Jinnah Jugular Jaswant

Mr Jaswant Singh was an articulate ‘Vajpayee courtier’ who rose to cabinet positions in his government.

He has written books and continues to write. They are important mostly because of ‘who’ has written them rather than what has been written.

Now , at last, he seems to have qualified on both counts.

Alas, what he wrote is also important because of who he is.

Jinnah – India, Independence, Partition, cost Jaswant Singh his primary membership of the Bhartiya Janata Party.

Quetelet says, it ought to hardly matter to him or to the party , least of all to the country. It is only of interest to illustrate a case of an entire political formation reading the mood of the country so incorrectly and being stubborn in holding on to its erroneous conclusions.

This is, prima facie, a move that reflects the primacy of the most hard-line elements within the party. They are rumored to be on the ascendant since the party’s recent parliamentary election defeat.

It is one more instance of ‘political management by entropy’ so typical of the BJP nowadays. It seems to be in deep disarray, catalysed by the infighting since the May parliamentary elections when it was reduced to 116 seats, its worst performance in years.

Quetelet says that ideological purity and political necessity weigh in the balance . The BJP needs to get itself to the centre but it seems to be drifting to the right.

The BJP top brass is in the Chintan Baithak to ponder on why they have reached where they are and how to become more electable and appealing .

Will book bashing take them there ?

No need for Raje- sthan

Vasundhara Raje Scindia is a non entity in Indian Politics of the moment.

No matter how things shape out she is likely to be on a backburner for at least half a decade. For someone who was so intoxicated with power, it must hurt . We can see the withdrawl symptoms.

Even within the BJP, Rajasthan as a state is hardly on the top right quadrant of priority and importance. She flourished in part because of her ability to manage New Delhi and her backwater state. But now that the BJP has only the backwaters to paddle, all hell is breaking loose .

The constitution of India recognizes no such thing as a Political party. However, politics in India has crystallised thus. Those who control the party, get to be in Government at the helm of affairs when their political formation gets the mandate.

Vasundhara Raje did more damage to the BJP in Rajasthan than any other person(s).

Arrogant, imperious, megalomaniacal..the synonyms will run out and yet not manage to describe her overbearing style that reduced the party apparatus to naught. She perhaps never had ideological moorings or any idealism, but it was her feudal temperament that did so much more damage to her cadre than to her self.

Why did this degeneration take place? Why did the party make no effort to arrest the decline ?

Consider :

- Terror attacks in Jaipur - Any responsibility in the state administration ?
- Farmers shot dead like dogs in in Ganga nagar and Ghadsana -Any prosecutions ?
- Caste tensions across the state -What was done besides deal making ?
- Alleged land grabbing by private interests. Could we probe the benefactors ?
- Complete abandonment of official authority to extra constitutional authorities who played their innings by their own rules…..all of these things are in the public domain.

She demanded deference, was surrounded by hangers-on, crony business men, glitterati.

Rajasthan was party land , the kind that happens after a fashion show !!.

She thrived / survived because of patronage by Vajpayee and Advani, old time associates of her Mother, the Rajmata. She has now been reduced to petty antics to cling on to whatever little status she has as 'Leader (!) of the Opposition (!!)

It is not worthy of featuring on Indian Political radar but is a fit case to sample from source and analyse the degenration and fractal feudal monopolisation of ' the party with a difference' - Now, 'A party with (obvious) differences' !!!