By its stunning electoral victories in the recent state elections, the Indian political party BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has created history of sorts in the country.
It has indeed added one more golden feather to Modi’s cap, as the victory was largely due to his charismatic personality and policies. He has been pursuing them with extreme courage and political sagacity. With Assam, Manipur Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura in its hands the BJP has ousted rivals.
The grand old Congress party with its newly elected President Rahul Gandhi bit the dust in the electoral battles. It’s time Congress gave serious thought to a total revamp of the party and the vanishing left front of India. The CPM leaders too have become selfish, all of them want power in the party. The BJP victory was, for sure, spectacular, to say the least.
In the euphoria of victory, the BJP is attributing its huge victory to its growing pan-India appeal. Though BJP is largely branded as a Hindu-oriented party, it could make inroads into the various parts of the country, too, especially in southern states like Kerala. But the party has to shed its Hindutva traits if it has to be accepted by people who happen to belong to different religions and cultures. The people prefer a secular outlook and support for the minority sections of the scheduled castes and tribes and also the neglected Adivasi (tribal) community who live in forests and other undeveloped areas of southern India.
With the victory in Tripura the BJP is entering a new phase in its political history which should make its leaders more and absolutely secular in their outlook. Politics should never be mixed with religion. Any kind of religiosity in the matter of governance will adversely affect the functioning of democratic institutions in India. It is time the BJP government moved forward with more caution and political will,
- The reader is based in Kerala, India.
