The perception that removing a leader of a big stature will harm the party is outdated. BJP has to understand, its new politics has to be seen through the prism of a new political yardstick.
Making major changes in any party or government just before the election is considered harmful. It is feared that a leader of high stature is at risk of alienating his voters from the party due to his anger. This is the reason why any government-political party avoids making major changes before elections. But in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken exactly the opposite path. Not only Chhattisgarh-Rajasthan veterans Raman Singh and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Modi also removed Shivraj Singh, who had been leading the state for 18 years, from the government. His role in winning this election also cannot be ignored. The big question is whether removing these big leaders just before the Lok Sabha elections can harm the BJP? Especially considering that in her desire to become the Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje Scindia did not leave any stone unturned in making the BJP win even in 17 seats of her home constituency, where she is considered to have a firm hold on the voters. Similarly, Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said during the election itself that he would support those who would support him. His gesture was seen by linking PM Modi and it was believed that through this, he had given the same message to the PM that if he would support him, then after the assembly elections, in the Lok Sabha elections, he would not leave any stone unturned in giving him 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh. His efforts continued till the name of the Chief Minister was announced, which ultimately proved to be futile. But can’t these BJP umbrellas now betray the Lok Sabha elections? Can’t this cause electoral damage to the BJP? It is also important to note that this is not the first time that the BJP has played this gamble. Earlier, after the party’s victory in the assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made people like Manohar Lal Khattar, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Pramod Sawant, and Bhupendra Patel of a weak image instead of choosing strong and strong leaders. The question is also why the BJP is appointing such completely unknown faces to important positions like the state’s Chief Minister. The absence of a strong local leader was considered to be the main reason behind the party’s defeat in Karnataka-Himachal. Despite this, the BJP does not seem to be moving forward on the strategy of developing a strong local leadership. What could be the reason for this?
There Are Many Categories Of Voters: Some voters cast their votes for the party, some big leaders, some local leaders-candidates, and some due to immediate reasons. The number of voters joining a party on an ideological basis used to be close to 10 to 15 percent in different elections, but it is being seen that now the number of voters supporting or opposing a party on an ideological basis is increasing. Now this share has increased to 20 to 30 percent. This change is also being seen in other parts of the world. Why the BJP has not bet on big faces is an internal matter. But one thing is true the number of voters committed to its ideological basis is increasing continuously. Even after losing in an election, his vote percentage not falling below a certain limit can be explained on this basis. This could be one of the reasons why parties seem to be doing more to increase their ideological acceptability. Having more ideologically committed voters increases the chances of parties avoiding the pitfalls of a leader rebelling. It is easier for such voters to engage with them by formulating a good policy at the national level. This is the reason why political parties seem to be working more to increase their ideological acceptability.
Need To Look At BJP’s Politics Through A New Lens: The outdated notion that removing a leader of high stature will harm the party is outdated. If the BJP has to understand, its new politics has to be seen through the prism of a new political paradigm. He said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he was not a big name, but he proved himself with his work. Later, when Modi became the Prime Minister, comments were made about his economic understanding, but he made himself one of the world’s biggest politicians with his understanding. Probably this is the reason why Modi is giving opportunities to ordinary people who do better work in the organization, but after coming to power, the same faces. They are giving better results. Like Yogi Adityanath was not a leader with such a big image before becoming the Chief Minister, but today he is counted among the strongest image leaders after Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amit Shah was also not a big leader before becoming the Home Minister of Gujarat. But after getting the post, he proved himself. He said that the BJP is creating big leaders by following this strategy. This thinking of the party should be understood.
Reason Behind Removing Strong Faces: Be it Himachal Pradesh or Karnataka, the defeat of the BJP has clearly shown that there was a fight among local leaders for leadership opportunities. Those who did not get the opportunity started harming the party. Perhaps given this loss, the party did not make a face in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The result was that everyone pushed hard and the party won a landslide victory. As far as the Lok Sabha is concerned, the biggest attraction of voting in the Lok Sabha elections is the face of the Prime Minister. The 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha election results show that even in weak states, Modi’s image is giving the BJP more votes. In such a situation, he does not think that due to the removal of these faces, the BJP will suffer any loss in the Lok Sabha elections.
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