But why am I talking about Singh and Rajmata in this blog? It is because to some extent, Advani and Swaraj are guilty of the same sins. Of course no one can match Congress’ crimes so Advani-Swaraj sins are nothing. However, while Congress was, is and will be crooked, the BJP was supposed to be a party of difference. While their hands were tied (thanks to unscrupulous friends like Chandrababu Naidu) BJP regime still did a lot of good. If they had not bungled up the Kandahar hijacking episode and ran a sensible campaign (rather than the arrogant campaign run by Pramod Mahajan and other Advani followers) they may have won in 2004 and continued on their India repair (rather than India shining) campaign. After Atalji retired all we saw was missed opportunities and political blunders from Advani and friends. Even Congress was surprised when they won in 2009. Even at state level, petty egos and mishandling of affairs caused nothing but ruin. An excellent columnist, Mr. Virendra Kapoor writes the following:
However, this is not to suggest that the Karnataka outcome was not on the expected lines. It was. The BJP did not leave the voter with any option. It did everything in its power to court unpopularity. Its drubbing was well-deserved. Early evidence of factionalism in the state unit was accentuated further by groupism at the central level. If Sushma Swaraj patronised the infamous Reddy brothers, L.K. Advani played godfather to Ananth Kumar. The two together never allowed a moment of peace to B.S. Yeddyurappa. And now the Advani-Sushma duo is engaged in denying the BJP the only credible chance it has of dislodging the corrupt and non-performing UPA by blocking the graduation of Narendra Modi from Gandhinagar to Delhi.
No one could have captured the truth better. What makes this whole thing even more galling is that they are not seeing the writing on the wall. Not only is their way of doing business unacceptable to the voter but how the voter is reacting to Narendra Modi. Of course the eleventh hour campaign by Modi did not bear any fruits for the BJP (or did it? Could things have been worse for the BJP in the urban centers without Modi?), his speeches and ideas were received very well. Modi was given a rock star treatment not just the voters and the cadre but also other leaders like Venkaiah Naidu (while Sonia and Singh stared at empty chairs) by the voters. So why did they shy away from voting for the BJP?
There are enough examples, anecdotes and hearsays about voters agreeing to vote for Modi but not BJP. These are not the staunch BJP supporters like me but independent voters. They have stopped to see the BJP as a party of difference but see Modi as an honest, able, performing and inspiring leader. These independent voters are the ones who will decide the next election. Voters in Karnataka know that no matter what Modi says, he will not govern their state. Maybe they are astute enough to differentiate between state politics and national politics. Modi and only Modi has the capability of enthusing and inspiring the BJP cadre and middle level leadership. He is the only one capable of changing the nature of political discourse and thus leading from the front. He is the only man in BJP who can unite the party and bring independent voters in the fold. In short, he is the only chance we have of winning the next general elections and changing the fortunes of our motherland. We can ride his coattails into the central government and beyond.
However, by all accounts, Advani and Swaraj are doing all they can to stop his forward march. Advani has had two chances of winning the general elections and he has blown it. He needs to step aside, give his blessings (growing less important by the minute) to Modi but like Manmohan Singh, he is trying his best to worm his way into another race and IMHO, ruining it for the party. Swaraj screwed it up in Karnantaka and has miserably failed to expand her own political base outside of New Delhi (even there she is no force. Hint: Two Sheila Dixit terms). Even then, she is nursing some perverted ambition of becoming a national leader by creating a nasty atmosphere and placing herself for the spoils.
So we see that instead of accepting their limitations and doing the right thing these two are acting as spoiled brats hell bent on “my way or we ruin the party” trip. Modi should be preparing to unite the party, bring new alliances and draw up strategies to fight the next elections. Instead he will have to deal with these two miserable human beings. You can see that by the refusal of Modi to attend the recent BJP parliamentary committee.
Swaraj has no legacy other than being a proficient orator (even there, she is no match for Modi) so she will be forgotten with ease. However, we would like to remember Advani for all the good he did to lay the ground work for the current day BJP. But now he has become a liability. It is up to him now. Does he want us to remember him as the party founder and pray for him or remember him as a frustrated spoiler and pray for him to disappear one way or another. The choice is his.
The Kapoor article can be read at: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/corruption-is-an-issue-believe-it-or-not
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