Searching For Narendra Modi Clones In UP

On this blog, we have been lamenting the projected fourth place finish for the BJP and the lackadaisical and confused approach of their leadership towards the most important election before the 2014 general elections.

Caste politics in UP is definitely as bad as anywhere else if not worse. Being a large state, there are pockets where different castes are prominent. In western UP, the Lodh community votes are so important that Uma Bharati was re-inducted into the party (she should never have been fired to begin with). Of course the step was a case of too little, too late. She does not seem to be making much of a difference. OBC’s, Muslims and dalits form the other major groups. Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh have claimed to have control over Brahmin and Thakur votes respectively (although evidence of those claims have not been seen in the past decade). So already we have three leaders with their eyes on the CM’s seat. Of course the party is so desperate that they have started to recruit BSP discarded ministers with scams and criminal cases behind them. Is this the way they are going to project themselves as a party of difference? These criminal MLAs are supposed to help the BJP break into the BSP bastions. The UP elections are not a surprise to anyone. Why did the party not start to work at it before? Why not approach this thing from a grassroots level and work at it. This current approach is shameful and speaks volumes of the ineptitude of party leadership.

BJP has always sent mixed messages to their voters on UP leadership issues. They have alienated their voters in the urban areas in a big way. They are no longer the party of difference, discipline and integrity.

What should have been done is to cultivate local leaders because all politics is local. Instead of bringing organizers from outside of state, they should go after local leaders who know the state well. One such leader is Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He is younger than most of the CM wannabes. He is educated (Law from Allahabad University) and well spoken. He is currently a high ranking member of the party. He has been a member of the Waqf board and on AMU administrative body. All this speaks well of his administrative qualities. He is a Muslim in a Hindu Nationalist party which speaks of his commitment to the ideology and his strength of character. All these are the kind of characteristics which one often sees in great leaders like Bhai Narendra Modi. Why is Naqvi not at the forefront of UP elections is beyond me?

It may be too late for the UP state elections but the BJP can still make inroads into the UP voters by doing the right things which includes a grass roots level movement against bad governance and corruption and projecting good leaders who are committed to the cause rather than “gaddi / kursi” as a sign of stability. That may go a long way towards winning in 2014.

An interview with Naqvi can be read at: http://hindu.com/2004/03/21/stories/2004032103091200.htm