BJP at receiving end

Medieval Indian history records how Delhi, the power centre, faced stiff resistance from what are today’s Bengal and Maharashtra. The Narendra Modi-led NDA government must tackle opposition from these two areas. One is Shiv Sena, an NDA constituent in Maharashtra and the other, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress that, actually, is nobody’s ally.

The Modi government’s plan to get important legislations passed in Parliament’s winter session could run into trouble with the Sena voicing opposition to the Insurance Bill and Banerjee determined to turn her 46 MPs in both Houses into a roadblock for the Centre's reforms agenda. Notionally, both are opposing foreign capital and taking what they think is pro-people stand. But in reality, both have political axe to grind.

Taking Sena’s case first, the oldest NDA constituent pitched itself too high before, during and after the Maharashtra State Assembly elections. It came a cropper when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), driven by ambition to consolidate its hold across the nation, simply ditched the Sena. Talks are on for a BJP-Sena rapproachment, but till that happens, the Sena has vowed to be a difficult opposition, incidentally, with a minister at the Centre.

The case of the Didi from West Bengal is more complicated. It took her years to trounce the Communists and marginalize the Congress. Just when it was poised to enjoy absolute sway, the Congress citadel crumbled, leaving space for the BJP. Now BJP, and not so much the Congress and the Left, is her political enemy number one. To hold the BJP at bay, Didi has begun to make overtures to the Congress, the recent one being attending Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations.

Didi’s problems are self-created and very many. She cannot prevent anybody from entering the vacuum that the communists’ departure has left. Her followers are too busy making money. One of the alleged sources is the Saradha chit fund. Indeed, West Bengal has the maximum number of chit funds that the critics, the courts and the enforcement agencies have come to call “cheat funds”. Investigations indicate a close link between Saradha and Trinamool’s MPs, legislators, ministers and leaders.

The tigress from Bengal is livid that two of her MPs have been arrested and many more are under scanner. She has taken to addressing her workers’ rallies, daring the Centre to “arrest me, if you can”. Her outbursts like “don’t show me red eyes” have failed to scare the Centre that is persisting with the probe.

Come to think of it, BJP, the dominant NDA constituent, is getting a dose of the same medicine it served to the UPA governments in the last decade. Among them are Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Baba Ramdev. It played footsie with whoever was opposed to the government, whatever the issue may be. It was ambivalent on foreign direct investment, on civil nuclear deal, on general sales tax, on creation of Telangana and many other issues, hunting with the hounds, while running with the hare. But that is what Indian politics is all about.