The BJP tried to win the Delhi and Bihar elections on the strength of Narendra Modi’s charisma. While it roped in Kiran Bedi as the Chief Ministerial candidate at the last minute in Delhi, it did not announce one in Bihar.
What the BJP failed to realize that people were perfectly happy with Narendra Modi as the PM but they needed a local man to head their state, one whose credentials they could trust.
On the other hand, the electoral defeats in Bihar and Delhi helped cut the Amit Shah-Modi combine to size.
Successes there would have made them invincible to even the influence of the RSS. Vajpayee was the only BJP man who managed to hold his own against the RSS. Therefore, the Sangh Parivar is now coming up with a strategy to ensure that Modi does not turn out to be a parallel power structure to them.
The upcoming Assam elections will not be contested in Modi’s name. The first step in this direction was taken over a month ago when the BJP appointed Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Welfare Sarbananda Sonowal as the new president of the party unit in Assam as well as the chairman of the state election committee.
Party insiders say Sonowal will be projected as BJP’s chief ministerial candidate well in advance. In the name of developing new leadership well in advance, the RSS is probably making sure at the same time that Modi does not grow bigger than them.
Two birds with a stone! It is sheer genius just in terms of its simplicity.
