Who could have imagined just four years back when the BJP was riding high and India was shining, that NDA (National Democratic Alliance) could be defeated? The congress party was like a retired group of bureaucrats running around in circles. Then the general elections were held in 2004 and the bottom fell under the BJP’s feet! What really happened? Was it just the incumbency fatigue or the rural disillusionment, or both? It could also be a cocky attitude of the BJP and it’s allies. Whatever the reason, BJP is still in the wilderness. True they have done very well in State Elections but nationally their chances look bleak. The main reason for their lack of support is the Hindutva platform. Atal Bihari Vajpayee understood and to some extent even Lal Krishan Advani has been aware of this. But the rank and file of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) appears to be stone deaf to this national anxiety.
The leadership of BJP is either very old or full of middle-aged politicians. There appears to be no young blood waiting in the wings. Bharatiya Janata Party has leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishan Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh on one side who are all 70 years old or more. On the other hand there are leaders like Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar, Gopinath Munde, Vinay Katiyar, Narendra Modi, Vasundhara Raje, Prem Kumar Dhumal, B S Yeddyurappa, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Sushma Swaraj, who are all 50 years old or above. Besides, they all are too ideological for any national acceptance. Vajpayee was their best face that was acceptable to a broad range of opinions. Advani is not bad either as despite his hard-line rhetoric, he would make a fine Prime Minister. The problem is this ‘damn Hindutva’ that does not go too well with most Indians, including majority of Hindus.
Barkha Dutt interviews L.K. Advani for NDTV : Part 1
Barkha Dutt interviews L.K. Advani for NDTV : Part 2
Barkha Dutt interviews L.K. Advani for NDTV : Part 3
Barkha Dutt interviews L.K. Advani for NDTV : Part 4
Barkha Dutt interviews L.K. Advani for NDTV : Part 5
Filed under: Indian Politics | Tagged: Ananth Kumar, Arun Jaitley, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, B S Yeddyurappa, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Gopinath Munde, Hindutva, Incumbency Fatigue, Jaswant Singh, Lal Krishan Advani, Middle-aged and Senile BJP, Murli Manohar Joshi, Narendra Modi, National Democratic Alliance, NDA, Prem Kumar Dhumal, Rajnath Singh, Rural Disillusionment, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, State Elections, Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje, Venkaiah Naidu, Vinay Katiyar, Yashwant Sinha | Leave a comment »
THINK! 