Recent developments have indicated that the BJP led NDA government would probably start following dynasty politics just like its predecessor, the Congress led UPA government. Several veteran BJP leaders have started projecting their progenies as the next potential leaders of India. For example, while Union Minister Menaka Gandhi is projecting Varun Gandhi as the next chief minister of UP, Pankaj Singh (son of union minister Rajnath Singh) and Rajveer Singh (son of Kalyan Singh, the former chief minister of UP) are also being promoted by their respective supporters.
The disturbing trend to be noted here is how none other than their own family members projects these individuals. Menaka Gandhi pitched for Varun Gandhi’s chief ministerial candidature in the UP. Varun Gandhi happens to be the youngest general secretary of the BJP. He even has a dedicated Facebook page which was created and is currently being maintained by the Varun Gandhi Youth Brigade which is aggressively promoting him as UP’s next chief minister. Varun is not alone though. For Pankaj Singh and Rajveer Singh have their own supporters who are campaigning for their respective chief ministerial candidature in UP as well.
The spectacular performance of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections has energized the party cadres who have taken the cyber community by storm, trying to promote their favorite leaders in any way possible. For instance, Pankaj Singh has over 6 Facebook accounts dedicated to him which project him as UP’s next chief minister. Pankaj has however, urged supporters to follow the party’s ideology and promote the same instead of rooting for a single person.
These developments should not be taken lightly by the BJP as just another passing trend. The party would need to hold onto its reins and make sure it does not follow the same path as the Congress.
The Congress strongly followed dynasty politics and it was what turned into a sinkhole, big enough to swallow the whole party. Under Sonia Gandhi’s discreet leadership, the Congress stifled the growth of potential leaders within itself in order to let Rahul Gandhi take the leadership. The quintessential Nehru-Gandhi dynasty makes sure it wields its power to ensure that only a member of the Gandhi family takes the leadership post every time.
This move however, backfired on the Congress when Rahul Gandhi did not turn out to be Prime ministerial or even leadership material. The Congress performed dismally in the Lok Sabha elections, managing to win only 44 seats in sharp contrast to the 200 seats it won in 2009. Post this humiliating defeat, senior Congress members have been calling out for Rahul Gandhi to step down and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi (another Gandhi) take his place.
If the BJP happened to follow in the same path, as the Congress with respect to dynasty politics, there is no doubt that the party would sooner or later fall into the same sinkhole as the Congress.
The BJP seems to have started following dynasty politics, the same trend that was responsible for the Congress’s meteoritic fall. The party would need to buckle up and discourage leaders from adopting these practices if it hopes to avoid becoming another Congress in the making.
