Currently, a lot of analysis is pouring in regarding the
decisions taken by the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party over
the last one year. Knowing the ideological background of these leaders, let me
assure you that there is a definite thought process behind their decisions.
But still, questions are raised on why the current
‘tripartite’ arrangement was struck and whether it was really necessary in the
state. While a section of the people, who are party’s supporters and
sympathizers, are voicing concern over the recent ‘tripartite’ arrangement
knowing quite well the party’s ideologies and its principles, there is also the
Opposition who is drawing criticisms leaving people confused over what must
have transpired for this game-changer decision. Political analysts and
journalists are using their intellectual might to figure out reasons for this
arrangement but since we are aware of their acumen, we aren’t expecting any
better analysis than this.
When the Modi government came to power in 2014, the
congregation, who had been favoring nepotism but were averse to the Bharatiya
Janata Party’s ideologies, came in a fix as the Modi government immediately
started working for the upliftment of the oppressed and the underprivileged and
tried to get them included in the main stream of development. This confused the
intellectuals and journalists who were supporters of socialist, communist and
moderate ideologies of the Congress.
They closely observed how the BJP implemented measures
for the common man, who was otherwise used by the other parties for their petty
political gains. What irks me is that when the Congress and those who swear by
the socialist and communist ideologies had the chance to work for the
betterment of the poor, they failed miserably. And hence, even today these
analysts and intellectuals are not being able to apprehend this tripartite
arrangement and are trying hard to interpret it in their way.
Maharashtra came into being in 1960. The freedom
movement had largely impacted the common citizens. At that time, people across
the country were influenced by the Congress’s leadership and its ideologies and
Maharashtra was no exception. Congress at that time was blessed to have a
thoughtful and sensitive leadership like Yashwantrao Chavan who had grown even
better with the freedom movement. The Peasants and Workers Party, a Marxist
political outfit, was the main opponent of the Congress. At that time, the Jana
Sangh was still struggling.
The socialist and communist leadership had united under
the banner of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and had left their influence on
the Bahujan samaj. Still Congress’s leaders like Yashwantrao were able to
convince important leaders like Anandrao Chavan, father of former chief
minister Prithviraj Chavan and Shankarrao Mohite Patil of the PWP to join them.
This was a clever political move by Yashwantrao to en masse leaders from other
parties. Later, with passage of time, the PWP began declining. However, leaders
of the PWP – D.B. Patil, Datta Patil, Ganpatrao Deshmukh, Uddhavrao Patil,
Keshavrao Dhondge and others will go down in the history of Maharashtra for their
fight for the rights of farmers, farm laborers and workers. But this party,
that had once given a stiff competition to the Congress, is barely existent.
Now, when we peep into our history, we realize that this was the effect of
Yashwantrao’s move to en masse leaders from other parties.
Similarly, the effects of this ‘tripartite’ arrangement
will not be seen or felt immediately, it will take its own time. And even if we
wish to evaluate, we must remember that the senior leadership of the Bharatiya
Janata Party will never compromise with its ideologies of nationalism and
Hindutva and that is why a hardworking and struggling leader like Eknath Shinde
left Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of Hindutva and joined hands with the BJP to
form the government.
Uddhav Thackeray for his political aspirations did not
mind stopping before people who were anti-Hindutva during the Maha Vikas Aghadi
government’s tenure. When the ordinary Shiv Sainiks including Eknath Shinde,
who had grown up under the ‘Hindutva’ ideologies of revered Balasaheb
Thackeray, got suffocated working in the Aghadi government, they defected and
formed an alliance government with the BJP under the leadership of Eknath
Shinde. Now, when this Yuti has become a MahaYuti, one must remember that there
hasn’t been any reconciliation with Hindutva and its effects and consequences
have been evaluated.
It is interesting to note that whenever situation
warranted, earlier the Jana Sangh and later the BJP had taken a step back on
several occasions. But one must not forget that later, the party also leaped
almost four times. When leaders of the Jana Sangh were experimenting with the
Janata Party, I am sure they mustn’t have been happy to dissolve the Jana
Sangh. But it was still done to overthrow the authoritarian rule of Indira
Gandhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party gradually secured its
position in the Opposition against the Congress through various decisions; it
had extended external support to Vishwanath Pratap Singh’s Janata Dal
government in 1989 and later formed the National Democratic Alliance in the
90s. And while the BJP was trying to create its hold over the National
Democratic Alliance, it kept its manifesto promises like construction of Ram
Mandir, Uniform Civil Code and repealing Article 370 aside for the time being.
These became some of the reasons why the voters found Bharatiya Janata Party as
an alternative to the Congress.
If we evaluate the number of seats won in the Lok Sabha
elections held between 1952 and 2014, we will realize how the Jana Sangh and
later the BJP gradually expanded. In politics, every move is not meant to reap
immediate fruits. Some moves might take longer to show its impact. And now,
since the Opposition is only concerned about the mathematical formula of HCF
(highest common factor) they are unable to solve this tripartite equation.
Whatever it may be, let me assure you that BJP’s motive behind this arrangement
is definitely not increasing its numbers but for something really big in
future.
(Article Pre-Published in Times of India Online – 17 July 2023)
Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson
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