Today, BJP’s 40th foundation day Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a message on coronavirus to BJP workers, asking them to follow the guidelines and “help those in need and reaffirm the importance of social distancing. The BJP’s foundation day is a low-key affair as the party is observing it amid the nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus or COVID-19. Some might have broken all the barriers and celebrating the day in their private zones but largely this won’t be a celebration day. Party president JP Nadda too urged BJP workers to help the needy in the fight against COVID-19. Well, this may not be the time to celebrate but this is definitely the time to get in flashback.
Its forty long years of BJP, the party was founded in 1980 by leaders of the erstwhile Jana Sangh, which had merged in 1977 with Janata Party – an amalgam of several anti-Congress parties. Bharatiya Janta Party founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Cultural nationalism or Hindutva is an important element in its conception of the Indian nationhood and politics. Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, a uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion, and ban on religious conversions. The factor which led to the rise of the BJP in India is the Hindutva issue. In the first Lok Sabha polls it fought in 1984, the BJP won only two seats but has since gone from strength to strength, winning a majority of seats for the first time in 2014 and repeating its success in the 2019 nation election.
Hindu communalism, an intangible and malicious hatred of minorities, can in principle be independent of Hindu nationalism. Conversely there are moments where Hindu nationalism needs the violent dividing dynamisms of Hindu communalism and moments where it seeks to suppress it. Strong Hindu communalism needs a mounting framework — Shah Bano, terrorism, Godhra — to yield political, Delhi Riots in the recent past dividends. For the time being there’s none available. This is not to say external events or Congress’ political ineptness will not produce such conditions again. But Hindu communalism does not knit a durable social coalition and the disagreement it produces backfired in many state elections. Hindu nationalism has continued to echo, serving as a resource for a politics of cultural esteem, as a counterbalance to a cultural leftism. Ayodhya has been used once too often for it to be a potent symbol, until the final judgement delivered. It would continue in next election with the launch of brand-new temple.
In the last six years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has undergone a massive transformation and is today the country’s most challenging political force. The party won the 2014 general election with a convincing majority under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who held power in May 2014. It is in power in 20 states, either on its own or with its allies. This rise can be attributed to various factors, including the party leadership, organizational skills, and effective ground work. They did not stop here but in 2019 they came up with unexpected mandate, the vote share was more than the 2014.one thing is sure, the majority votes are with them and no one can actually shift them. If you look at their vote percent its dedicated and they don’t need other votes. I mean they can do without minority votes bank. In seven years since 2013, when Narendra Modi was declared its prime ministerial candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to widen its geographical reach and strengthen its electoral and political supremacy across the country. Today, the BJP is the richest, largest, and most dominant political party in India. The party that decided to abandon the ideals of “positive secularism and Gandhian socialism” under the leadership of Modi who would later serve as prime minister twice. In 2014 and 2019, the BJP went back to the Hindutva ideology of its precursor, the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS). The BJP’s rise to power can be attributed partly to Amit Shah’s organisational skills, as well as the party’s return to the Hindutva agenda while keeping the liberal image of Modi alive in general memory. What further helped the party was the fact that the electorate wanted a change from the long years of Congress rule. Slogans like “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” and an appeal to the electorate to give the BJP a chance captured the confidence of the electorate. This time, the BJP was led by Modi, a four-time chief minister of Gujarat and the party’s prime ministerial candidate. He managed to capitalise on the popular discontent against the UPA government and won the party a majority, on its own, in Lok Sabha. The last time a party had won a majority on its own was when the Congress won 404 seats in the 1984 elections that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Ever since Modi became prime minister on 26 May 2014, the BJP has been working like a well-oiled electoral machine. It has won one state election after another and is dominating the national discourse like no other party has done in recent memory.
The rise of Modi has also marked the rise of Amit Shah as BJP president. Rajnath Singh, who headed the party in the run-up to the 2014 electoral victory, reportedly wanted to continue in the post and stay out of the government. But this was not acceptable to Modi as that could have meant a dual power centre. Rajnath Singh had an excellent rapport with the RSS and that is why Modi did not want him to continue. The name of party General Secretary J P Nadda, a politician from Himachal Pradesh, was brought into contention and the RSS was agreeable to him. The move was made to juxtapose Shah against Nadda. Modi resolved it by inducting Singh and Nadda into his cabinet and appointing Shah, his old and trusted colleague from Gujarat, as party president, later on Home Minister. This was an exception to the long-held convention that the prime minister and the party president should come from different states. Upon taking charge, Shah introduced many changes in the party’s administrative style and structure. He modernised the party set-up and developed a system that rewards individuals who deliver. He ushered in a corporate-style system of vertical heads for programmes, in contrast to the horizontal nature of the party under the previous presidents. For Shah and the party, elections are “nothing less than war”. His advice to party colleagues after taking charge was: Elections are to be fought with clarity of mind and with the single objective of victory. He enjoys the total support of Modi, stands firm in his decisions and brooks no interference from any leader. By most accounts, he has a no-nonsense style of leadership, and keeps a tight schedule and long hours of work, inspiring his team to follow suit. Shah has also developed closer working relations with the RSS, as a result of which the RSS leadership and functionaries are playing a bigger role in running the oganisation.
Looking at current scenario one can say BJP is going to stay here for another forty years in power.
Also Read:
The Lockdown period can be extended due to rise in the cases of COVID-19
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
