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Ratnakar Sadasyula
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The BJP’s right wing Hindutva ideology had large scale support among the urban educated middle classes, while its espousal of a capitalist economy enthused the youth. The reason why youth, including myself, supported the BJP in large numbers was its no nonsense stance on internal security and the country’s safety.
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One thing needs to be kept in mind, while Hindutva did play a role in the BJP’s growth, it was an issue have a limited shelf time. A vast majority of the youth, who supported the BJP during the 90’s, did so because of its stand on economic issues, internal security and foreign policy.
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The UPA rule presented many opportunities for the BJP to capture the youth vote bank. The agitation by AIIMS students in Delhi against Arjun Singh’s reservation gimmicks, the bungling in the dismissal of P.Venugopal Rao, the AIIMS head, the UPA’s ineffective management of internal security and most importantly 26/11.
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And what really made the youth dissociate itself from the BJP has been the pub attacks in Mangalore and the antics of the Shri Ram Sene. I have seen many friends of mine, who were openly critical of their tactics, and mind you most of them are not the pub going, Westernized kind.
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Trust me the moment the BJP comes up with a plan to revitalize higher education, its going to receive enthusiastic support from the youth. If the youth is veering towards Rahul Gandhi, its not because of his cute dimples, its because they feel that he could understand their concerns better. This is what the BJP needs to do immediately.
