Ideology, Cadres and Leadership

Now that the nitty-gritty of the formation of governments in four states and one UT is over, the BJP under Modi has to come down to the nuts and bolts of running the affairs of the party, as it is time to see the challenges it faces. The huge build up and the great expectations, which the voters of the nation had placed in the BJP under Modi during the 2019 general elections, have now literally put him under the microscope. After the recent electoral verdict in four states and one UT, the nay-sayers and Modi baiters are leaving no opportunity to haul him over the coals, although, it is another matter that the BJP has improved its tally in all the states and UT that went to elections. Against this backdrop, it is apt to mention that the leadership of the BJP will be put to a test in the days to come as to how it tackles the problems, afflicting the party. It is noteworthy that the BJP traces its roots to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), which was established in 1951 as the political wing of RSS by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The BJP advocates Hindutva, an ideology that sought to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values, and it is highly critical of the secular policies and practices of the India National Congress. It is the proponent of rebuilding Bharat in accordance with Hindu culture and calls for the formation of a strong unified Bharat, without piggybacking the leaders and cadres from other parties. No wonder, the party’s cadres, cutting across caste, creed and religious considerations, sacrifice their life for rebuilding a Bharat on the lines of Hindu ethos and culture.

But, in the recent past, the BJP has seemingly deviated from its moorings, as the long time devoted carders are overlooked and the parachuted leaders from other parties are given undue importance, which infuses gloom into the party cadres, as was witnessed in West Bengal and earlier in other states too.  In late 2018, the BJP suffered large election losses. Elections were held in five states in November and December, and the BJP lost in all five, including its strongholds of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The loss was attributed to the exclusion of the party cadres in those states, as has now been witnessed in West Bengal, where a large number of leaders from TMC were preferred to the grassroots workers of the BJP. Hence, now the BJP’s leadership will have to take a wakeup call, as the party is imbued with the principles and ideology of Integral Humanism, first propounded by Deendayal Udadhyay, besides the principles advocated by Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Sharda Devi and Vivekanand. Bengalis worship Matrushakti in the form of Kali and Durga, as the worship of the Goddess symbolises the victory of good over evil. But in West Bengal, Mamata is acting in the opposite direction–she is maintaining the studied silence over incidents of violence, unleashed after the electoral verdict in the state. It is worth mentioning here that in the past too, under her chief ministership, thousands of political murders were committed. In fact, her past regimes were worse than the three decades of Communist misrule. Literally, Didi took all steps to destroy humanity, culture, Ma, Maati and Manush in the state. Now, it is to be seen whether Didi will be able to put a full stop to these macabre incidents of violence in the state so as to create a conducive atmosphere for industrialisation, agricultural growth and infrastructure development in rural and urban areas of the state.

By Deepak Kumar Rath

(editor@udayindia.in)