New BJP?

The much-promoted new-look team of the BJP is partially in place and the best thing that can be said about it is it looks more youthful. Not...

The much-promoted new-look team of the BJP is partially in place and the best thing that can be said about it is it looks more youthful. Notably, the party8217;s new set of general secretaries reflects a generational change, with some of the old guard who have been retained in the new setup having been kicked upstairs on to the vice-presidential rung.

Other political parties might be advised to take a leaf from Venkaiah Naidu8217;s book on this one. For far too long, Indian politics has placed a premium on simply having been there for the longest time; sheer seniority in years has been allowed to masquerade as wisdom. We need energetic ideas, a less cynical vision and a healthy dash of irreverence in politics. Having said that, though, there is instantly the question: is being younger in years qualification enough?

Will the BJP8217;s new leadership be able to steer the party out of the stagnation and confusion it has been visibly mired in recent times? The battering the party received at the hands of the electorate in the last round of assembly polls, with Goa being the honourable exception, must still rankle; so also must the brickbats it has received, both at home and from abroad, on the festering mess in Gujarat.

Never has the imperative to achieve a new equilibrium between the NDA agenda and the party8217;s core identity seemed more urgent. Or the need to redefine its terms with increasingly restive sister organisations. A beginning was made towards relocating the NDA8217;s centre of gravity in the BJP8217;s favour by the recent ministerial reshuffle/expansion.

The organisational revamp is slated to complete that act of assertion, before the next round of assembly elections can take place next year, and in time for the next parliamentary elections.

For the first time, the BJP has a Muslim in the crucial post of general secretary. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi must shoulder, more than he did in the past, the onerous burden of shoring up the BJP8217;s claim to secular credentials 8212; it8217;s a tall order indeed, and still growing.

The organisational layer of zonal chiefs introduced by former chief Jana Krishnamurthy has been hacked away by Naidu in a show of decisiveness. For the rest, the changes made in the state level organisation, particularly the appointments of the state chiefs, will be crucial. Because to tighten its grip on the Centre, the BJP will need a firmer foothold in the states.