Party with a difference. That used to be the BJP’s catch-line once upon a time. The reference, of course, was to the Congress and its well-known political culture. Yet, it now looks like the BJP cannot bandy about that slogan any more. Certainly not after its post-election manoeuvres in Manipur and Goa where it seems to have borrowed a leaf from the Congress’ book.

In both States, the BJP was tantalisingly short of majority and the pole position was taken by the Congress. Given this, one would have expected the BJP to allow first shot at the throne to the Congress, sit back and watch the drama from the sidelines, before eventually plunging into the action. Yet it displayed an unseemly hurry to form the government in both States; in the case of Goa, it was even willing to disturb the Union Cabinet by pulling out Manohar Parrikar from the crucial defence ministry to put up an acceptable face. In Manipur it was worse. An independent MLA went missing while one each from the Congress and Trinamool switched sides. What were the inducements for the turncoats?

These moves of the BJP bring back dark memories of the Congress at the height of its glory. The odds of the Congress forming the government in either State were negligible to start with, given that regional parties naturally gravitate to the party in power at the Centre. In the case of Goa, the MGP is an old ally of the BJP. Eventually, the BJP would have formed the government but without having to answer allegations of payoffs to smaller parties, monetary or otherwise.

The BJP moves in Goa and Manipur betray a certain insecurity from a party that is on top of the game in national politics today. The delicious irony is in the fact that the Congress is being paid back in its own coin by a party that has been at the receiving end of its past sins.

Senior Associate Editor

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