When Rajnath Singh indicated his preference for Narendra Modi, everyone in the BJP realised which way the wind was blowing. For, Rajnath does not make any decisive move without clear signals from Nagpur. However, the big puzzle has been: why did the RSS old guard root for Modi? RSS deserters who continue to maintain links with their old parivar siblings provide three reasons for the brinkmanship.
First, to snub L.K. Advani and thus free the BJP from the old fox’s continuing hold. They seemed to derive immense pleasure when each of the central leaders whom Advani had picked up and groomed began disowning him at the Goa national executive. After the BJP rout in 2004, the RSS had concluded that NDA-type coalitions did not benefit the Hindutva cause.
Second, even before the Gujarat elections, corporate contacts have been working on the decision-makers in the parivar for Modi. Among the interlocutors were many former and serving pracharaks. Their case has been that Advani was too old to hold, and among the rest Modi alone could command enough clout to lead the nation. There were hints of media protection and more corporate funds to the new dispensation than even the Congress party. Among the alluring assurances was that a business-friendly Modi will strike the right balance between growth and soft Hindutva.
Third, hope among the old men of Nagpur that a BJP led by a new boss at Ashoka Road will be easier to remote-control, at least for the first few years. Hence Modi, the best bet with least risk.
It’s here that Nagpur’s gambit could boomerang. A former BJP general secretary, himself an old pracharak and an Advani pick, warns that Modi will prove to be a Bhasmasura for the RSS. Once a devoted pracharak, he has proved the Indira Gandhi of BJP in Gujarat. The state RSS and VHP leadership, including the irrepressible Praveen Togadia, hardly see eye to eye with him. Modi has politically eliminated every senior BJP leader, one by one.
With the ‘syndicate’ gone, he has substituted the once cadre-based organisation with personally handpicked people. He draws up the party office-bearers’ list, chooses candidates and runs the party virtually from his office. The line dividing the government machinery and party is blurred. Decisions of the party and government are taken by a small coterie; decision-making itself is heavily compartmentalised.
Modi’s biggest achievement has been his direct communication with the party ranks and voters. He shortcuts the regular campaign networks and cold-shoulders national leaders. Support is sought not for the BJP but for Modi’s aura. Like the Upanishadic brahman, he alone is real, others sheer maya. At party rallies, speakers emphasise this point. True, the political dynamics at the Centre many not allow this. Yet Modi can be trusted to use his management model on the BJP organisation. The RSS will realise that a determined Modi will turn out to be a bhasmasura.
P. Raman is former political editor of The Economic Times and Business Standard; E-mail your columnist: realpolitikraman AT gmail.com
