The past week saw the meteoric rise of the saffron brigade in the Northeast. Months of hard work at the grassroots paid handsome dividends in Tripura, where the party was successful in uprooting two decades of left rule. As a supporter of the party, this almost felt like a watershed moment in Indian politics. Clearly, this triumph would inspire confidence across the party cadre that would strive even harder to differentiate itself from the other parties in the sandpit. Unfortunately, the very next week, the BJP announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls and extinguished any resurgent idealism amongst its most fervent supporters.
Make no mistake, the nominations of Narayan Rane in Maharashtra and Naresh Agarwal in Uttar Pradesh are a betrayal that must be condemned by supporters and critics alike. A party that was voted on the back of a massive uproar over several corruption scandals, has now not only welcomed him into the NDA but also nominated him to the Upper House of India’s parliament. Apart from being accused of misappropriation, Mr Rane has the unique privilege of being a part of three distinct parties in his colourful political career ranging from the Shiv Sena to the Congress and now seemingly the BJP itself. If the BJP has chosen to make him a part of the alliance on the pretext of strengthening its position within Maharashtra, it reflects either a party that is insecure about its political survival or one that is so driven by power that it has come unmoored from its original ideals. Either is infuriating.
It nearly outdid itself in UP, where the nomination of the blatant opportunist, Naresh Agarwal, ended up backfiring historically when the motormouth Mantri made obscene comments about SP nominee Jaya Bachchan. If not for his opportunism, the BJP should dump him for his misogynistic comments. A party that has gone out of its way to promote women to the highest posts in his government has no place for a gentleman who has the audacity to make comments such as these. Indeed, I applaud Mrs Swaraj for taking a principled stance against such sexist remarks. In fact, it was curious to see a Prime Minister that has championed several causes that promote women’s rights found nothing wrong with a Rajya Sabha nominee from his own party insulting an eminent actor simply because his former party found her to be a more worthy candidate for the position.
Heady with power, the BJP has erred catastrophically by inducting and promoting such unworthy candidates to the highest deliberative bodies of our country. As supporters, we must be wary of such arrogance and power hungriness. A party that goes adrift from its ideals will eventually resemble the party that we chose to abandon with impunity.
