BJP In Karnataka: Time For Introspection

The whole sordid tale of BSY, Reddy brothers and illegal mining has been very disturbing to all of us who have treated the BJP as a party with a difference. The Jana Sangha and then the BJP WERE the party of difference. The supporters and members alike were proud nationalists. When the BJP came to power, they still were the party we could rally around. But they expanded too rapidly and that kind of growth created a vacuum, which was filled by people with love for power but not ideology. The suddenly big party needed lots of money to keep up with the Congress. This need brought in dirty money. Very soon, the BJP started to look like any other party albeit with few oases of hope (Gujarat and MP for example). Some of the older party workers were weak and fell prey to the lure of money which came along with power. BS Yeddyurappa is a prime example of this. We can say that he is still better and a lot less corrupt than others but that does not absolve the BJP of the responsibility of putting up with him and some other non-BJP partners. The aforementioned vacuum aside, how did we come to such a pass?

Long time ago, we saw a similar example in UP where the Lodh community held the entire UP politics hostage. The BJP had to put up with Kalyan Singh who like BSY is an ex RSS worker. Kalyan Singh worker tirelessly for the state and the party but his rule was one filled with distractions. After loosing, he could not do much to revive the party and he did nothing to make room for newer leaders. He saw himself as indispensable because he knew at the back of his mind that he had the Lodh community votes with him. Essentially, his ambition and his vote advantage overrode the BJP, UP and eventually the Indian concerns. Why Indian concerns? After loosing UP, the BJP lost their core base and could never come back to power with the support they needed and deserved. Now we have a sequel to that movie. BSY was clinging to the power with the knowledge that he has the support of the Lingayat community. If the BJP looses the state in the next election, we will know why. It is a pity that caste politics is still ruining and corrupting the entire nation. Of course, we the voters are to be blamed for that.

We cannot blame the entire episode on BSY only. Some others from the BJP also must have benefited. As we say, the flow of 2G money goes well beyond the doors of DMK. Yes they need money to run a national party but they still have to rise above the filthy quicksand in which all other parties have sunk. If the BJP want to be called the party of difference then they have to find a way out of this without any excuses. Conservatives, the world over, are blamed of self-righteousness. That is their cross to bear. They set the bar higher for personal character and integrity. They need to live up to it.

Before we expect others to follow the example of Gujarat and Narendra Modi, we should make sure that every one in the BJP is emulating that example. You see, at the end of the day, good governance wins over all other issues. It is the “trump ka ikka”. Votes from a community are something the BJP should leave for Congress and other pseudo-secular parties and focus on strong performance. That is what is going to win them the next election and make our dreams of a strong and united India come true.