Hesitant Hamlet

BJP president Amit Shah is in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as part of his Mission-7 campaign. The BJP has won optimal number of seats in many of the northern and western States. It would inevitably see a downslide there in 2019. So, it is looking for way to compensate this loss way ahead of 2019. Thus, it is focusing on seven States including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The other states include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal.

As part of this Mission-7, the party has already put in motion many strategies and activities in these states. The prominent among them are its strategies in the two Telugu states. The BJP has initiated a carrot and stick policy towards Telangana. While taking the KCR government head-on, the BJP is sending feelers to the TRS that it is not averse to a tie-up with KCR in case it breaks its bonds with the TDP. However, the BJP is a hesitant hamlet in Andhra Pradesh. It is awaiting a right moment to distance itself from the TDP. In the meantime, it is filling its ranks with disgruntled leaders from Congress and YSR Congress. The BJP is maintaining a strategic silence towards YSR Congress as it needs this party in plan B, when it severs its ties with the TDP. This is precisely why there appears no action in regard to the cases against Jagan.

The BJP wants to pool as much energy as possible from the decimated Congress. The saffron party offers itself as Holy River for every disgruntled leader to take a holy dip in search of political future. It is roping in leaders from DMK while desperately trying to saffronise Rajnikanth. The ever indecisive ‘Narasimha’ is giving many anxious moments to Amit Shah‘s team. The party is waging a battle with Mamata Banerjee. It is trying to paint the space vacated by Left with saffron brush. At the same time, it wants to ensure that Bengali voters disenchanted by the anarchic rule of TMC do not turn towards the CPM.

But, the Mission-7 has many infantile disorders. The BJP lacks charismatic local leaders. It cannot build its future only on imported leaders who would not hesitate to leave it in any adverse moment. The party‘s Karnataka experiment has left behind a legacy of corrupt and rotten politics. The polity in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is still fluid. The party is in a Catch-22 situation in regard to its future relationship with the TDP. It depends on the performance of both Modi and Chandrababu Naidu. KCR still remains an enigma for the BJP. Many of these Mission-7 States do not have socio-religious landscape conducive for BJP‘s growth. Thus, the gains, if any, in these mission states may not compensate for the losses elsewhere. The mission may prove to be much ado about nothing unless the party is showered by unexpected political fortunes.