Shah of alliances versus notes of rigidity RaGa
The bromance that is brewing between BJP president Amit Shah and his Shiv Sena counterpart Uddhav Thackeray is partly a product of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s initial efforts to cobble together a mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) of all opposition forces against PM Narandra Modi’s rule. It is also an acknowledgement of Shah’s growing clout within the party as the second most powerful person after Modi. Else Uddhav wouldn’t have participated in an NDA rally in Gandhinagar on Saturday. Also on the dais were SAD chief Parkash Singh Badal and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan, and former BJP presidents Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Later in the day, Shah filed his papers for contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Gandhinagar, the seat held by LK Advani till now.
After repeatedly picking on the BJP for most of the last five years, the Sena buried the hatchet a few weeks ago by wangling a better seat deal for both the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections and a more equitable share of power. But the BJP’s softening to accommodate allies came after the crushing blow in the recent Assembly polls. In contrast, the mahagathbandhan came apart as the Congress, flushed with success, hardened its bargaining position and annoyed wannabe allies. Rahul contesting from Kerala’s safe seat of Wayanad apart from his traditional constituency of Amethi in UP is the latest flashpoint for an angry Left that has already been left out in the cold in Bihar and West Bengal.
It’s a given that politics understands the language of strength. Shah began as party president in 2014 and wrested state after state in his pursuit for power, displaying flexibility too. In the opposition camp, the politics of give and take ought to have been initiated by the biggest party, the Congress, but it hasn’t shown the same sense of urgency. In fact, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said the Congress is as rigid as the Janata Party was in 1977. That could well be the differentiator between the two sides in the final analysis.