In his autobiography, My Country My Life, BJP veteran L.K. Advani writes about how the saffron party acquired the now-defunct tagline—A Party with a Difference. A working group with then party vice president Krishan Lal Sharma as its convenor had recommended the adoption of “Five Basic Commitments” by the party. These were nationalism and national integration, democracy, Gandhian approach to socio-economic system, positive secularism explained as sarva pantha samabhaav, and value-based politics. The party was not only to be a “political alternative to the Congress, but also as one that can offer an alternative political culture”
What is "political culture"? Loosely, the Congress and all Congress governments take their cue from the Nehru-Gandhi household, and there is talk of dynasty. The ministers and other senior leaders are seen as sychophants, who have to pay obeisance to the Gandhis. The Gandhis were more about charisma, style and showmanship. The party would do anything to stay in power. This would include the use of money and muscle power, false promises, usage of government machinery, and deals with crony capitalists.
The BJP, when it took itself seriously as a party with a difference, did not do or encourage any of these, though the RSS was its own version of 10 Janpath. While the cues came from Nagpur, the BJP leaders did not have to pay obeisance.
Now look at the 'New BJP', or the Naya Bhajpa under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. Almost all cues have to be taken from the PMO, where most decisions are taken and conveyed to ministers who have to sign on the dotted line—after all they are the ministers in charge of that ministry!!
The conspiracy theories around demonetisation and the subsequent Uttar Pradesh assembly win, the mysterious donors who heaped funds on them by way of electoral bonds, the overnight wealth of Shah's son, the Rafael controversy, the Adhani growth, the Anil Ambani story, all are the kind that would not have happened in the party till it was different.
Modi appears to have been inspired to follow the Nehru-Gandhi footstep, particularly that of his bete-noire, Indira Gandhi, on how to dress , particularly for special dos, and what to say—otherwise his recent “they want to oust me, and I want to remove poverty” would not sound so, so like, Mai kehti hoon garibi hatao, who kehtein hai Indira hatao . But we have to grant him his theatrics, which are totally his.
Now for the “value-based” politics . Without exception, senior leaders including Modi and Shah make it sound sinful that other parties are attempting to unite, form a gathbandhan, with the sole purpose of defeating the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. They seem to have forgotten why the Jan Sangh (the previous avatar of the BJP) joined the Janata Party. Or why the BJP and the Janata Dal were making serious efforts to form an alliance with the common objective of defeating the Congress. And also their anti-democratic rhetoric of working for a Congress mukt Bharat!
For long, the BJP's candidates and leaders had to come from their ranks. The Union Transport and Highways Minister Nithin Gadkari eloquently described this when he said it was the only party where an ordinary worker could rise to be the party president. For now, Gadkari's words remain true. But, many of their candidates for Lok Sabha 2014 and Lok Sabha 2019 are people who have been tempted into the BJP fold with a party ticket! This is the New BJP, with a good sprinkling of people of all political hues and ideologies, nothing but a euphemism for opportunists.
What about the ideological differences, Amit Shah was asked at an informal briefing. With his characteristic smile, he answered: “That is not my problem. I have not changed my ideology. They have to take to my party's ideology”.
As the famous Bollywood dialogue goes, Picture abhi baki hai, mere dost (The picture is not over yet, my friend).
