Can the lotus bloom?

The BJP has just taken the plunge with Narendra Modi being made chief of its election campaign committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. L.K. Advani’s opposition to the move firmly indicates that Modi’s elevation has muddied the waters -- the chances being that when the mud settles down the BJP will not be the same party it has been over the past two decades.

SPLIT ON THE CARDS?

Clearly, a split beckons within the saffron brotherhood, with the sharpening schism between those who have always followed a more temperate line for promoting their particular brand of secularism, and others adopting a more “direct action” stance.

With time, the first casualty will, of course, be the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s hold on the party. If Narendra Modi finally settles down in the party leadership saddle, will he allow the Sangh to stand in his way while he goes about “rejuvenating” the party in the way he thinks best?

Indeed, what has been Modi’s principal achievement which has turned him into such a darling of the BJP crowd?

The immediate answer of course is his ability to win the Gujarat elections again and again, and with a margin convincing enough to stamp his supremacy over State politics.

The obvious next question is: what precisely has endeared him to the Gujarat electorate which has reposed its faith in him in such a manner? Is it only the economic development of the State about which there is some controversy among economists? Or has Godhra – and strong-arm tactics generally – played any role in bolstering his image among the people who perceive in him a leader who is willing to take sharp and drastic measures?

POLARISING EFFECT

Alternatively, from Modi’s perspective, does he feel that taking the hard line when dealing with issues of “secularism” is not just an “efficient” mode of action but also one which endears him to the people? If this is, in fact, the case, national politics is in for a sea-change in the years ahead with polarisation along religious lines becoming the order of the day. It cannot be anyone’s case that this is what is required.

Given its religious structure, the Indian polity will have to be inclusive in every respect, if the republic is to flower in the way the founding fathers of the Constitution envisioned the future. Inclusivity must exclude Godhra-like aberrations.

India is not Gujarat. Unless Modi keeps this fundamental equation in mind, not only will the BJP be flushed down the drain of expendable political parties, but the very fabric of Indian society will be put under great strain.

The problem is: is Modi capable of any form of governance other than the one he is accustomed to in his own State?

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