An open letter to the BJP Leadership - What ails the BJP Today?

Dear Mr.Punj, Mr.Advani, Mr.Jaitly (and the Thought Leadership of BJP at large)

Greetings.

I believe this is a very busy period for all the office bearers ad the leadership at BJP and perhaps therefore, an inconvenient occasion for them to address or discuss fundamental issues.

By tradition I (and my family) have been BJP/Jana Sangh supporters, but our enthusiasm for the party is waning.

The party hold no appeal for people like me, with a lacklustre and rudderless management of the party and its affairs and its handling of issues of national import.

While we haven’t lost belief in the inherent decency of it leaders we believe they have lost touch with the evolving contours of the country and disappoint us with their inability to break out of the strait jacket of the pseudo-secular and non-secular debate.

The political culture and consciousness of this country was willy-nilly cast by the Congress in pre independence years and then continued in the same vein. There was, leadership and greatness, thrust upon individuals, who were sometimes willing, sometimes more than willing and on the rare occasion the less than willing too.

This was pretty much and continues to be, reflected in the quality and direction of discourse which was benchmarked to congress-ism and the management of political parties and systems too.

The BJP today has failed to break free from this mimicry and think outside the box.

This is a significant failing and a cause for deep disappointment to young and ardent supporters of the BJP. It is also a great success for the Congress and the rest of the non-BJP milieu which has succeeded in keeping public discourse benchmarked to this stupid feudal paradigm created by the congress.

The leadership of the BJP has failed to think outside the box and apply itself to creating a healthier model of political thought in the country.

The debates and rebuttals that form the decibels of discussion lack substance and connect with the country and its issues and continue to ring hollow.

This creates a disaffection amongst the people with the politician who they rightly see as coming from one mould.

This is further compounded by the hunger for power that seems to dominate all thoughts and actions of each political organization in this country. Nation building just seems like mandatory lip service when you respond in kind to the congress and its paradigm of politics.

There is always the option of pouring more scorn on the other, but does it reflect you in any better light at all?
I do not see the BJP being able to differentiate itself from this generic version of politics practised in this country.

Take for example BJP’s abject failure as an opposition and reactive politics. This keeps the BJP forever in a reactive phase and the congress with its better structured media management has a ball. Gross incompetence this.

What prevented BJP from creating a shadow cabinet type of organization? Such an organization could research and monitor the government and its actions and create better informed and diligent debate on each aspect of governance.

It would communicate a substantial approach to the people of the nation and not mere gladiatorial politics that makes reactive discourse the only available option.

It also makes credible, the claim of leadership development and a viable team to run affairs of the nation when you do get to power.

A credible team that possesses insight and understanding, experience and ability to comment or manage affairs. It would also force the opponents to treat the BJP with respect and not dismiss its discourse as mere wordplay or rhetoric.

Such teams when extended to state , city or village levels would provide acuity and credibility to the information flow and build a bridge of dialogue with the people of the country.

The good governance that all parties scream about could actually be reality.

Getting to power with a clear majority would then be a distinct possibility and not just a rhetorical proposition.
This though would take reticence and patience that does not seem to be available to the second rung of leadership that the BJP has today. If I can call it leadership, that is.

The BJP (and not only the BJP) seem to be in defiance of evolution and its current disarray is entirely well earned.

Managing large organizations needs skills that do not come naturally to most people who are busy with the trees and lose sight of the woods i.e. the congress style of things.

This malaise seems to afflict the BJP too. Where is the difference in the party with a difference?

In the interests of brevity and focus I end this note here. I do hope you would find the time and the inclination to spend some time going through this and step back to take a look at the substance of what I am trying to communicate.

The other choice is of course being busy and mindless to the mediocrity that I have discussed above.

I would be happy to receive a response, should you like to discuss this.

With warm regards
Arun