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BJP’s motormouth problem

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BJP’s meteoric rise over the past four years has meant that the party has manifestly grown and adopted a slew of new members, some of whom have paid rich dividends with their political acumen. Others, as I have written about before, have gone on to become the largest thorns in the government’s drive to project an inclusive development narrative. The friendly fire caused by these motormouth CMs, MLAs and MPs have done a great disservice to Narendra Modi, the BJP itself and by extension those of us that continue to support them. Further, they would go a long way in alienating those crucial members of the electorate that swung the 2014 election in Narendra Modi’s favour.

As I keep reminding many of my own friends, the BJP in its current form (going by 2014 exit poll results and other trends) managed to stitch together a diverse coalition of voters that were rightfully angry with the erstwhile ruling party and sought decisive change. Even without the tone-deaf proclamations made by errant BJP politicians, the party faces an uphill task to re-engineer its 2014 winning coalition in the upcoming general elections. As many have observed, India is a country that relishes the opportunity to vote the incumbents out and despite Narendra Modi’s popularity, the laws of political gravity will catch up with the party either 2019 or the multiple elections that will continue to follow them. Contrary to what many of my fellow BJP supporters think, Mr Modi’s BJP will not rule forever. That is unequivocally good for Indian democracy.

Focusing our attention solely on 2019, however, one could say that a combination of the central government’s groundwork and Mr Modi’s rhetorical abilities can potentially stave off anti-incumbency. But this requires a disciplined communication strategy that focuses on the work done in these past 4 years and an inclusive development oriented second-term agenda that builds upon his current successes (of which, there are many). In this light, statements ranging from bizarre anti-scientific rants to outright communalizing hate speech will undercut the message Mr Modi is trying to present to the electorate. It will also turn away a milieu of urban and first-time voters that played an imperative role in BJP’s 2014 victory. The party’s tallest leaders must find a way to convince their own half-witted leaders to keep their trap shut if they have nothing intelligent to contribute.

Looking beyond the immediate future, the BJP must find a way to broaden its core leadership talent pool. The blatant anti-science rhetoric coming from no less than our own Education Minister is extremely troubling. An aspirational India saw an inspiring story of Narendra Modi’s rise from ignominy to the highest elected office of the land. But this same aspirational India can quickly turn into a tidal wave of anger against a party dominated by incoherent loudmouths that continue to outdo their own ludicrousness. For god sakes stop, or we should all get used to saying, “Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi”.

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