View: BJP underlines its status as the master of backroom manouevring

By allowing cross-ideological attempts to form a non-BJP government, to run its course for almost a fortnight before staging a stunning coup, the Bharatiya Janata Party has tried insulating itself from accusations of political opportunism. Because, the Shiv Sena tried forming a government with Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, after raging against the two — and vice versa — for decades, the BJP calculates it cannot be charged of forming a government with a person as deputy chief minister who was in its firing line during the election campaign. The BJP would be right to say that if establishing a political PSU (Pawar-Sonia-Udhav) was politically acceptable, can anyone be critical of BJP for joining hands with the 60 year old ‘junior’ (Ajit) Pawar? In the end, the BJP has underscored once again that the party remains master of backroom maneuvering. Or, will time show that the real ‘Chanakya’ was Sharad Pawar to openly engaged with Udhav Thackeray and Sonia Gandhi, while keeping channels open with BJP?

Yet, because of the suddenness of developments and since the basis on which Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari administered the oath of office to Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar early on Saturday morning are questionable, eyebrows will be legitimately raised regarding constitutional fairness. It will be asked if the system has been subverted once again given that the notification to revoke President’s Rule in Maharashtra was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind in the wee hours of the morning suggesting the BJP got the official machinery at work through the night.

It is certainly not the last maneuver of political trapeze artists of Maharashtra. Much action is expected before the deadline to demonstrate majority in the state assembly by the end of the month. These will also not be the last of realignments in the state as the BJP will seek to insulate the government from instability. Despite having warded off the possibility of losing power in the state which elects the second largest contingent of Lok Sabha MPs after Uttar Pradesh, which also is home to India’s financial capital, for the BJP this is still a humbling moment. After all, when polls were announced in September, few would have imagined that the BJP would have to struggle to form the government in Maharashtra. Fadnavis’ uphill climb to ‘Varsha’, the official residence of the state chief minister, has to be seen in conjunction with the party being forced to accommodate a coalition partner in Haryana. Besides ensuring the survival of the government and creating fissure in the Shiv Sena and Congress, the BJP leadership must use this experience as an occasion to take corrective steps.

There are several questions whose answers shall be provided by time. First, is the conflict within the Pawar family actually the result of the nephew deciding to step out of his uncle’s shadow and not share limelight with a political lightweight cousin? Or, is this a mere enactment and replay of previous temporary splits within political families — for instance like how HD Develop Gowda and son, HD Kumaswamy parted ways in 2006 when he decided to become chief minister with BJP support— and that they will soon kiss and make up?

Second, how will the developments impact the Shiv Sena? Will the BJP’s success in stealing the government from under the Sena’s nose create dissensions within the party? Will party leaders question Udhav Thackeray’s decision to break ranks with the BJP and lose out on sharing power? Furthermore, will the BJP be successful in using the potential dissidence and force a vertical split in the Sena ranks?

Third, what will be the impact of these developments on the Congress party? Will the party remain united and what will be its status in the opposition ranks? Would it’s political flirtation with the Sena lead to the party losing territory in the secular space in the state? And, if yes, which party will secure control of the anti-Hindutva discourse in Maharashtra?

Fourth, an important matter which has unfortunately been losing its previous prime position and becoming increasingly irrelevant amid no-holds-barred power politics — that alternatives for Indian people are fast dwindling and that there is complete breakdown of parliamentary system. After all, the BJP once positioned itself as a ‘party with a difference’. The developments show it as being as unprincipled as the others who often in the past to burn the midnight oil, altered Koshiyari’s plans to visit the Indian capital and got Home machines machinery running through the night, to hastily swore in Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar before the SS-NCP-Cong could formally stake claim.

Lastly, although minuscule, the BJP decision to use questionable means to reinstall Fadnavis, will be disapproved by a section of leaders in the party, however minuscule. Despite the party remaining outwardly united behind the top leadership, there are sections which remain at odds with the policy of compromising its foundational principles. There is also a section within the BJP that is of the opinion that the reduced mandate for the party in the state was a reflection of people’s disaffection with a Brahminical tilt in the BJP after Fadnavis became chief minister. If the government survives, the BJP will find it doubly tough to secure the support of Marathas because Ajit Pawar will be the Maratha face of the government.

Significantly, these developments have come days after the cryptic comment of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat, that obliquely suggested BJP and Sena to patch up. These developments however, means a parting of ways within the saffron fold and underscores that post 2014, ties between the parties never matched the bonhomie between the BJP and its oldest ally. Here on, either the Sena or the BJP will have to move to a more centrist or inclusive position. For both, there will be challenge in this because it will mean sacrificing a section of its core supporters. As far as Ajit Pawar is concerned, and maybe even his uncle, leaders like him are driven more by lure of power than principles and ideology.

A quip that was put up on an alumni WhatsApp group of the ‘anti-national’ Jawaharlal Nehru University is most apt for the situation, not just in Maharashtra, but even for every political party. It was the line from an ever popular film, steeped in comical realism: Jaate the Japan, pahunch gaye Cheen, Samajwadi Gaye Na? (Had to go to Japan, but ended up in China, hope you understood!). With parties swapping partners and preparing to cohabit with new bed-fellows, it is time to remake Chalti Ka Naam Gaari, only this the last word in the title shall read — Rajniti!