BJP: All is not well
FRONTLINE|December 11, 2015

The Bharatiya Janata Party is in a state of flux with party veterans poised to become the rallying point for forces opposed to the  authority of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, particularly in the wake of the party’s defeat in  the Bihar Assembly elections. 

Venkitesh Ramakrishnan
 BJP: All is not well

One prominent stream of discussion within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)-led Sangh Parivar hinged on the ramifications of the Bihar verdict for power equations in the party, the Parivar and the Narendra Modi government. The emphasis of these was that the reverses suffered by the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by it in Bihar would be exploited by sections in the party and the Sangh Parivar outfits to hit out against Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

However, the speed with which BJP veterans such as former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi came out with an open statement, barely two days after the election results came out, surprised a large number of Sangh Parivar activists and observers. The short but forceful statement, signed by senior party leaders, including former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, did not take specific names but there wa doubt about its targets.

Opening with the assertion that “no lesson has been learnt from the fiasco in Delhi”, referring to the crushing defeat of the party in the Assembly elections in February at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), they said: “To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar, is to ensure that no one is held responsible. It shows those who would have appropriated credit if the party had won are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing in Bihar. The principal reason for the latest defeat is the way the party has been emasculated in the last year. A thorough review must be done of the reasons for the defeat as well as of the way the party is being forced to kow-tow to a handful, and how its consensual character has been destroyed. This review must not be done by the very persons who have managed and who have been responsible for the campaign in Bihar.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 11, 2015 من FRONTLINE.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 11, 2015 من FRONTLINE.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من FRONTLINE مشاهدة الكل
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
FRONTLINE

How Not To Handle An Epidemic

The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Tragedy on foot
FRONTLINE

Tragedy on foot

As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020
Sarpanchs as game changers
FRONTLINE

Sarpanchs as game changers

Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

time-read
7 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Scapegoating China
FRONTLINE

Scapegoating China

As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.

time-read
10 mins  |
June 5, 2020
New worries
FRONTLINE

New worries

Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 5, 2020
FRONTLINE

No love lost for labour

Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.

time-read
8 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Capital's Malthusian moment
FRONTLINE

Capital's Malthusian moment

In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020
Understanding migration
FRONTLINE

Understanding migration

When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.

time-read
10 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
FRONTLINE

Waiting for Jabalpur moment

The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020
An empty package
FRONTLINE

An empty package

The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020