Can lotus blossom in the 'Rose' garden?

The basic model of the Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of AB Vajpayee-LK Advani duo was significantly different from its 2.0 model under the stewardship of Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo. From nationalism to strident nationalism to ultra-nationalism, the party has gone from strength to strength and by now it has emerged as the strongest outfit in India politically and financially ever before.

The saffron party got a good stock of political ammunition and its coffers are full thanks to its alleged symbiotic relation with selected corporate giants. Since 2013, the year it changed the colour and design of its election symbol lotus to black and white, there is no looking back for the BJP. The Election Commission had allowed the BJP to change the outline of the lotus to make it look bolder.

The two stints of the BJP-led NDA saw a series of boldest decisions on political, economic and diplomatic fronts. No other political party can compete with the present dispensation when it comes to 'corporate relations' and 'media management.' The social media army, paid and unpaid, is the biggest weapon for the BJP.

The grand old Congress, already weakened by the internal bickering over the leadership issue, is struggling very hard to beat the BJP in these key areas. As long as the Congress high command can't come out of its inertia, the BJP's victory march is bound to continue. As the Congress bastions are falling apart, the BJP is making inroads into South India. After a landslide in Karnataka, the Modi-Shah duo is focussing all their energies on Telangana.

A perfect venue for NEC

Telangana State capital, Hyderabad, provides a perfect political setting for the BJP to hold its NEC meet on July 2 and 3 for many reasons. This will be the NEC's first physical meeting outside the national capital after a gap of five years and the third meeting in the southern States after coming to power in 2014. The party held two NECs in Bengaluru (Karnataka) in 2015 and Kozhikode (Kerala) in 2016. Hyderabad is hosting it for the third time after 1994 and 2004.

The Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu was the BJP national president when the NEC met in Hyderabad to take crucial decisions on January 11 and 12, 2004. It's a different story that Naidu, the biggest and brightest Telugu face in the BJP, expected an elevation to the most coveted post but the leadership chose a tribal woman leader.

Hyderabad is the most suitable venue for an NEC at this juncture because the BJP is showing signs of improvement and a national meet will inspire the party's rank and file to checkmate the TRS in the forthcoming Assembly elections. Besides, it provides an opportunity for BJP leaders to show Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao his place. The sole champion of an alternative Front sans Congress against the Modi regime, KCR, a political maverick, has been working on giving a shape to his national ambition for the last two months.

The BJP leaders are expecting a cascading impact of the NEC on the neighbouring Telugu State, Andhra Pradesh, where the ruling party is submissive to it till date. A popular hero and Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan on the other hand is waiting in the wings 'for the roadmap' to be given by the BJP. Despite not having a popular base, the saffron party is in a position to choose its electoral ally in the forthcoming elections in AP. It augurs well for the BJP for the time being.

Despite the BJP's resounding electoral victories in four out of five assembly polls as planned at the previous NEC meeting held in the national capital on November 7, 2021 amidst the Covid-19 crisis, an international embarrassment (Islamic world's sharp reaction to unpleasant remarks made by its spokespersons on the Prophet) and a national humiliation (U-turn on the three farm laws) marked the party-led government's journey between the two NECs.

The BJP 2.0, under Modi-Amit Shah, has drawn flak for ignoring the concept of 'collective leadership' and adopting the 'take-it or leave-it' attitude. The duo was seen as the enemy No-1 for the secular fabric of India for driving cultural nationalism to derive electoral benefits. However, the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the clean chit given to Modi and 63 others in 2002 Gujarat riots during his tenure as the CM has come as a real shot in the arm of the BJP before the Hyderabad meet. This clean chit means a lot for the BJP which is accused of having orchestrated a pogrom in Gujarat.

The Covid-19 pandemic dampened the spirits of the Modi government, which completed eight years in office, and three years in its second term on May 30. Barring the successful vaccination programme, nothing great is available for the government to showcase. Most of the dozen broad promises made in the party's 2019 election manifesto (Sankalpit Bharat, Shashakt Bharat) went for a toss. Two key promises, doubling farmers' income and making India the third-largest economy, seem to be impossible to achieve in the near future.

Four tasks before the TS unit

The BJP's growth in Telangana went beyond the comprehension of the TRS. The BJP's sole MLA Raja Singh was joined by the former TRS strong men Madhaveni Raghunandan Rao (Dubbaka) and Eatala Rajender (Huzurabad) with thumping wins in by-elections. KCR went soft with BJP till his former lieutenant Eatala caused him a major embarrassment by romping home against all odds. In an attempt to show his displeasure, KCR started avoiding meeting the PM and he launched a tirade against his governance.

Modi, on his part, made the BJP's intentions very clear during his visit to the world-famous Indian School of Business (ISB) to mark its completion of 20 years on May 26, 2022. Addressing party activists at the Begumpet airport, he launched a scathing attack on the 'maladministration of KCR' and asked the people of Telangana to take a pledge to end his family rule.

In retaliation, KCR, after meeting the former PM Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru on the same day, announced that the nation would listen to a sensational announcement in another two to three months.

Except for making parleys with election strategists, KCR kept quiet after this glitzy announcement.

Interestingly, the no:2 in the Telangana cabinet and TRS working president KTR, made his maiden political visit to New Delhi to support the candidature of Yashwant Sinha for the President post. KTR took the opportunity to dub the Modi government as "autocratic, dictatorial, undemocratic and unconstitutional" and demanded a white paper on the Modi government's contribution to the newest State in the country before coming to the NEC.

The TRS is at the receiving end following KTR joining hands with the Congress scion Rahul Gandhi when Sinha was filing his nomination papers. The BJP's propaganda that the Congress is the B-team of the TRS may prove detrimental for the ruling party in Telangana. The BJP State unit president, Bandi Sanjay, the leader responsible for the surge of the BJP with two rounds of padayatras, always describes TRS and MIM as twins in a bid to woo Hindu voters.

There is no denying the fact that BJP is making giant strides in Telangana and it has turned out to be a big force to reckon with in the next assembly elections. TRS, however, is hopeful of a split of anti-incumbency votes between Congress and BJP to make it a hat-trick victory. Though it is not wise to talk about the could be political combinations at this juncture, I strongly feel that the Telangana BJP needs to focus on issues like rural outreach, unity among leaders, and central communication command. Bandi team may get a proper direction from the NEC to achieve the goal.

Lotus grows in mud. The social, political and financial situation in Telangana, according to the BJP leaders, is too muddy due to the omissions and commission of KCR in his two terms as the CM. If voters also feel the same, there is a scope for the lotus to bloom in Telangana.

(The author, a Ph.D. in Communication and Journalism, is a senior journalist, journalism educator, and communication consultant)