The generational shift in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is complete, with Narendra Modi symbolising a new idiom that combines hard Hindutva and good governance. He starts where LK Advani finished in consolidating the cadre and expanding the party’s base.
But despite his soft-focus image in carefully splayed Holi colours splashed across the capital this week, good cheer and festivities are hard to associate with the tough man from Gujarat. What it does indicate is that the iron man must melt to appeal to his voters in the Ganga-Jamuna belt. That Advani and Modi may win elections but Atal Behari Vajpayee is still the most attractive metaphor in the BJP’s political parlance.
The only leader who has fully understood the durability of Vajpayee’s brand of politics is BJP president Rajnath Singh. So, while he is riding the wave of Modi’s popularity, the rugged Thakur from Uttar Pradesh has subtly positioned himself as the most suitable legatee of Vajpayee’s politics. That he is contesting from Lucknow, a seat once held by Vajpayee, is as much due to practical considerations as a sub-conscious acquisition of the same politics and mindspace.
The BJP president, a typical Thakur, is trying his best to be like Vajpayee, the suave Brahmin. Copying his philosophical guide’s masterful oratory is an unattainable goal but his mannerisms may be easier to follow. For the purpose, the tiniest flicker of the eyelids, a twist of the hand and heavy intonations are on display whenever Singh is on stage these days.
To give him credit, the act is not just theatrics. In his second innings as BJP president, Singh has managed to carry along his squabbling bunch of colleagues.
The RSS may still be his prompter but Singh did sail smoothly through Advani’s dissidence in the process of Modi’s projection as prime minister. The final push would be to emerge as the ultimate consensus-builder and moderate. Till then, the Thakur will continue his subtle imitation of the Brahmin leader.
Political Editor