news details |
|
|
| 2008: THE YEAR THAT WAS | | BJP had several issues its choice but no major success | |
Jammu, Dec 26: After Ram Janmbhoomi, the Amarnath land transfer controversy had come as major issue before BJP for its revival but it did not pay much.
Starting on a euphoric note with victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, BJP finally opened its account in South India this year but the defeat in Rajasthan and Delhi at the fag end saw the campaign targeting government on issues of terrorism and inflation losing steam.
The saffron party, however, showed that it had the calibre to beat anti-incumbency in other states apart from Gujarat when it won Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in the Assembly elections last month.
However, losing Rajasthan and Delhi in the Assembly elections dubbed as semifinal ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls came as a rude shock to the party.
BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani used cricket analogy at party's parliamentary board meeting recently when he said, "Congress cannot bowl us out. In Rajasthan it was a hit-wicket".
Infighting in the state unit and arbitrary distribution of party tickets led to rebels fighting the polls and damaging BJP's prospects.
BJP had begun 2008 on a high-note, fresh from victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in December 2007.
It had also declared Advani its Prime Ministerial candidate after he patched up differences with RSS, which was miffed over his pro-Jinnah remarks.
Advani made further amends in his autobiography, "My Country My Life". However, the book, unveiled in March, created several controversies.
The right-wing party passed a unanimous resolution at its national executive in January to give one-third reservation to women in party posts.
The saffron party formed its first government in a southern state when it won the Karnataka Assembly elections in May. But as the year progressed, the party's fortunes seemed to decline.
If the loss in Rajasthan was a surprise, the result in Delhi was a complete shock for the party. BJP had hoped that the two-term Sheila Dikshit government would be ousted due to anti-incumbency especially after the saffron party's victory in the civic polls last year.
The loss in Delhi also punctured general secretary Arun Jaitley's dream run as election in-charge of states where BJP won the polls.
As its prominent NDA allies --TDP, AIADMK, Trinamool Congress--distanced themselves, the party maintained that it may be down but not out.
"We have won the big states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Punjab (NDA ally Akali Dal), Orissa (BJD) and Bihar (coalition with JD-U) while Congress has won small states like Mizoram, Goa, Haryana and Delhi," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told PTI.
BJP hoped AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa's overtures would translate into an alliance, giving a further boost to NDA's prospects in south after the Karnataka win.
However, Jayalalithaa tied up with the Left parties, CPI(M)and CPI, dashing BJP's hopes.
BJP's central leadership kept the larger goal of forming a government at the Centre in mind while looking for allies. This led it to ally with Om Prakash Chautala's INLD in Haryana much against the wishes of the state party cadre.
Once its prospects looked up, BJP found another former NDA ally, AGP, agreeing to a seat-sharing arrangement in Assam.
In Andhra Pradesh, while Chandrababu's TDP seems to have distanced itself from BJP, Advani called up Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi after he plunged into politics with the launch of his party Prajarajyam, setting off rumours of a possible tie-up.
With BJP supporting the Telengana cause, TRS has displayed some warmth towards it but is keeping the Third Front option open. Mamata Bannerjee, however, is inching closer to the Congress in West Bengal.
BJP is likely to ally with Ajit Singh's RLD in Uttar Pradesh, though Kalyan Singh is opposed to it.
The rebels were, perhaps, the biggest worry for the BJP, which once took pride in being a 'party with a difference' due to its disciplined cadre.
In 2008, it faced rebellion in Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
For the first time in BJP's history, a secret ballot was held in Delhi to check how many BJP legislators from Bihar supported Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi. Many still feel Modi could stay in his post only due to the central leadership which felt removing him would send a wrong message.
In Uttarakhand, BJP faced rebellion from its ministers and MLAs against the style of functioning of Chief Minister B C Khanduri.
The acute differences between former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and party state unit president Om Mathur is said to have cost BJP the recent elections.
BJP also found itself as sea over the major issues that it planned to raise during the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The saffron party's tirade against the Congress-led UPA government for allegedly being soft on terror lost its sting when Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Colonel Prasad Purohit were arrested for their alleged role in the Malegaon blast case.
The BJP attacked ATS chief Karkare who was heading the Malegaon blast probe accusing the agency of targeting Hindu religious leaders, but found itself in a piquant situation when Karkare was killed during the Mumbai terror attacks. Karkare's family refused financial help offered by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
With the central government passing the National Investigation Agency Act and making the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act more stringent, BJP's demand for MCOCA like law in states where it is in power is unlikely to find much sympathy with the voters. The impact of the global economic meltdown had given the BJP a stick to beat the government. However, expectations of a good crop and falling of crude oil to a four year low of USD37 a barrel has given new hope to the Congress-led UPA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
