DC Debate: Amit Shah's elevation in the BJP, Politics gets personal

His elevation a threat to the nation

By appointing Amit Shah as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is turning the party into his personal fiefdom to get the agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh implemented all over the country. When L.K. Advani was dragged out from the post of the BJP president in 2005, under orders from the RSS, a diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Delhi to Washington stated that the event demonstrated the “power of the RSS… and will likely increase the party’s political decline”.

According to Wikileaks, the cable had also noted that Mr Advani was “shocked” by the failure of the “second tier” of the BJP leadership, comprising, among others, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi, to come to his aid. While leaving the president’s post, Mr Advani had called for changing the “impression that has gained ground that no political or organisational decision can be taken (by the BJP) without the consent of the RSS functionaries”. As Mr Shah is known to be the Prime Minister’s Man Friday because of his long association with him through the thick and thin of Gujarat’s turbulent politics, it is quite clear that Mr Modi would trust no one but him to implement the RSS’ agenda in the country.

First it was Mr Modi who was projected by the RSS as the BJP’s PM candidate. Now, it was through Mr Modi that the RSS was going whole hog to implement its agenda. First, by projecting Mr Modi as the PM candidate and then getting Mr Shah elevated to the post of the party president through him clearly demonstrates that the RSS is not only running the government but also the saffron outfit. Mr Shah’s elevation also marks the beginning of a new culture in politics. Mr Shah, who faces criminal charges and was even banned from entering Gujarat, has been given the key assignment to send across a clear message to the BJP leaders that if they do not toe the RSS line, then there is no room for them to continue.

See, there was nothing for the common man in the recent Budget. But there are certain things in the Budget which clearly prove that the PM was all out to fulfil the RSS’ agenda. Mr Shah’s anointment is also a clear indication that the RSS is in the process of devising a new scientific poll strategy to further polarise the electorate. Also, the RSS has made it clear that those opposed to Mr Modi will be given no important portfolio, neither in the government nor in the organisation. Mr Shah’s elevation is a threat to national security. Now both the Prime Minister’s Office and the BJP will be run from Jhandewalan and RSS headquarters. The RSS has already changed its posturing. What remains unchanged in politics is the secular ideology of the Congress. Mr Shah’s anointment is a wake-up call for the entire nation. If our countrymen are not able to see through Mr Modi’s nefarious RSS gameplan, then we are surely heading for a major disaster.

(As told to Sanjay Kaw)

Mukesh Sharma is the chief spokesman of the Delhi Pradesh Congress

Shah is the man for the moment

The general trend in political parties, whether national or regional, has been to nominate a comparative lightweight, if not a political non-entity, as president whenever the party is in power, with the most powerful leader holding chief ministership or prime ministership. In parties such as the Congress, Prime Ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, held the post of the party president simultaneously for several years, while as the most powerful party chief Sonia Gandhi gave the country’s prime ministership to an economist with little mass support.

Even in the Bharatiya Janata Party, when the popular Atal-Advani duo were holding key positions in the National Democratic Alliance regime, the party had presidents including Bangaru Laxman and Jana Krishnamurthy, who were more intellectuals less mass leaders.

Contrary to expectations that a strong personality such as Narendra Modi would have either a puppet or a pliable lightweight as the party president, the BJP has appointed a mass leader who has never lost a single poll out of the 28 elections he has fought at various levels since 1989 and turned the party’s fortunes by winning 71 of the 80 seats in the electorally critical Uttar Pradesh, paving the way for the formation of the NDA government at the Centre.

It goes to Mr Modi’s credit that he has chosen a master strategist to head the party when the general trend is to take the cream of the party into the government.
As the two have worked together for decades in Gujarat, Mr Modi undoubtedly shares an excellent rapport with Mr Shah, which is critical in shaping government-party relations.
Mr Modi knows too well that the most challenging time for any political party is when it is in power and perhaps the most competent man available for the task was none other than Mr Shah.

Thus, it is the desire to consolidate and expand the footprint of the party that motivated Mr Modi to go for Mr Shah, rather than to strengthen his own grip on the party. Besides, Mr Shah’s administrative experience as a minister in the Gujarat government holding as many as 12 major portfolios, including home, would enable him to understand the nuances and intricacies of government functioning, lack of which often leads to misunderstanding.

Moreover, Mr Shah has worked as general secretary in the party. Though his activities were concentrated in Uttar Pradesh during this period, he was able to strike a rapport with other national level leaders.

Mr Shah’s greatest asset is his proven ability to lead the party from the front and take people along, as was reflected in the recent elections.
Much like Mr Modi, Mr Shah is also credited with the ability to turn adversities into opportunities and this quality will keep him in good stead in the coming days as he gears up to face the manifold challenges before the party.

K.G. Suresh is senior fellow and editor with the Vivekananda International Foundation