Fly on the Wall
The emergence of a Flexible Modi!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proved his critics wrong once again by showing tremendous flexibility in the wake of BJP's shock defeat at the hustings. He took no time in dumping the “Modi Sarkar” slogan and repeatedly stressed that it's an NDA government and will usher in a new era. Those who were accusing him of being a “megalomania” and would be incapable of carrying partners along, were running for cover on June 4 evening when he addressed BJP workers at the party's headquarters. While workers were shouting the “Modi Sarkar Zindabad” slogans, he repeatedly told them that it was an NDA win and kept harping on the theme of running the country by “Consensus”. Incidentally, Modi never uttered this word even once during his 10 year regime. But he showed tremendous alacrity to adjust in a changed political environment. Surely; it's a lesson to students of political science.
However, Modi's major challenge will be to run a coalition due to trust deficit between the BJP and its alliance partners in the past. Modi has been a solo player and there is a lurking feeling that once he settles down he may not show the same courtesy as was being given to partners during the NDA government formation process. The allocation of sundry portfolios to them after taking oath does not augur well.
Modi is No PV Or Atal
It must be borne in mind that Modi is no P V Narasimha Rao who ran a coalition with 240 Congress Mps between 1991-96 amidst one crisis after the other. Modi is no Atal Behari Vajpayee either who will allow a Giridhar Gamang to vote out his government by his single vote in Lok Sabha in 1999. Gamang had just become the Odisha Chief Minister and had not quit his Lok Sabha seat when Congress brought a no-confidence motion against Vajpayee who was running a coalition government with 182 BJP MPs. Gamang was eligible to cast his vote in a confidence motion and his one vote led to the fall of the Vajpayee government. Modi is a hands-on PM working 24X7 and according to him has a strong sixth sense and that divine power enables him to change strategy without loss of time. The way he dumped the Land Acquisition Ordinance in August 2015 after issuing it twice surprised many of his staunch followers. He did the same somersault by withdrawing three Farm Laws in November 2021 sensing the public mood. Therefore, he is unlikely to adopt a path of confrontation in his third term at least until he wins three upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana. The only tragedy is that the BJP high command demolished one strong state leader after the other and installed Chief Ministers of its choice. The BJP's “open door” policy of admitting all kinds of elements weakened the party apparatus. The BJP lost its image of being “party with a difference”. The BJP leadership will also have to regain the confidence of its mother organisation, the RSS. Even before the last vote had been cast, party president JP Nadda contentiously declared on May 19, 2024 that the BJP had become saksham (competent) and as a result of which, it was no longer dependent on the RSS. The statement ruffled feathers and the BJP is now bending backward to placate the RSS.
Why Yogi has a reason to Smile
There is no dearth of BJP leaders claiming that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be removed in the wake of massive drubbing that the party faced in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. The BJP lost nearly half of the 62 seats it had won in 2019 instead of improving the tally in 2024. The BJP ended up getting 33 seats, four less than the Samajwadi Party. The blame for the massive loss is laid at the door-step of Yogi Adityanath. The absence of two Deputy Chief Ministers; Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, from the Cabinet meeting summoned by Yogi in Lucknow after the debacle, indicates that a full blown war may erupt sooner than expected. It is whispered that the ground is being prepared to replace Yogi with a leader who is less aggressive in "kamandal" politics and identified with "Mandal". But no one is sure if the writ of the high command will prevail in the changed political circumstances. No one is also sure if the RSS will agree to Yogi's ouster as it would dilute its own Hindutva agenda. Yogi's supporters are saying that not a single Lok Sabha ticket was allotted in UP by him and all the candidates were selected by the high command. Yogi's baiter, Sunil Bansal who was incharge of Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal, was brought back to UP to oversee Lok Sabha polls in UP. Yogi followed every instruction of the high command with regard to the schedule of campaigning and had no role whatsoever in crafting strategies either. Therefore, he should not be made a scapegoat.
Tailpiece: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has created quite a political stir by repeatedly touching Modi's feet in full public view. This is a first of its kind as Nitish is a leader in his own right. No one has been able to decipher the mystery behind it. No doubt, he is suffering from dementia. But why does he choose Modi alone if he has dementia? One theory is that Modi has made arrangements with regard to his treatment in London. Nitish Kumar went to London in the midst of Lok Sabha polls in March and is likely to go again. It may take a while when the mystery may unfold.
