It is with a certain amusement that I see the BJP behaving like the Congress.

The Congress since the death of Mrs.G has been a factional party that sways between abject sychophancy and acute back stabbing. Party stalwarts didn’t seem to know when to speak out and when to hold their silence. Furthermore, they used to repeatedly contradict each other on every issue of importance. Watching the news last week brought back visions of the old Congress Party. Except that the party in question was the BJP

Today, the BJP should be a worried organisation. A day after their Chintan Bhaitak, the perception is of a deeply divided party led by aging dinosaurs. They can’t take a moral stand on anything – not on Modi, not on reasons for defeat, not on privatisation and most importantly not on the direction that the party is going to take. The current official scapegoat are the NDA allies – who have already blamed the BJP for their loss.

Although the BJP Chinta Baithak has agreed on Hindutva as an agenda – do they realise that people may not really want Government sponsored God – they want jobs, roads, water – ordinary things. Unless, the BJP plans to whip up communal sentiment and polarise the nation – to achieve its ends – it is going to be very difficult to get convinced by either Ram or Somnath. The country can be played for a fool once, even twice – but the people aren’t stupid enough to fall for the same ploy over and over again.

Let’s look at the rest of it. The Hindutva economic agenda is probably closer to the Communist agenda than it is to Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie or Arun Jaitley. Their policy on women is closer to the 18th century than to the 21st. Does anyone recall their tacit support of the Roop Kanwar issue. Their views on caste are closer to the 12th century than to the Vedic age or even today. They openly endorse separate temples – Swastik temples – for SC and ST converts to Hinduism – during their regime, it was open season on Dalits drinking water at wells, or praying in temples. Their views on minorities are more similar to those held by Aurangazeb than a Shivaji.

Given that most of us want a India Shining and believe that it will happen during our life times – their message to lure us seems very different from the message that we want to hear. The people would want to hear how can we have Ram Rajya – an ideal state – in the next 40 years. They want to tell us how Ram Rajya – the kingdom ruled by Ram -was in the a time long gone by. AS the rickshawalla would say : ‘usse mereko kya farak padta hai (what difference does it make to me)

Today the Congress looks like a party of experienced statesmen who will sacrifice their interests in the interests of the nation. A remarkable transformation from a rudderless party a couple of years ago that was most identified by its auto canibalistic behaviour. Today, the BJP looks like a party adrift in a sea of chaos, confusion and political canibalism.

My own prediction is that sooner or later the BJP will split. There will be one part of it which would be the Hindu Fundamentalist part- backed by the Sangh Parivar – which will be feared by the minorities and ingored by the majority. The other part would be a economic right wing party akin to those one sees in the West – Margret Thatcher’s Conservatives – strong on fiscal prudence, family values and thrift. The former will attract the Uma Bharatis’ of the world. The latter the Arun Shourie’s.