Opposition playing in hands of the BJP

In Britain and also in Europe there are/were parties of left and right which were basically class parties. Likewise, BJP is the party of culture and BJP is proud regarding. There is nothing wrong in that. In Democracy, Political parties seek  vote on basis of the highest possible mobilization of the vote. This is the simple and the same formula for each party.

For BJP- Dress code, Food habit, Language, etc. is a core competency. BJP mobilizes votes on basis of this. With the help of the Propaganda machinery, BJP set the agenda of the election much before the opposition start to prepare for elections. Due to that, the opposition has remained the only option is to bat on the pitch set by the BJP. For example, during the 2019 Loksabha election, BJP has set the Agenda of Hinduism since 2017-18. Congress came with the NYAY – Cash scheme but it was too late. Finally, Rahul Gandhi had to wear Janaui and visit temples.

The same is happening right now in 5 assembly elections. I watched Some Sessions of the India Today conclave. It seems that BJP has successfully set the Cultural Agenda on both big states – West Bengal and Tamilnadu. I saw 40-minute long interview of DMK’s MP, Mr.Maran, He talks only about the Jalikattu, Imposition of Hindi, NEET exam, etc. Likewise, TMC is trying to counter the BJP’s “Jai Shree Ram” with the “Siyavar Ram Chandra kee jay”. This is none of the use.  This is just like playing on the spinning pitch even after knowing the fact that the opposite team has Shane Warne and Murlidharan on their side. The cultural agenda is the core competency of the BJP; no party can defeat BJP on that.

But that does not mean that the opposition has no opportunities, in fact, AAP in Delhi and RJD in Bihar showed that opposition can set the agenda of the election. AAP fought last assembly election on the issues of the Health and Education. It is possible as the population of Delhi is highly educated and less inclined towards cultural issues. But RJD did the same in the last assembly election of Bihar. RJD forced the BJP to fight the election on the issue of the Jobs.

I think opposition parties need to stick to two agenda – (1) Economy (2) Depolitisation of the institution. Right now Each and Every citizen including supporters of the BJP is the concerned with Pocket issues. Income is decreasing day by day and prices are increasing. There is much debate about patrol price but the Groundnut oil price increase to Rs.2500/15 litter from Rs.1800/15 litter a few months back. The same is with the LPG prices. But political parties are not able to make it an election issue. The reason may be the corporatization of the Elections and parties. TMC and DMK both chose Prashant Kishore and not People to fight elections. However great the PR agency, it cannot replace the need for the political acumen of the true politician. PR agencies can bring creativity in the campaign but cannot set the agenda of the Elections. (Yes it is true Prshant Kishore was Manager for the RJD in the previous assembly election).

Here is another hidden lesson that opposition need to learn from BJP. Ram Manohar Lohia was first one who understand the vote bank potential of the OBC and mobilise them as vote balock to defeat congress. This is well known to all. The lesser known is How BJP have addressed the women vote bank as block. With the scheme like UJAWALA, PM Awas Yojna, Jan dhan etc., BJP have addressed the women of all caste. This played important role to win nearly all seats in UP and Bihar where caste politics and regional parties are strong. Unlike me who is aware about price of the Groundnuts oil, Pulse, Grocery etc. , opposition leaders seems to lost touch with these issues. These issues have strong electoral potential. Remember that, onion prices have defeated BJP in 1998 Delhi election and since then BJP starving for the power In Delhi. 

Second is the Politicisation of the institution. The opposition knows very well about this. They are vocal about the misuse of the CBI and ED. But there are many other institutions that are weakened but opposition is silent on that. Most of the posts of the CIC are vacate and those are filled are bureaucrats. CAG reports are rarely discussed in public platforms and so the standing committee reports. Yes, it true that to make institutions an issue of the election campaign is a tough one but the opposition have to do so. Do Remember that Janata party fought and defeated Invincible Indira Gandhi on the issue of the institutions.

TMC and DMK seems to win the upcoming assembly election but they have lost the opportunity to take a proactive approach and set election agenda. They seem winning because this is an Assembly election and people vote differently in this from the Lok sabha election. But they need to learn the lesson. BJP has already made a strong presence in West Bengal with cultural agenda and likely to do so in Tamilnadu by the next elections. The simple lesson is - It is futile to talk and even counter the BJP’s cultural issues in the election campaign. You may feel that you are winning but actually, you are losing ( in the long term)!