Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 4: 2019 will not be 2014, when the BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi scored a spectacular victory and won 282 seats on its own. But since 2014, much water has flown down Jamuna.
The BJP's core supporters have started abandoning it. This became clear when the BJP lost miserably to its arch foes SP of Akhilesh Yadav and Congress of Rahul
Gandhi in Gurdaspur, Rajasthan, UP and Bihar. Its defeat in by-polls for Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat was the most humiliating one as it was represented by the incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath in the Lok Sabha for several terms.
These defeats obviously rattled the top BJP leaders, including PM Narendra Modi. Experts say that the BJP would lose 2019 in case it continued to pursue the Congress line, and time has come for the BJP to respect the sensitivities of its core constituency.
"Respect the sentiments of your core constituency and expand it if you really wish to win 2019," say serious BJP watchers. They have urged the BJP to do 10 things without losing a moment to win the trust of the alienated voters. They say that minorities didn't vote for the BJP in the past and they will not vote for it in the future.
Experts say a truly non-bigoted agenda that will unite most major castes and religious denominations could help the BJP win 2019. It should include:
"One, equal rights to autonomously administered educational and religious institutions, including temples, for all communities, and not just those deemed minorities.
Two, abolition of minority commissions along with the strengthening of human rights commissions.
Three, abolition of Article 370 along with greater devolution of powers to all states, both economically and politically, making India a real union of states.
Four, moves towards a uniform civil code, by giving every community the right to its own cultural practices, but with individuals having access to uniform Indian civil and criminal laws.
Five, a ban on foreign contributions to religious bodies, which makes the funding of churches and mosques easier than temples.
Six, an explicit commitment to prevent illegal immigration and demographic changes from destabilising India's current religious mix.
Indic religious refugees (Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists) from Pakistan and Bangladesh should be given preference for asylum and citizenship over communities from other religions. Reason: there is only one place in the world with an Indic majority, and this majority is vital for the safety and security of Indic peoples everywhere.
Seven, the Pandits who fled the Kashmir Valley must be resettled within reasonable time. Jammu and Ladakh need to be separated from Kashmir and given autonomy, either within the current J&K Constitution, or as Union territories. Indians anywhere should be freely allowed to settle and buy properties in J&K.
Eight, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh must be disenfranchised, but they can be given work permits so that their livelihoods are not disrupted.
Nine, the Right To Education (RTE) Act, which targets only majority institutions, must be made optional, with subsidies being offered to all institutions to take on students from the economically weaker sections. RTE should be incentive-based, not compulsion.
Ten, the winning party should offer power sharing deals with those who represent Dalits and minorities.
This is the road to permanent power for the BJP. Pretending it is all things to all people will not work".
Will the BJP think-tanks and election managers do these things? It's a difficult question to answer given the BJP's track record. |
