Wary BJP to rethink strategy on Modi?
A debate over the charisma and importance of Gujarat chief minister and the BJP’s Hindutva mascot Narendra Modi has begun in the saffron camp after the Bihar Assembly poll results.
With Muslim votes being bagged by both the BJP and JD(U), a section of saffron leaders have begun toeing the Nitish line and feel that “Modi could eventually become a liability for the party to try get a majority during the general elections.”
Also, they feel “flaunting” Mr Modi could also affect the BJP’s attempt to gain more allies at the national level.
A senior BJP leader said getting “a significant amount” of Muslim votes during the Bihar Assembly polls was “completely unexpected”.
“We managed to get so many Muslim votes despite the Hindutva tag. Poll results proved that if we do not mix our core ideologies with political goals, we can repeat our performance in other states as well. We cannot forget that if the BJP can win so many seats in a state like Bihar, which has a sizeable Muslim population, we can surely imitate this in other states as well. Our party got good number of minority votes which is quite a boost for us,” said the senior party leader.
The BJP-JD(U) alliance was on the brink of breakup when JD(U) leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had objected to Mr Modi, a Hindutva icon, campaigning in Bihar earlier this year. Even though the BJP top brass denied this, a section of BJP leaders, however, strongly reacted to this and even suggested to the BJP top brass that the parties should part ways.
But after the BJP-JD(U) alliance sweeping the Bihar polls, with the BJP alone bagging 91 constituencies, a section within the party has started thinking on the lines that if the BJP wants to increase its votebank as well as number of alliance partners, the party top brass will have to rethink on Mr Modi.
“The party won (Bihar polls) without Modi. Nitish (Bihar chief minister) has emerged as the leader who can even revive the political prospects of his alliance partner (BJP), which is often criticised for being anti-minority. Now, it is for the BJP to decide whether Modi is important for it or voters,” said the senior party leader.
Comments
Modi is ruling Gujarat for
Sreekumar
07 Dec 2010 - 15:18
Modi is ruling Gujarat for more than a decade without Nitish, but only with his development "mantra'. When we are talking with the common people from Gujarat, they are very much praising the activities of Mr Modi. Recently, the Supreme Court-appointed investigation team has given a clear chit to Mr Modi concerning the unfortunate communal clash after Godhra issue.
It is not the Modi or the
ISHRAT HUSAIN
05 Dec 2010 - 07:52
It is not the Modi or the likes which can distanced the Muslims from BJP but the clear understanding on the point of equality. I agree that people stop giving judgment on issues under sujudiced and leave that to court to decide and honour.
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