Book Review: Shantanu Gupta's 'BJP – Past, Present & Future'

As a standalone entity, BJP is just a 40-year-old organization and there is only so much an organization can achieve in that time frame. When I started reading the book 'Bharatiya Janata Party: Past, Present, and Future: Story of the World’s Largest Political Party', by author Shantanu Gupta, little did I know the book was a chronicle of Nationalist movements that have played on the soil. By establishing a link between events that occurred both, pre and post-independence, the book puts in perspective the long-standing contribution and perseverance the party has displayed, without diluting its stance on a single issue that it started with.

The book deals with a lot of questions that have now become rhetorical due to the sheer absence of an objective explanation to those questions. One such question is related to RSS and the independence movement. Be it contemporary discussions or literature related to the independence movement, the elephant in the room has been constant i.e. role of RSS, the parent organization of the BJP. Thankfully, the author decides to address that with brevity. The Gazette dated August 5, 1940, has never been discussed, and its elaborate explanation in the book will put a lot of allegations and accusations to rest. The book also highlights the turbid vision of the Quit India Movement, whereby the 7 questions asked by RSS of the underground leader Jayprakash Narayan could not be answered to satisfaction.

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One of the first trends that is etched in my mind, as I moved from the chapter on Nationalist Movements (1857-1925) where cow protection was an active topic of debate to targeted vilification campaign against the RSS in 1948 that is visible even today, to 8 point demand by Praja Parishad, an ally of BJS in 1952; is that, while the organization has undergone structural metamorphosis, the DNA continues to be dominant generation after generation. The form and substance of struggle have changed, but the framework of operation continues to be dictated by principles of integrity, cultural preservation, self-sufficiency and ‘Antyodaya’. Interestingly, the author has been able to highlight a challenge too, that has remained unconquered i.e. sparse coverage of the organization activities except those which directly involve the Chief of RSS or President of the BJP.

As the book hits Emergency Years, it successfully highlights how the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) which was used to detain political opponents and why the impact of the promulgation of 3 ordinances was perhaps the last invisible nail in the coffin. The author unequivocally concludes Indira Gandhi’s purpose of imposing emergency was served the day political stalwart JP was tied to a dialysis machine for the rest of his life.

While there is a compelling similarity that one sees with the cracked state of Opposition of today with the reasons for the disintegration of Janata Government, the book notes how Bharatiya Jan Sangh relinquished its claim, not only to PM’s post but also to the CM Office at State levels. Conditional participants, intra-party feuds, and conflicting ambitions led to the derailment of ‘total revolution’ and amplified the infirmities that had struck the political consortium.

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As the book enters the 1980s and depicts the initial years of BJP, there is enough and more clarity on the reason for its formation, its world view, its challenges and how its historical struggle had made the party resilient and morally inelastic. From bearing the brunt of sympathy wave to mulling over the revival of BJS, the author illustrates the challenges that seem unthinkable for the BJP of today. With Vajpayee and Advani and the helm, the BJP not only embraced the character of “an aggressive party with a strong social identity”, but the dynamic duo was also able to maintain the balance between ‘cadre-based’ and ‘mass party’.

The book gets riveting when it discusses the leader Vajpayee was and how Advani thought the top position was Atal ji’s ‘natural space’. The author points out that after the 1996 elections, BJP was no more the politically untouchable party. It had emerged as one acceptable to India that was vying to redemption from corruption, dynasty, nepotism, and above all, political instability (Congress withdrew support from Deve Gowda, IK Gujral).

Just like telling the whole truth of RSS’s participation in the independence movement, this book does complete justice to intellectual integrity by giving a timestamp-wise chronology of events at Godhra in 2002. While the liberals have used Vajpayee’s “Raj Dharma” advice to create outrageously false propaganda against Narendra Modi, who was exonerated from all charges by the SIT appointed by SC in 2012, last few pages of the chapter titled “The Golden Years of the BJP: The Government at the Centre (1996 - 2004)” expose the selective agenda pursued by the cabal to create rift between the two leaders. The BJP’s lost decade may have been unfortunate, but the book does see the period as one where the UPA exposed its sinister agenda and tired the Nation with policy paralysis.

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The Beginning of the Era of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in 2014 serves a ready reckoner for the Governance years of Narendra Modi and pathbreaking expansion spree of BJP under President Amit Shah. Be it busting the myth of Hindu Terror, India’s growing stature on the international stage or dismantling of Lutyen’s power structures, the book documents all events that will eventually define BJP’s political fortune. Modi 2.0 was written all over, and with sporadic political appearances of celebrity Netas in the Opposition and distasteful campaigning, the electorate was resolute in giving a repeat mandate to him who vowed to rebuild India by rebuilding Indians. The book concludes with Narendra Modi taking oath as PM for the second time, which leaves the reader wanting more, as the author keeps the ‘Future’ undisclosed. A very comprehensive compilation of the making and raising of the world’s largest political party that does break a lot of myths with facts.

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Gunja Kapoor is a Delhi-based political analyst, TV Panelist & Policy Researcher. She can be found on Twitter @gunjakapoor

(The views and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Republic TV/ Republic World/ ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd.)