NEW DELHI: In his death, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appears to have addressed the BJP’s quest for a national icon matching the Nehruvian legacy.
The top leadership of the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party chief Amit Shah, is expected to meet soon to hammer out a roadmap to put him in the league of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The BJP’s quest to establish Vajpayee as a foremost national icon has just begun. The statewide yatras to immerse ashes of Vajpayee in over 100 rivers across the country are only the beginning. The top leadership of the party will be meeting around Raksha Bandhan to chalk out a plan of action to cement Vajpayee in the minds of the people,” said a top-ranking BJP leader, requesting not to be quoted.
For long, the BJP’s tallest icon has been party ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay. But because of his lack of immediacy and connect with the masses, he couldn’t be established as an icon outside the party.
“For almost four decades, the Congress reaped political dividends because of the Gandhi-Nehru legacy. Vajpayee is fresh in the memory of the people. We’ve at our disposal rich resources in the form of his speeches on diverse subjects, besides his poetry. That the party is in power at the Centre and in about 22 states will come in handy to execute the plan in the course of the next few months,” said the BJP leader.
Memorials, renaming of cities and major highways, instituting awards, rechristening of Central schemes and campaigns at the grassroots level in his memory are all on the cards.
Eye on polls, BJP prepares to encash on Vajpayee legacy
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh took the lead in renaming its new township Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar.
The Madhya Pradesh government will incorporate a biography of Vajpayee in school textbooks, besides announcing a slew of awards in his memory and naming upcoming smart cities after him. The Uttar Pradesh government, too, will go the extra mile to etch Vajpayee in public memory.
“The Congress didn’t allow any icons to get their respectful places. Sardar (Vallabhbhai) Patel too wasn’t allowed his rightful place. The table has turned, and now the BJP is in a similar position as the Congress had been in the 1970s,” added the BJP leader.
With the BJP bracing up for polls in four states and the Lok Sabha elections in another eight months, the saffron outfit is banking on campaigns around Vajpayee to infuse energy among the party workers and encash his legacy.
“The rich treasure of Vajpayee’s speeches will prove to be a great brand ambassador for the BJP in the coming years,” opined the BJP leader.