BJP gen secy P Muralidhar Rao: ‘Karnataka govt can collapse any day’

It was neither surprising nor unexpected. From the beginning, party leaders who were running the campaign, and were interacting with each other, were aware of the feedback. The confidence exhibited by Prime Minister Modi and party chief Amit Shah also gave everyone the confidence that all’s well and we will have a majority on our own. We have exceeded the expectations.

What does this mandate mean to BJP?

To me, this mandate was possible because of the central asset – Modi-ji, who has a good connect with the people and has acceptance throughout the country. People transcending differences of caste and region have accepted Modi-ji as a leader on whom they can rely on. You don’t have any other leader in competition.

In intense debates and campaign, the Opposition’s limitations were exposed and amplified the chances of Modi. Instead of improving their positions, they all contributed to Modi-ji’s victory. When you have people with limited capabilities aspiring for higher posts, instead of improving their position they helped the opponent to better his. They have convinced the people that Modi-ji is the only alternative.

Who do you mean?

Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and K Chandrasekhar Rao. People thought giving them opportunities means the country would go through uncertainty – not just in durability but all kinds of uncertainties, such as uncertainty in decision-making, policies, etc. That made people go with Modi. It helped BJP to a great extent.

What was the main reason behind BJP’s astounding performance in Karnataka, where two big parties came together to form a government and fight the BJP?

Karnataka gave us two advantages. The experiment of Congress and JD(S) has not only exhibited their vulnerability to people, it has also shown the electorate how vulnerable such coalitions can be. This made people detest such coalitions; it has (now) become a model to show the experiment of coalition governments of the Congress. Our growth has become easier in Karnataka, and we have fared better in constituencies where our performance had (traditionally) been poor.

With their arithmetic superiority, the Congress and JD(S) thought that the BJP would be further weakened, but this alliance has created a vacuum in many areas. Besides, moving of people from these parties to the BJP has strengthened BJP in many areas (Old Mysore, Kalburgi, Raichur. Kolar and Kalburgi). If it was a triangular fight, we don’t know what would have happened. So in Karnataka, Modi-ji’s appeal and his brand appeal received greater acceptability.

What will happen in Karnataka now?

Good things will happen there.

Is there a possibility that the government will fall there?

I cannot say this will happen this day. But when overwhelming majority voted in such a way that the Congress-JD(S) combine got delegitimised, they don’t have people’s acceptability.

But this was the Lok Sabha election…

Yes, it was, but the alliance was formed after the Assembly election. If the alliance had got the mandate for Assembly, it would have been different. But their coming together and their (subsequent) conduct have not been accepted by people. The government has become illegitimate now. So running this government even for a single day becomes difficult; it will soon be untenable, because of the mandate.

In a democracy, legitimacy is most important – legitimacy means the mandate. It’s going to affect the government adversely.

What is BJP’s role there?

BJP is the opposition party and it is not a well-wisher of the government. We will see and wait for it (government) to collapse. Internally, adequate factors are there to collapse it. The conflicting factors inside have gained momentum after the mandate – any day it can collapse.

Why did that appeal not work in other states in South India?

Appeal in certain area works when there is a contributory factor to support it. For example, one needs an organisation to convert appeal to votes. In Tamil Nadu, we don’t have an organisation; it is taking time for us to build it there. In Andhra Pradesh, we have no organisation to take messages to the ground level to counter the campaign against us.

The BJP won four seats in Telangana. Do you see it as the beginning of BJP’s emergence as an alternative force in the state?

It is one state where the BJP always sees itself as a natural party that can rule. We have got deep organisational penetration – we have demonstrated our strength in leading the movements and struggle even in the battle against Naxalites (Maoists). The state itself has a history in support of us – the struggle against Nizam or Razakars.

After formation of Telangana, this legacy is playing a key role in the state. We have the Sardar Patel connect – without Sardar Patel, Hyderabad state could not have happened.

Besides, the Congress, although it has members elected in the Assembly, could function as an Opposition. The impression created in the state is that the Congress cannot fight against the TRS. The Congress’s failure at the Centre will also get reflected in the state.

The ideology of the TRS and the Congress is the same – both practice appeasement politics. The BJP has to present itself as a party that is fighting (this). This result has created that window and is a great opportunity for BJP.

You were in charge of training program for the BJP. How much did that exercise help the BJP in this election?

As Amit Shah mentioned when he launched the training programme, what makes the BJP different from other parties is its ideology and the strength of the party is its karyakarta. If you grow organically, you will be able to keep the party intact. In 2014, it was a flood-like situation – we got too many people in the party. It made the party’s responsibilities more serious.

To take advantage of the situation, the option was to train the workers. We were expected to train lakhs of people in a short span of time to keep the organisation’s grow healthy. Training 11 lakh people at different level has been a tough task, but it was done successfully. It also converted karyakartas into assets, as vehicles of transformation. They were trained for reach-out programmes, and for becoming a bridge between the party and the government. So they were able to communicate Modi-ji’s successful schemes and programmes to people. That made the party gain new votes, which we call Modi votes, which is above BJP’s traditional votes.

That’s the reason the BJP could keep up its success as a permanent feature. Training helped the party keep the cadre ideologically motivated and convert them into good vehicles as a bridge between the people and Modi-ji.