NEW DELHI: After RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expressed concern over the “negativity”, “arrogance” and the “violation of poll decorum” in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, the weekly magazine Organiser, considered close to the Sangh Parivar, took a jibe at the BJP, saying the poll results were a “reality check” for an “overconfident” BJP.
In a dig at the BJP, the article said party workers and many leaders did not realise that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call of “400 plus” (seats) was a target for them and a dare to the Opposition.
An article in the magazine by an author and columnist who is considered close to the Sangh termed the Lok Sabha results a reality check for “overconfident” BJP workers and many of its leadership, who he claimed were happy in their “bubble” and enjoying the glow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aura but not listening to the voices on the streets.
The article has come in the wake of reports of displeasure amongst the RSS cadre over the way the BJP leadership had handled and implemented the election strategy.
Sources said top BJP leaders, including its president J.P. Nadda, had met the RSS top brass ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Narendra Modi third-term government. At that meeting, sources disclosed, the RSS top brass conveyed its displeasure over the “negative campaigning” and lack of coordination from the party’s side.
The RSS leadership, the sources said, also made it clear that the BJP leadership did not try to contain reports of a rift between the BJP and the RSS leadership, which hurt the morale of the Sangh cadre.
The RSS leadership, the sources said, told the BJP top brass that they could have reworked on their election strategy after feedback of the first phase of polling indicated that its target of 370-plus seats would not be an easy task. The RSS, it is learnt, also held the BJP leadership accountable for lack of coordination between its workers and leaders and that of the Sangh.
Noting that though the RSS is not a “field force” of the BJP, the article mentioned that the BJP leaders and workers did not reach out to its “swayamsevaks” (volunteers) seeking their cooperation in electoral work.
The article also claimed that neglect of the older dedicated workers who worked without the urge for recognition by the new age social media-aided selfie-powered activists was also evident in the poll results. Incidentally, Mr Modi, during one of his interactions with BJP workers ahead of the polls, had said that karyakartas should reach out to old karyakartas to seek guidance.
The BJP, with 240 seats, fell short of a majority but the NDA secured the mandate with 293 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
Maintaining that targets are achieved by hard work on the field, not sharing posters and selfies on the social media, the article said: “Since they were happy in their bubble, enjoying the glow reflected from Modiji's aura, they were not listening to the voices on the streets.”
Noting that the idea that Modi was fighting in all 543 Lok Sabha seats had “a limited value”, the article said: “This idea became self-defeating when the candidates were changed, imposed at the cost of local leaders and defectors given more importance. Sacrificing even well-performing parliamentarians to accommodate latecomers hurt. It is estimated that around 25 per cent of candidates were seasonal migrants.”
The article said the party leadership failed to take any lessons from the Himachal Pradesh Assembly poll debacle where 30 per cent rebels led to the defeat of the BJP.
The article also flagged the "unnecessary politicking" as one of the many reasons behind the BJP's underperformance in the Lok Sabha polls.
The article described the BJP's strategy in Maharashtra as “unnecessary politicking and avoidable manipulations”.
