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| Vajpayee was seen as the moderate face of the BJP. Incumbent BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi with former Prime Minister Vajpayee |
The mob was led by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its main organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In September 1990, senior BJP leader LK Advani started a rath yatra from the Somnath temple in Gujarat with the aim of replacing the Babri Masjid with a Ram temple.
The Babri Masjid was demolished within a few months of the Rath Yatra. Critics and fans alike see the rath yatra as a turning point in the history of India's ruling BJP.
Dheerinder Jha, author of several books on Hindutva, says, "I don't think the Babri Masjid would have collapsed had it not been for the Rath Yatra." It was a turning point. It succeeded in creating a kind of wave which eventually ended with the demolition of the Babri Masjid and gave a new shape to the BJP.
Apart from the BJP, several organizations affiliated to the RSS played a role in the demolition of the Rath Yatra and the mosque. "You can see a series of sectarian riots at the moment," says Jha. It left traces of carnage and arson everywhere it went.
According to scholar K. N. Panicker, between September 1 and November 20, 1990, there were 116 sectarian riots in the country in which 564 people were killed.
The effect was seen in the elections and the party which benefited the most was the BJP. Within a few years of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the party began to lead the central government and is still making steady progress at all levels of society.
It currently has 301 members out of 543 in parliament, has leadership in 17 of the 28 states and claims that the party has about 180 million members. It now claims to be the largest political party in the world.
"She is not only making progress, she is becoming more and more sectarian," says Jha. In fact, she is openly sectarian.
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| Babri Masjid before demolition in 1992 |
Opposition to 'Muslims and Pakistan's flattery'
Although the current form of the BJP emerged in 1980, it has its roots in the Bharatiya Jan Singh (BJS), which was affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh (RRS).
The BJS was started by Shyam Prasad Mukherjee in 1951 to contest the Congress. Its initial points were the protection of Hindu identity and opposition to Muslims and Pakistan's "Congress flattery".
Among its key demands were the repeal of Article 370 to fully integrate Jammu and Kashmir into India, ban on cow slaughter and uniform civil code, a single law instead of a special law for each religion.
It won only three seats in the country's first general election in 1952. For years, his presence in parliament has been modest. In 1975, when Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, the BJP took part in a nationwide protest against the state of emergency and merged with other parties to form the Janata Party.
The Janata Party contested parliamentary elections in 1977, in which former BJS members won about 30 percent of the seats. The Janata Party formed the government, with former BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee as minister, but the system did not last long.
Former BJS leaders tried to get the people to adopt a moderate worldview on politics, but according to scholar Christophe Jeffreylo, this proved to be an "impossible integration".
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| An old photo of incumbent BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP leader Advani |
One of the reasons for dissatisfaction in the Janata Party was the BJP's affiliation with the RSS. Some Janata Party leaders demanded that the BJP should split from the RSS. The BJS refused to do so and eventually the Janata Party broke up and the government fell.
The new party was named the Bharatiya Janata Party and adopted a moderate ideology in order to gain widespread acceptance, but this moderate approach did not benefit them politically.
In the 1984 elections, it won only two seats (while the Congress had an absolute majority after the assassination of Indira Gandhi). The party decided that it would now take a hardline Hindutva stance. The so-called moderate face of the party, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was replaced by Advani, considered a strong supporter of Hindutva, as its president, and the results soon became apparent.
In 1989, the party won 85 seats, in 1991 it won 120 seats and in 1996 it joined the government with 161 seats. However, this government fell in 13 days but the party returned in a few months. The party was now part of the mainstream with 182 seats.
The most important turning point for the BJP
The rath yatra started in September 1990 when Advani unloaded a Toyota truck from Somnath in Gujarat. Wherever they went, a crowd was with them. He made provocative speeches and, according to the Telegraph newspaper, "Rath Yatra was creating an atmosphere of Hindu militancy and hatred against Muslims in every area."
Dheerinder Jha considers the Rath Yatra to be the most important turning point for the BJP. He says that initially the polarization of the yatra did not go as planned by its moderators, but when it included the sadhus for the political movement, it really worked.
This yatra was important not only for the BJP but for the entire Sangh Parivar.
"When all these parties come together and become part of a political agenda, they are able to make a big impact," he said. This was the first time that the entire Sangh Parivar stood together.
Advani also credited Rath Yatra for the rise of the party. He told journalist Sheila Reddy in 2008 that the situation had changed somewhat since the Rath Yatra and called it "the most decisive event of his political journey". Blamed
He was finally detained by Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav seven days before his arrival in Ayodhya. The BJP was supporting the Janata Party's central government of which Lalu was a member but the central government fell.
For other reasons too, it was a fruitful time for India. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991. The Congress returned to the central government after his assassination but could not stop the demolition of the Babri Masjid or the rise of the BJP.
The first BJP government
Although the BJP had been a part of the previous governments as a junior partner, it formed its government for the first time in 1996 with the largest number of seats, but it lasted only 13 days. It came back in 1998 and then Vajpayee ruled for six consecutive years as the head of the central government.
Vajpayee was seen as the moderate face of the BJP. He was often called the "right man in the wrong party" but lost the 2004 election to the Congress, despite his hopes of winning. After that the party remained out of power for 10 years.
Then came Narendra Modi and according to scholars, he changed the face of BJP and Indian politics forever.
Modi's arrival
Modi was accused of the 2002 Gujarat riots against Muslims. Vajpayee did not remove him from his post but advised him to follow Raj Dharma.
Modi soon started his marketing career as a progressive politician. In its second term in the central government, which began in 2009, the Congress had become like a fragmented party. It was seen as a corrupt and weak party.
Modi presented himself in stark contrast to the Congress. As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he was leading a state where industry was better than other states and it was one of the richest states in the country. He promised "strong development, free and fair" leadership, which impressed the masses.
Modi's alleged role in the riots had so far become insignificant. He won by a landslide in 2014, and according to scholars, this was the beginning of a new BJP.
Although Hindutva has always been important for the party, for the first time under Modi's leadership it made a successful attempt to reach out to different sections of the society at large.
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| Incumbent BJP Prime Minister (Left) Narendra Modi with BJP leaders |
The BJP had come to power a few times before Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014 but still its political support consisted of a few castes. Modi cleverly recruited a large section of castes and communities to support him and the party, including those who traditionally voted for the Congress or other parties.
Former BJP activist and writer Shyam Singh says that the Hindutva electorate has a basic vote base but it is not big enough to win elections.
Referring to the recent state elections in Uttar Pradesh, he said that some people there voted for the BJP because of its Hindutva ideology but a large part was also those who voted for free rations and peace and order. Gave
"The BJP brought these different statements together and persuaded different sections to reach a majority," he says.
Compared to 2009, the votes of those castes for the party increased which were given to the Congress or regional parties.
The party won 166 seats in the 2009 election, less than in the 2004 election. However, due to its new voters, the number increased in 2014 and the BJP won 282 seats (an increase of 31 more in 2019).
Professor Badri Narain, author of the Republic of Hindutva, says that there are four main reasons why the current BJP is performing better than other parties:
● First of all, the BJP's rhetoric brings people closer. "The BJP is a party to which ordinary people belong," he says. They are in constant touch with their constituents. "He added:" Because you are active, your organization is strong. Then you can hear the reaction of the people. If your organization doesn't have a grassroots presence, you can't get people's feedback. "
●Another reason for the BJP's better performance is to combine development and the prestige of Hindutva. Badrinath says, “Hindutva is popular among all castes and communities and when it is associated with development, it becomes golden. If it is not a matter of development, it will weaken in a few days, but it will work with the position of development.
●The third reason is the image of Modi who, despite being in the central government for eight years, is quite strong and better than any opposition leader.
●The fourth reason is welfare schemes for disadvantaged communities in the form of measures like transfer of cash among the poor, free cooking gas, construction of toilets etc.
Communication model of Modi and BJP
Another factor on which the present BJP is clearly superior to other parties is the party's communication model.
Shyam says that the communication model of the Congress is so poor that it has not been able to sell even the schemes which it had started.
But when it comes to the communication model, one of the main reasons for the BJP's superiority over other parties is the support of a grassroots organization like the RSS, which plays a key role in conveying the BJP's message to the masses. Is.
Badri Narain says that RSS works on various social projects. It also has a deep connection to the grassroots. They work among the backward, the weak, the tribes. They have been working quietly for a long time. They give opinions on what should happen, where what is not happening, which also helps the BJP.
He says that on the contrary, opposition parties are attacking in the wrong place. "The elephant has moved forward and you are attacking its shadow," he says. RSS has become a new force and you don't understand that.
" However, the opposition has been accused of failing to improve its position and message, although the secret of the BJP's success is that it is constantly changing its message and improving it.
"This is not the BJP that was in 2014," says Shyam. Basically, the BJP does not believe in contesting two elections on the same issue. He came to power out of dissatisfaction and is now selling Modi's strong image.
But Modi's strong image also has a profound effect on the party. This means that the party leadership can weaken it in just a few hands.
Referring to the strong control of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the party, Shyam said, Granted, there is no one left who has the same status as him within the party.
In the past, the RSS has always been the leader of the party and its leaders have been directly or indirectly supporting the party. Has done
"If the RSS leader is asked to choose between RSS and Modi, most of them will support Modi," says Shyam. Their brand is just as strong.
" He says although the RSS (ideologically from the BJP) got what it wanted. The only difference is that they (RSS) no longer have any special leader outside the BJP.
"The BJP is no longer a party," says Jha. The BJP is a syndicate controlled by a few. The RSS is the foot soldier of this syndicate.
The BJP, once seen as a unit of the RSS, now looks more powerful than the RSS and marks the rise of the party.
Although the BJP leadership has been criticized for attacking freedom, secularism and constitutional ethics, Dhirendra Jha is hopeful that things will eventually change.
"I personally believe that India is a big country with a majority and democracy at its heart," he said. You can't destroy those values and if you try to do that you will destroy the country.
"I don't think that's possible," he said. India will finally be victorious. Of course it is a dark tunnel and a very terrible tunnel that the whole country is going through but at the end of the tunnel I am sure there will be light.
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