Why the BJP is the new Congress

By Pran Kurup, for for E T

 

Ever since the BJP was swept to power at the center, there have been two distinct efforts from the party. The first is to put its marketing department on permanent over-drive in a massive image-building exercise while simultaneously distorting the truth and counter any criticism. To a large extent, this effort has been very successful.

Examples of this are visible every day. Just the other day, Mr.Jaitey had the temerity to announce that India is leading the battle against black money. A perfectly tuned headline to reinforce the illusion of change to the ever gullible middle class. The truth is that the BJP has done little about black money, despite making a host of shameful promises including the PM himself promising 15-20 lakhs per citizen after bringing back the black money within 100 days! The reality, though, is a far cry from this smoke screen.

Then there are a whole host of Bollywood-like feel-good buzz lines — Make in India; no more red tape, only red carpet; SMART police; Swach bharath; better utilization of railway stations; sabka vikas sabke saath; and maximum governance minimum government. (This so-called minimum government with 66 ministers is not very different from the 77 in the UPA!). In short, the internal mantra seems to be to crank out one buzz line a day to keep “ache din” seekers at bay and the middle class in good spirits like front benchers at a Bollywood film.

Then there is the entire spin around government officers and bureaucrats coming into work on time. This is the minimum one should expect of them. The spin doctors of BJP are busy attributing credit for this to the PM. Seriously? We need a designer-clothes wearing PM to bring these bureaucrats in line?

As far as investors and other financial experts are concerned, the general consensus seems to be that not much has changed since the BJP government came to power. In fact, there seem to be a consensus that it has been a mere continuation of UPA-II policies. Comparisons to Thatcher and Reagan have stopped, thankfully.

The second effort by the BJP is the concerted effort to consolidate power at the state level. i.e., try to win each state or, if not possible, establish a coalition partner of convenience in the state – a strategy straight out of the Congress playbook.

The BJP tried and failed in UP at the polls. In Maharashtra, it succeeded after dumping long term partners, the Thackeray boys, and shaking hands with the NCP. (If the NCP’s past is any indication, it is only a matter of time before NCP is part of the NDA and Pawar and./or one of his family members is a minister at the center.) In Tamil Nadu, after courting Rajnikanth for months, the party is well on its way to establishing a partnership with Jayalalitha by providing her a safe exit (via an IT department fine). Meanwhile, Madhu Koda seems to be in BJP sights (if not arms) in Jharkhand. In West Bengal, Didi is being arm twisted on a daily basis and it remains to be seen how long before she too falls in line. In Andhra, Naidu is well and truly in the bag.

The Congress party had perfected this approach over decades, using the CBI and other weapons of governance to force the state leadership to fall in line. While the Congress party perfected the art of staying in power, it completely failed to develop the future leadership of the party or establish policies and procedures of intra-party democracy and professional management – the Gandhi family had the final say on all issues by default more than by design. New entrants to the party were all inducted through the hereditary route – sons and daughters of formers ministers. Today, it is paying the price for playing a long-term survival and sustenance game – it has no leadership whatsoever to fall back on, while the Gandhis have gone AWOL.

So clearly, BJP has a two-pronged strategy – one, to make their way into hearts and minds of the people (not through fundamental changes that can positively impact their lives but through gimmicks crafted by marketing charlatans in air-conditioned rooms) and with ample help of an acquiescent media; and two, to consolidate power.  Both of these are being executed with an eye towards longevity and self-preservation, but with no genuine desire to bring about the much ballyhooed fundamental change — change we can actually see and experience rather than just be fed through various channels.

With these moves, the BJP is well on its way to becoming the next Congress. The centralization of power has already happened, as in Indira Gandhi’s time. Dynasty politics is alive and well in the BJP and hear to stay and thrive. What remains is for a culture of sycophancy and complete lack of trust to develop and perpetuate. If the history of the 70s is any indication, Modi will soon be surrounded only by yes men who sing his praise and tell him what he wants to hear. Mr. Modi might be smarter than most people are willing to give him credit for, and survive long enough to see the dawn of “ache din.” Though the signs are far from promising, one can only hope that it is true for the sake of India.

Perhaps the most disheartening trend since the BJP’s rise to power is the complete failure of the media. Reporters are more concerned about having selfies with the PM rather than asking him the tough questions. The media persons missing the kind of access that they enjoyed during the days of the UPA are now desperately currying favors to win over those in power. This is accomplished by aiding and adding fuel to BJP’s hype machine and by not being overly critical of the govt. Others are either looking for new media houses or peddling books and drawing a lesson or two on self-promotion from the BJP’s marketing department.

All of these are troubling trends at a time when India has significant challenges at hand. Do we really need another Congress?

(You can follow Pran’s tweets at htp://twitter.com/pkurup)