Advani views spark fresh political buzz

As far as current political dynamics goes, BJP veteran L.K. Advani’s untrammelled views on the current situation, candidly spelt out in a newspaper interview, constitute a veritable package of dynamite. The situation is replete with a singular lack of assurance in the government, supposedly held together by the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The instability in the polity has been caused not by mass public discontent expressed through protest actions (although the economic situation as it impacts the people is far from satisfactory), or any deep manoeuvres of the parliamentary Opposition, but by the not-so-hidden warfare that surfaced in the ruling BJP in the past week, triggered by the sudden disclosure of Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi interactions which in turn revealed a rich vein of simmering inner-party tensions fully involving Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who now seems on the warpath.

It is unthinkable that this muddying of waters at the heart of the government and the ruling party could have taken place without the interventions of those at the top. What their intentions might be can only be guessed at. It is also not clear if such elements are plying their trade with the blessings of the Prime Minister, or to undermine him. If it’s the latter, then the PM is evidently not in control. On the other hand, if those close to the PM are masterminding the current goings-on from the shadows, then Mr Modi could well be playing for high stakes in the sense of seeking to wrest control of the BJP-directed commanding structures of the polity from the hands of the RSS into his own hands.

This could mean that bruising battles lie ahead, given the nature and history of this Hindu-supremacist outfit which extends its reach to every aspect of social life as it links to politics. Whichever way one looks at it, the context seems delicate. The arrival of such a moment so early for this government is far from being a good sign. Mr Advani, flagrantly disregarded by the present RSS bosses as well as the PM and his team, is a disappointed man towards the end of a long and distinguished political innings. But what he has to say will find resonance within the BJP, not to mention the Opposition.

Mr Advani has spoken in hints of “forces that can crush democracy” being stronger now than before. It is no secret that all levels in the BJP — at the Centre and in the states — have felt suffocated for long, and believe that power is over-centralised under Mr Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, who is the PM’s creation and his committed loyalist, and no one else stands a chance. That is a setting for palace intrigue.