Eight or nine months ago, a senior journalist from Karnataka ad told me about the deep rot in the Karnataka government. He leans towards Hindutva and is not a Congress or JD(S) apologist, so I took his criticism of the BJP seriously. Soon after, when I brought up the grouses against the Karnataka government with a very senior BJP politician from the south, he said he was aware and the party needed to repair the damage.
Most BJP supporters I have met from Karnataka since — ordinary citizens as well as those in public life — have unequivocally said that the state party was corrupt and its leadership was limp. Saturday’s Karnataka verdict squarely reflects their disappointment.
The BJP must realise that after the coming of Narendra Modi and trailblazing success driven by performance, it can no longer live in the warmth of low expectations. Voters have set the bar much higher for the BJP than for other parties.
Here are five things the BJP seemed to have forgotten in its Karnataka campaign
First, the party has to be clean. It cannot say, “Look, the Congress and JD(S) are far more corrupt.” Corruption became so casual in the officialdom under Basavaraj Bommai that the Congress’ ‘PayCM’ campaign connected directly with the people. Also, the Bommai government did nothing to bring to book Congress politicians like DK Shivakumar, who are accused of massive corruption. More than a pro-Congress, the Karnataka verdict has been to punish the BJP for reneging on its basic contract with the people.
Second, even in small states like Himachal Pradesh, the absence of strong and dynamic local leaders is hurting the BJP. Having a strong high command but weak local leaders demolishes a big differentiator between the BJP and the Congress. Today, Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan can pull their parties on their own. But in many states, over-reliance on Modi and poor talent spotting has marred the BJP’s chances.
Third, it needs to be a lot more clear and assertive about Hindutva. Its core ideology cannot be a matter of shy subterfuge during elections. Like its spells out development goals, the BJP must be more upfront with its civilisational targets, even locally.
Fourth, the party has failed to shed its reliance on caste arithmetic despite its proclamations to the contrary. The breach of the traditionally saffron Lingagayat vote even in strongholds like Kittur shows that unless the BJP takes risks and breaks comfortable structures of the past, these will let it down sooner or later.
And fifth is that to be the party with a difference, the BJP needs to have another tide of new people and new ideas. Himachal and Karnataka losses are not to be taken lightly. They show that the old guard in any party does not give up power easily, but keeps playing their sly games in the backdrop to remain relevant and extract favour for family and friends even if it means damaging the party.
Modi BJP, despite its monstrous size, is a lean, innovative, merit-rewarding and risk-taking machine. If power stagnates the BJP’s thinking and it gets stuck in the muck, the party’s own weight will bring it down.
Abhijit Majumder is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.
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