluctance to take a decision regarding Varun Gandhi consolidated the muslim and pub going, cultural police fearing urban votes aginst the BJP.I mean no sane individual(right or left) can subscribe to the statements attributed to the other Gandhi.Why not come out and say “we condemn” instead of diluting it by saying “we disassociate”.Also i believe there is a sizeable section of the voters which did not take in good spirit the vrebal diatribe against Manmohan Singh and showed sympathy to him by voting against the BJP.Apart from this there are several factors which worked against the BJP at state levels.
@A – I agree with you. I have said the same thing in my post above.
Shailendra S – The ELM can be countered if the BJP leadership is clear on what needs to be countered. Prime example is Sudhindra Kulkarni. What was the BJP smoking when they decided to send this spring chicken in? Not that the rest of their too-clever-by-half spokesmen are any better at articulating the Hindu viewpoint.
Another thing that speaks to the confusion is when the BJP leadership itself draws a wall between developmental and Hindutva issues. I never realized these were different/separate until the BJP reminded me. It’s like saying “hey..we’re not doing Hindutva today..so we’ll focus on development!” It’s ridiculous!
Sarbjit – The Congress is not a communal party. It is a thoroughly secular party that is adhering to the secular logic of “sarva dharma sama bhava”, that leads to emasculating the National society. The enemy of the Hindus is not communalism, it is secularism.
Vipin Singh – The BJP has to be a conservative party. It is supposed to view issues without cushioning them in political correctness. The violence in Mangalore was wrong but there are deeper societal issues that are embedded therein that need to be addressed seriously. Varun G was stating facts. Of course he could have done it discreetly, but this is what happens if the leadership locks it’s ideology in a chastity belt.
Problem with BJP has been that they took Indian people for granted after the days of Ayodhya movement. Since then this party has been wooing only the gullible while Congress party was working towards convincing the intelligentsia about the consequences of a Modi like leadership. There has always been a deep division in the BJP itself about projecting Modi as a national leader. There was enough to read between the lines when RSS chose Advani instead of Modi.
The fact of the matter is that this country is not what rightists think it is. Hindutva could be a driving force in some sectors and sections but ultimately this country goes for a cool head. Rural Indians may appreciate a reasonable criticism but punish any virulent attack on an incumbent authority -and that too from a man who’s only aim was to become a PM without any clear roadmap for the nation. Just minority bashing does not work all the time.
@shorya
BJP did not lose becuase of minority appeasement—Congress won because of its redistribution schemes which it always views as a solution–it constantly spends all government money on redistribution schemes which do not go to the poor but to crooks—it spent all the money from the boom years in all kinds of redistribution schemes that did not benefit anyone…You can win elections in India this way unfortunately and Congress seems to realize this—Moreover, they have the media spewing out garbage in favor of a family conrolled party which resembles more a monarchy than a democracy and anyone with a sense of horror at “servility” will be repulsed at this party…BJP does not bash minorities–that is what the media says it does–it stands for majority interests as all govermments should stand for–I am not saying that it does not have internal problems–they would be better organized if they were serious about winning elections….
Now with Congress four more years of building nothing, more redistribution schemes and more affrimative action in the universities and work…How is the Congress pro-minority? A weak economy makes everyone worse off….
BJP did not lose because it was against minorities—Congress won because of its redistribution schemes which it always views as a solution–it constantly spends all government money on redistribution schemes which do not go to the poor but to crooks—it spent all the money from the boom years in all kinds of redistribution schemes that did not benefit anyone…You can win elections in India this way unfortunately and Congress seems to realize this—And that is how Congress keeps hold on power…through redistribution and affirmative action making it seem as if they are pro-poor and pro-minority when in fact they are not–politics in India is a very lucrative profession in case you already did not know…Moreover, they have the media spewing out garbage in favor of a family conrolled party which resembles more a monarchy than a democracy and anyone with a sense of horror at “servility” will be repulsed at this party…BJP does not bash minorities–that is what the media says it does–it stands for majority interests as all govermments should stand for–I am not saying that it does not have internal problems–they would be better organized if they were serious about winning elections and if it were not stupid it would not have lost its hold on UP many years ago when they got rid of a good politician there….
Now with Congress four more years of building nothing, more redistribution schemes and more affrimative action in the universities and at work…Watch India grow poorer and more overpolulated and less literate. How is the Congress pro-minority with the paltry results it has shown? A weak economy makes everyone worse off even minorities…
“Modi hampered our prospectus”! I believe, if its, Modi which will be the the BJP’s PM Candidate in 2014; He need to play a National Role than that of a Gujrati CM(Common Man), this including a sharp recruitment from Campuses for future “young” leaders; 60 year old people can not be claimed as “young” by any yard stick.
Modi did not hamper anyone–you do not have to do any deep analysis such as BJP did not get the “pulse of the people” as someone in an earlier post wrote–Congress just redistributed government money–that is how it wins elections and how it is seen as pro-poor and pro-minority—masses of voters in India are illiterate and redistribution schmes and promises does win– votes this is the truth of the matter–don’t need to get fancy with all kinds of analysis–anyway most who support BJP don’t even bother to vote…
So BJP needs to get clever is the bottom line..and think of ways to win the mass votes…people who can carry an educated discourse is not the mass of voters in India…now since the educated mostly does not vote how to get the votes of those that do vote is what the BJP should focus on…
I think it is ridiculous of Elst to say that BJP’s loss was because it was not true to its core ideology.
I must ask to luminaries such as Elst amongst others this simple question. Do they really really believe that the Indian voter makes well considered decisions? If the answer to that question is a Yes, then it means that the Indian education system or the lack of it thereof means that the Indian voter makes rational decisions.
If not, all the critique of the Indian education system should really amount to a whine and nothing more. But is that true? Obviously not; with so many uneducated people in the country who cannot make a rational decision, it means that these people were likely influenced by what they thought was rational or cool or whatever. If this BJP cannot understand this and by extension LKA, that is a faulty of the party’s leadership. The idiots at the BJP cannot repeatedly keep saying that they were bested by the media; for to say that is an admission of their poor political skills, which is incidentally closer to the truth than the explanation that Elst espouses; i.e. the BJP lost because it did not differentiate itself by way of its Hindutva ideology. It is blooody common sense that before you can be a premium brand, you have to be at least an acceptable brand. The BJP continually makes this mistake that the Indian electorate is some sort of a premium segment of the market (which it not;remember the poor literacy rates and even lower rates of education completion?)
Unless the BJP cannot increase its acceptability, it cannot aspire to be preferred choice amongst the majority of the Indian illiterate class that is poorly equipped in analysing and understanding what is best for them.
Someone has to pose the right questions to the BJP. In return, the BJP supporters have a right to demand an explanation from the BJP why it continues to fail. The problem with people like Elst who espouse the “Hindu” cause is that they come from a background that tends to everything in black and white and are poorer in their imagination than a local Indian. No doubt, Elst can analyse and accurately what the problem is; but he can never prescribe the solution to that problem. It takes a different skill set to analyse a problem (easier with a Western reductionist approach) and a completely different one to prescribe how to solve the problem (in a complex society such as ours, this means stringing together a solution that derives from a various streams)
I think Advani should retire and act as a mentor. Modi should take control as the party leader and provide direction with his incorruptible and astute sense of leadership. The leader of the Opposition has to be someone who can dwarf the youthfulness of a Rahul Gandhi, the charm of a Priyanka, the “experience” of MMS etc. And that is the important question. Modi taking over the reins of the party is a no brainer; it is the Leader of the Opposition choice that is critical.
When in power, the BJP didn’t make the slightest move towards a Common Civil Code, abolition of Jammu & Kashmir’s separate status or Governmental non-interference in Hindu schools and places of worship. The single attempt at doing anything pro-Hindu — Mr Murli Manohar Joshi’s exercise in rewriting the Marxist-distorted textbooks — turned into a horror show of incompetence.
right on–BJP has its faults…but clearly is better than Congress…
In these circumstances, only a clear ideological profile, mature but distinct, could have won the election for the BJP. If it didn’t want that ideological distinctness and was content to remain the Congress’s B-team, the party could have learned from Mr Sarkozy to show this only after the election. Before, it should at least have kept up the pretence of being a party with a difference.
being able to challenge media perceptions of it will be crucial to BJP…how about setting better channels or alternative channels to challenge the Congress leaning media?
Also it needs to learn the art of propaganda on a massive scale…how to win masses…this is the art of politics….
When in power, the BJP didn’t make the slightest move towards a Common Civil Code, abolition of Jammu & Kashmir’s separate status or Governmental non-interference in Hindu schools and places of worship. The single attempt at doing anything pro-Hindu — Mr Murli Manohar Joshi’s exercise in rewriting the Marxist-distorted textbooks — turned into a horror show of incompetence.
Also BJP is hampered by coalition politics–you need a strong party at the center with a majority on its own to address issues like Kashmir, uniform civil code etc….this multi-party system is the bane of India..I was reading of how Americans moved towards a two-party system because a multi-party system did not work…Parliamentary democracy is not for India…multi party system hampers and obstructs everything…BJP cannot acheive what it wants unless it comes to power with majority votes on its own…I do not see this happening unless it seriously reorganizes and does whatever it will take for it to come to power with majority votes….
Good analysis by Elst.
Had commented the following on Elst’s blog on Monday.
” BJP’s situation is very similar to that of indians today.
That party is accused of an ideology of hate, equating ‘Hindutva’ as an ideology of hate.
Indians are also taught that their ancient culture was full of divisiveness in the form of caste and primitive as represented by sati, child marriage, female infanticide etc.
They are also taught that their ancestors worshipped 33,000 Gods.
Ground reality ?
The resurgence of Hindu nationalist feeling towards end of 1980 and early 1990 was used by BJP to increase its base. It coined an inclusive nationalist ideology ‘Hindutva’ for electoral purposes.
But the marxists controlling the academia in india, who are the followers of Macaulay as far as outloook towards ancient india goes, found the resurgence of nationalistic sentiments among indians a threat to their established fiefdoms and outlook.
They, in association with muslim bodies and christian evangelics equated Hindutva as a divisive ideology instead of the inclusive one it is.
Just as the present day indians have been duped into believing that their ancient culture was primitive, regresive and divisive, so too the BJP of today has been led to believe that the ideolgy of Hindutva is divisive, reggressive, and primitive and should be dropped if they want to progress in the political field.
And as the present day indians tend to dissociate themselves from their ancient indian culture, some of them taking pride to call themselves atheists, so too, the BJP today is trying to dissociate themselves from the ideology that gave it mass support.
This tendency to be swayed by external influences is the hallmark of Sudra characteristic, which is what is dominant in world today, a hallmark of the Kali Yuga.”
As regards conspiracy theories, had commented this on Senthilraja’s blog on Sunday-
” ….>>>this is not an usual victory.
Is correct assessment.
Somehow sonia’s hands have become stronger.
Allies who were difficult to handle or over-ambitious, such as laloo, paswan, mulayam, even sharad pawar, got badly mauled.
But Congress did remarkably well compared to them in those very states.
In states held by congress and its allies, such as AP, TN, Rajasthan, they got windfall.
Strangely, in states held by BJP, that trend reversed.
People like Margaret Alva, who had differences with cong leadership regarding tickets to their children lost. Arjun Singh has been silenced.
All the people who chant ‘Sonia…Rahul’ won.
The so called youth brigade are carefully selected subservient lot who sing the above chant. eg- Pilot, Prasada, Scindia, Deora.
This kind of uniformity of bad fortune for prospective opponents of the dynasty causes one to ask “Whats up ?”
Moreover, the latest spin is that BJP lost because of Modi and Varun.
It is well known that BJP campaigned on “shining india” in 2004 and “determined leader” in 2009, abandoning the Hindutva platform that brought them seats in 1990s.
Modi has been consistently silent on Hindutva. It is the ELM that is projecting him as Hindutva icon.
When Varun issue came up, BJP distanced itself from him. Apart from taking advantage of the sentiments of the people on the Varun issue, it has not done anything for him.
Yet, the so-called strategists of BJP are blaming Modi and Varun. making scapegoats of them.
It leads one to strongly suspect that BJP has been infiltrated, compromised big way.
The net result of this election strengthening sonia further is actually a culmination of what started off with the removal of Sitaram Kesari.
Gradually the hold of sonia over congress, and by default, over the politics of this country has increased. In hindsight it appears to be a well calculated, coordinated and executed operation.
Now, with a nominated President, Prime Minister, CEC, a willing CBI and other constitutional authorities, compliant allies and a subservient party, sonia wields enormous power, subtly, unseen, unrecognized.
In the next five years, this power is likely to be further consolidated.
One can expect more incidents like Khandmal, Manglore and even Godhra in BJP ruled states. Chattisgarh seems to be a very strong contender for this with its Maoist presence.
Such incidents will lead to imposing of presidents rule due to ‘constitutional break down’, ‘necessity of protecting minorities’ etc…
The subsequent elections will then return congress govts in these states.
It appears like somebody is playing chess, slowly consolidating his/her position through series of steps leading upto checkmate!
What’s it going to be ?
Christian India?
Realisation of Pope’s vision for this millennia ?
How can a billion people be duped consistently like this ?
A subservient PM and President represents the subservient billion of India.
On BJP’s defeat, Radha Rajan’s views here are interesting.
http://www.vigilonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1082&Itemid=71
http://www.vigilonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=71
http://www.vigilonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1103&Itemid=71 “
I won’t characterize it as a debacle, but a setback. Anyway, only five more years till the next national election – BJP better get to work and figure out its goals. Nothing to lose heart over – setbacks are opportunities for learning and taking stock.
“I was reading of how Americans moved towards a two-party system because a multi-party system did not work”
larissa, have a link to the above and that “multi-party system did not work”?
Mr. Elst has hit the nail on the head. I myself am among those people who were disappointed when Advani was projected as Prime Minister, and I have been discussing it with several people, quite a lot of them NRIs who also persuaded me not to support BJP this time, as they felt let down by the BJP changing its stance regarding Jihad.
The BJP has to come back to its roots and stand for a common civil code, scrapping article 370, construction of the Ram temple, and last but not the least, throwing out the 40 million illegal Bangladeshis. Hindus are being persecuted in Pakistan and Bangladesh and the BJP is silent on this issue as well.
Most of the people are unaware of the global jihad, and fail to understand that the creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh was only a part of the Jihad against India that has been going on for the past 1400 years. If people think that I have taken leave of my senses, please look at Kashmir, India’s most heavily Muslim populated state. Next – Assam or West Bengal.
To say that the BJP lost because it deserted its core ideology is stupid to say the least. If one has understood what the BJP stands for and what the Congress stands for, will any supporter of BJP go and vote for the Congress? Doing so is tantamount to inflicting a wound on oneself!!! No rational person will do that. In this context, Elst’s central argument that the BJP lost because it acted like a B team of Congress is severely flawed. This point is that if the BJP did act like the B team of Congress then there would have lots of redistribution schemes, attempts at projecting youth, charisma etc to name a few of the tools and techniques that the Congress has perfected over the course of last 5 years or so. So, did you see any efforts by the BJP to do these things?
It is important to understand properly the chain of causality and its relevance in the context as regards place & time. It is not because the BJP did not articulate its ideology after it came to power that caused the disaffection amongst its supporters. The BJP came to power riding a wave of Hindutva that was essentially chauvinistic(that found support amongst many poor & illiterate people; let there be no mistake made about that) in the 90s when India was still breaking free from the tyranny of the License Raj. By 1999 (just before the BJP came into power), mobile telephony, media, internet were increasingly becoming the symbols of modernity as well as vehicles of propagating modernity. As a result, people have become slightly savvy and more informed (not necessarily well informed as has been the case).
In addition to this “modernisation”, there are other reasons that contributed to the Congress’ ascension and BJP’s alienation. The poor, middle class and rich alike do not vote for the BJP because of the following partial list of reasons:
The (Hindu) poor of this country do not understand what is going on and are swayed by short term considerations; incentives which have been used by Congress and allies via their redistribution schemes . Then there is another set of (Hindu) poor who are swayed by communist ideologies (check Kerala, WB and Tripura). There is yet another set of (Hindu) poor who are brainwashed into believing that their linguistic identity is more important than their religious identity (Check Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh). Then of course there is that section of the poor who is a “minority” (check Muslims everywhere in the country) and another section of the poor who thinks his religion is “cooler” than Hinduism (check Christians in AP, Orissa, North Eastern states, Kerala, Karnataka)
The middle class is increasingly in the throes of the grip of “modernity & liberalism”. They see liberal thought prevalent in national and international outlets of culture and media and they get sucked in by these and form a self image of a person above caste/religion considerations.
The upper class knows that they have to patronise whichever party that will suit their interests (check corruption in Govt as well as patronage).
So, if anyone wants to continually be deluded into thinking that the people punished the BJP because it did not distinguish itself with the Hindu cause, then feel free to do so. Partisanship is not easy to break. Media or communication studies show that conclusively.
The effect of redistribution schemes and the effect of the inadequately educated people getting sucked in by the image that the Congress projected are few of the two most important explanatory factors explaining support for Congress rather than the BJP.
Of course, the BJP when in power or out of it should be consistently finding ways and means of propagating its ideology and making it more acceptable and more politically correct to be discussed. This will make more and more people understand its stand and support it. But to elevate that as a causal factor explaining defeat in this elections is a huge stretch of imagination.
Apart from losing election, the blatant partial approach adopted by the TV news channels was shocking.
Observations:
1. Media is supposed to be the fourth pillar of democracy however it behaved as the third leg of the congress stool.
News channels worked as an integral part of congress media cell and it appears to be a strategic alliance.
2. It was very anguishing to watch BJP spokesman being grilled one after the other almost endlessly
Their opinion on most issues was trivialised not only by plastic smiling anchors but even by biased audience.
It was as if they had entered in an interrogation centre.
3. On issues related to weak governance, the anchors were seen batting for the congress.
The congress ministers were being prompted/helped during interviews.
There was no coverage of ineffective congress ministers & their policies – at all.
4. During the last phase of elections the news anchors went a step further.
They tried to break BJP alliance partners, pushed Left front in UPA camp and formed an anti BJP front.
They started quoting constitutional experts, that largest party need not be invited to form government.
5. Just before counting day, the media also fooled the Left front & regional parties into forming a “secular front with congress”.
While it was the Congress party that ate into major chunk of their vote bank.
They were quoting left front – “We won’t allow BJP to form government at any cost”.
The result was surprising & regional parties were decimated.
In Bengal, it was BJP that prevented a complete rout of the Left by dividing votes & saving them 6 seats.
BSP was left with only dalit/hindu votes & SP does not have a single Muslim MP!
It was a trick in visual imagery.
The general middle class perceptions on BJP would have been different had the TV channels shown repetitive videos of:
Shivraj Patil fumbling, virulent speeches of Muslim League leaders, divisive policies of Arjun Singh etc.
So my humble suggestion to BJP is to setup own TV channel.
The above view echoed in several of the comments posted across the internet.
Benefits of setting own news channel:
1. Instantly reach an audience in Kerala/West Bengal/Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh, where the BJP presence is zero.
They constitute 143 out of 543 seats and in those states the TV penetration is staggering.
2. Unlike other parties, BJP has intellectual depth. Its leaders are presentable & knowledgeable.
Information can be presented cohesively – especially without stupid interrogations.
3. Using your own TV medium would allow you to present your side of the story and set your agenda.
Let the Left, SP, BSP, NCP etc take on the Congress in TV debates.
4. Every political party except the BJP has its own TV channel.
By proxy Congress operates several TV channels across regional lines apart from the leading two news channels in India.
Even regional parties now have their own TV channels.
In TV news channels it was the BJP interviews, speeches & briefings that were most watched/popular programs.
Every spokesperson was articulate, knowledgeable and had an air of superiority.
However the news channels used BJP, presented them as a ruling party, polarized voters, increased their own TRP’s while all time vilifying them!
It is time to give the agents of congress party some competition.
For a start – stop visiting those two news channels and watch their TRP fall.
larissa, have a link to the above and that “multi-party system did not work”?
Learned about it from readings from American History–read of the time that Americans experimented with multi parties during the Donfederacy and how it did not work and how they moved towards a two-party system. A multi-party system I think works when you have an educated populace such as in Western Europe not a large illiterate populace like in India…. There is no set rule–what works for a country depends on its needs of the moment..
I don’t think one should over-analyze BJP’s defeat. The BJP just didn’t do enough to build an anti-Congress base this time around and instead focussed too much on the “development” platform. They didn’t focus enough on the price rise of essential goods and other day-to-day issues, instead focussing too much on National security and such which won’t win elections.
The Congress has always been a master manipulator of vote-bank politics and they had plenty of time to prepare for this election, and frankly I don’t think the BJP can match them at that game.
But had the elections taken place 6 to 8 months before, I think you’d have seen a totally different result.
Learned about it from readings from American History–read of the time that Americans experimented with multi parties during the Confederacy and how it did not work and how they moved towards a two-party system–. A multi-party system I think works when you have an educated populace such as in Western Europe not a large illiterate populace like in India…. There is no set rule–what works for a country–depends on its needs of the moment…Japan certainly has a peculiar form of democracy but it seems to work for it….
The leader of the Opposition has to be someone who can dwarf the youthfulness of a Rahul Gandhi, the charm of a Priyanka, the “experience” of MMS etc. And that is the important question
I grant you that MMS is a decent, highly educated man who does not have much power in his party–but the other two? It’s our media that projects them as something when in fact they are not–just feeding on the achievements of the great-grandfather who although made a lot of mistakes for which India still suffers nevertheless cannot be said to have been mediocre…It is our media which projects these people and usually the aim of media is to make $$$. I had a friend who told me generally the media gives to people what they want to hear…Do you see Americans fawning over the grand-kids of the Kenndeys? When Caroline Kenney wanted to be governer people questioned her credentials…In India anyone can lead a party. Americans even they questioned the credentials of Sarah Palin although she is a self-made woman and has an education.
Incognito – I think you have done us all a signal service by linking to Radha Rajan’s writings.
She touches a very raw nerve that should make any self-respecting Hindu and BJP supporter quake first and then deeply reflect on what Radha has written. This we must experience before writing anything more on the subject.
Thank you again, Sir.
I agree with the above article. But what kind of “pedigree” do they have? Up until Nehru and even Indira who was a shrewd dictator I can understand “pedigree” but after that? I do not think they have any pedigree anymore sorry–they are half hindu, half christian, quarter muslim, quarter parsi and what not…So the pedigree thing is totally fabricated by the Indian media…I tell you media just wants viewers and sell papers…this is how it is everywhere around the world..serious papers are few…I find the family after Nehru totally irrelevant..if the rest of the family is given importance it is due to our own media and due to the servility of Indians who flock around such people looking for leadership.
“anup says:
To say that the BJP lost because it deserted its core ideology is stupid to say the least. If one has understood what the BJP stands for and what the Congress stands for, will any supporter of BJP go and vote for the Congress?”
Perhaps I should have made my position more clear. I was disillusioned with Advani when he made his “jinnah-was-a-secular” speech, and I have been watching the BJP with despair as it clones Congress in its pursuit of minority votes. Somehow people are just not talking about 1947 and what happened to the people of West Punjab and East Bengal. Now the same thing has happened to Kashmiri Pundits and we can only wonder which state will be next. Exactly when do we start taking some hard steps like uniform civil code, scrapping article 370 and the expulsion of 40 million Bangladeshis who have become a vote bank of Congress and Marxists ? Pandering to minorities has never worked, and the mullahs want an Islamistan out of India. I am not saying that we expel our muhammadan population, but at least we can throw out the illegals and stop giving them their own islam based sharia law. What kind of a country can call itself secular and yet have islamic sharia law for its minorities ? We can check and reverse the demographical trend, but it has to start ASAP.
Had it not been for Advani making his stupid speech that “Modi is not my successor”, I would have actually been more active in getting some votes for the BJP. As it is, I just voted myself and that was all. The same was the attitude of my friends.
one point no one mentions in BJP’s debacle is eunuchs like Rajnath Singh. How did he become president of BJP? On what grounds? BJP kicked out Madan lal khurana -their most charismatic leader in delhi state politics, Uma Bharati and Kalyan Singh apart from few others.
Advani tried to become a Vajapayee by trying to lick any as* he could find.
The few votes that we got was because of leaders like Modi. See what happened in Orissa. These emasculated leaders didn’t campaign aggressively about the betrayal of hindus by patnaik. I think this was one of the last nails in the BJP’s coffin. Advani loves NDTV too much and was busy trying to show his secular face to them.
As for Mr. Elst, please lead the BJP. At least we have some one speaking intelligently
Guys, the key here is will the Congress be willing to take the necessary military action when Pakistan descends into complete chaos in the next 2-4 years?
If not, then a coup, not a BJP government, is needed. The Hindutvadis should continue to work the grassroots, that is much more important. They need to make headway in Bengal, the entire Northeast especially Assam, Orissa, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. These states are where the Mohammedan-Christist menace is most pronounced, and the Hindutvadis especially need to establish a foothold. There will be less money coming from the West and Arab lands as the credit crisis and the declining oil revenue/increased cost of production is going to hit these nations hard. For instance, expect America either to default on its debt or have the dollar crash (the latter is more likely) which will make the value of Christo donations weaken vs. the Rupee. Time for the Hindutvadis to make more moves – in general I am impressed by them (not the BJP) but more is needed.
My God! It was a Knock out punch on the DMK.Let us give credit to our much reviled PM.
Baalu and Raja are the laughing stock of the entire nation.
Incognito, many thanks for sharing Radha Rajan’s article.
Palahalli, thanks for encouraging to read it.
I attempt to clarify what I meant in my earlier posts after understanding (hopefully) what Elst was really trying to say.
The BJP deserted its core ideology long time back; it wasn’t during 2004-2009 when it was sitting in the Opposition. It happened during 1998-2004 when it was in power.
The time to staying true to its ideology and moving forward on its core ideology was when the BJP was still on the ascendant; when the people in the BJP were still moved by the concept of a Hindu nation and the rank and files of the RSS energised by the potential of the BJP.
Today, more than ever with “cultural globalisation”, the media as well as Congress & its allies have brainwashed the concept of secularism into the minds of a majority of urban populace. With the poor in rural areas, they have swayed them through immediate incentives via redistribution schemes as well as through the attractive image projected by MMS & Gandhi family.
Does Elst seriously believe that the BJP’s core ideology of Hindutva as marketed earlier will find takers given this time and context?
I doubt so. The ideology needs to be repackaged in a manner that fires the imagination of the poor in rural & urban areas as well as the middle class in the urban areas. The BJP can remain true to its core ideology for sure; but it has to make itself & it’s message acceptable in these changed times.
Ideas do not exist in a vacuum. One needs committed people who espouse their cause. The committed people are already there in the RSS. The message needs to be repackaged to rekindle the spirit and the potential for awakening the masses like it did in the early 1990s. To serve the cause of spreading the message; the repackaging needs to be done and communicators need to be identified. The important question before the BJP is who will manage those two important aspects.
In my mind, there is the party leader and the Leader of Opposition. I prefer Modi for the former and do not know about the latter; maybe Arun Shourie. These two need to work with Mohan Bhagwat to put the BJP back into the reckoning.
Whether this will happen is what I am anxiously waiting to see. In the meantime, I hope that messages like the one by Elst (whom I respectfully admire) do not find traction with the Sangh Parivar.
http://renjithmn.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/muthalikram-sene-and-election-2009/
Just wanted to say thanks for the great post ! Found your blog on Google and I’m happy I did. I’ll be reading you on a regular basis ! Thanks again
Thanks,
Donna
[...] One such group in this debate comprises of people who blame the defeat on BJP diluting its assertive Hindutva plank as exemplified by Koenraad Elst (via) [...]