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India Retold: WILL BJP'S DROOPING LOTUS BLOOM AGAIN?
- Despite the electoral disaster, the three men who should have gracefully stepped aside straightaway have actually dug their heels in hard, to prevent anyone from uprooting them from their positions of power and authority. LK Advani continues as the supreme leader of the party, after a perfunctory offer to step down. Rajnath Singh continues to be party President after completing the formality of saying that he accepts responsibility for the defeat. Above all, Arun Jaitley, the master strategist who had never failed to claim credit whenever the party had done well in any previous election that he was responsible for, has simply refused to shoulder the blame this time. Conveniently citing the principal of "collective responsibility", he has actually got himself a promotion instead!
- Removal of the coterie that controls the BJP is vital if the party wants to have any realistic hope of seeing its Lotus bloom in New Delhi in 2014 and/or later. The sooner the party and the RSS face up to this harsh truth, and make way for leaders like Raje, Khanduri, Modi, Yediurappa etc to take centre stage, the better it is for the party and perhaps even for India. Will that happen anytime soon?
- I don't know why, but images of a very reluctant Bhutto being forcibly dragged to the gallows are appearing in my mind. No one is going to give up power easily. He will have to be evicted by force. Unless that is done, the once magnificient warship called BJP may well find itself in Alang.
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Saturday, August 15, 2009
India Retold: WILL BJP'S DROOPING LOTUS BLOOM AGAIN?
