Why BJP is wary of a Congress-like situation

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis recently appealed to disgruntled party leaders and workers to work to win the 2024 elections if they were to gain something substantial from the party. File pic/Ashish Raje

The political ‘haves and have-nots' were prominent at the Bharatiya Janata Party's state executive conclave in Nashik last weekend. Amid a call for keeping the party ahead of personal interests, the ‘have-nots' expected something or the other from the party that has come to power and dominates the alliance government though it does not have its CM. The dismayed are the majority because the Cabinet has not been expanded, the appointments have not been made to the state-controlled boards and corporations, the local body elections have delayed inordinately, and the elections that were held so far have left hundreds of aspirants wishing for their rehabilitation.

The phenomenon isn't new at all for the political parties in power, but the open disgruntlement and the infighting that has caused the BJP's defeat in the Amravati MLC polls, ended the conclave on a serious note, demanding the top leadership to tackle it before it's too late, even as the party has begun a campaign to register a ‘mega victory' in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The party, which is known for its cadre-based organisation, has been hit by the internal power game. Another thing that seemed to have occupied the BJP rank and file was the uncertainty over the state government's longevity, because of the legal hassles that the Opposition has been consistently citing to predict the fall.

Beed Lok Sabha MP Dr Pritam Munde made no bones about the concerns. Like many others, a strong discontent stays in her family as well, especially her elder sister Pankaja, who has been feeling ignored ever since she lost in 2019. "Ours is a double-engine government, but the coaches (of the train) should not be forgotten," she expressed herself from the dais while making it a representative speech of the left-out leaders and workers.

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The sentiment is stronger in the people who have been active in the BJP before it began ruling at the Centre and state, because they feel that the turncoats get priority while positions of power are allotted, denying the loyalists who have propelled the party to the top. The argument that the defectors have also brought to the BJP invaluable strength has some acceptance, but laced with a counter-argument that the decision-makers are also expected to work out a balance between the old guards and the new entrants, so that the party's fabric doesn't weaken.

Things came to such a pass in Nashik that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to tell the delegates that those without any position will have to kill ‘uncontrolled ambitions', in the party's interest. He said that the leaders should behave like leaders but should not not let the karyakarta (worker) in them die, or else the day will not be far for transforming the BJP into another Congress. He spoke his mind, making clear the difficulties in accommodating every aspirant. He appealed to them to work for winning the 2024 elections if they were to gain something substantial from the party, which he said would return to power repeatedly riding on the workers' and leaders' commitment to the people. Stop thinking of your own interests, exactly the way PM Narendra Modi has been doing for long living a life of ‘pracharak', he added, while senior leaders from the Centre and state were seated in front. Fadnavis also assured that the Eknath Shinde-led ‘constitutional' government will not only complete its term, but also return next year.

The next round of dismay is being seen in Pune's Kasba where the BJP is contesting the Assembly bypoll. Representatives of the Brahmin community have held this particular seat for many terms, but this time, their nominee was not considered. Posters have come up in the constituency, expressing the anger and a decision to go for NOTA vote. The change hasn't been received well by the Brahmins, who, going by the decision, propose to stay with the BJP by not voting for others.

In Amravati's preferential polling for the graduates' segment MLC, the BJP's disgruntled lot resorted to a novel way to ensure its defeat. Over 5,000 loyalists gave the BJP candidate the second preference without marking the first and third preference votes, thus rendering their ballot papers invalid. The message has left the party's top leadership worrying, because such a mass action cannot be an inadvertent human error, but an informed attempt that was executed with some solid planning and coordination.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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