Issues not Ideology
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made an important observation recently. Speaking at a BJP state level convention in Pune last week, he commented that the Congress was not fighting the BJP on ideology, but on issues. The fight will now be on individual issues. Fadnavis added that this is because the Congress cannot take on the BJP on ideology; it has now shifted the narrative. Be that as it may, it’s a smart move as ideology gives the BJP a captive vote bank. Individual issues, however, can create differences for it appeals to aspirations and not identity politics alone. The CM also came up with the catchy “Jhooth Ki Goonj” to counter the Congress party’s equally catchy “Chhatron ki Goonj” outreach program for the youth. Considering that Rahul gave the “Smash the Patriarchy” cry from Pune, it does seem as if the city has become a narrative setter for the Battle for 2029.
BJP’s Gen X to Counter RAGA
Given the fact that both the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister were largely absent during the proceedings of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, it does seem as if the BJP has taken a calculated decision on how to counter Rahul Gandhi. It is the second rung, composed mostly of Gen X leaders that are taking on the 50s-something Congress leader. Hence we see Hemanta Biswa Sarma, Tejasvi Surya, Sambit Patra, Anurag Thakur, Bansuri Swaraj and Smriti Irani leading the charge against Rahul; with Kangana Ranaut’s diversionary tactics thrown in for good measure. As a point of interest one should add that Amit Shah himself, at age 61 belongs to the Gen X, but he kept his engagement to the minimum. Interestingly, while Shah is at his caustic best in taking on Rahul Gandhi, he does come up with the occasional smile in his counter attacks on both Akhilesh Yadav and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Perhaps it is because both these leaders know well how to make their points of debate with some good old fashioned humour leading to Amit Shah to respond in kind.
A BJP-SAD alliance?
A clear indication of the road ahead was the recent tieup between the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP, affiliated with the BJP, and the Shiromani Akali Dal-backed Students’ Organisation of India (SOI) for the Panjab University polls. The ABVP candidate backed by the SOI won the polls, with the AAP candidate coming second and the NSUI third. This win was noted by BJP central leaders like B.L. Santhosh and Tarun Chug, who congratulated both the ABVP and the SOI. Given that the Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal met the Prime Minister a few weeks ago, there is speculation that the university bonhomie could be a precursor to a state-wide alliance. Also both parties are taking heart in the fact that the Gen Z has not abandoned them. If the alliance happen then will the BJP go with Sukhbir as the Chief Ministerial face? The former CM would be the obvious choice given that all the BJP leaders with heft are Congress expats.
A Congress Comeback for the Captain?
Is Captain Amarinder set to return to the Congress? The former Punjab Chief Minister is certainly not playing a very active role within his new party (he joined the BJP in 2022), and the possible alliance with the Akali Dal will certainly not be to his liking. He was also apparently not happy with the BJP’s decision to appoint Kewal Singh Dhillon as the party chief. Following this decision the Captain had given an interview to the Tribune where he said that while he was in the Congress he was always consulted on state issues, but the BJP has a very centralised decision making system in place. Let alone decision making, the Captain was also (justifiably) hurt when no one from the BJP reached out to condole with him after the death of his cousin, the Olympian shooter Randhir Singh. However, Rahul Gandhi did reach out with a condolence message. In fact, during an Instagram interaction with Gen Z when RaGa was asked to name his favourite BJP leader, he said it was his “Uncle”, the former Punjab CM and his father’s school buddy, Captain Amarinder. Recently, while interacting with reporters, former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda also hinted at this possibility, leading to speculation on social media that the comeback was on the cards. This would be a shot in the arm for the Congress, for the Captain still enjoys a great deal of goodwill on the ground.
