While I was growing, I held deep respect for the ones who went for silent protests, or as we shall refer to them here, Dharnas. For me, it was the belief in a Dharna that shook the foundations of a 200-year old Empire. Eventually, the flood of information took over, but the respect I had for a Dharna never died down. As they say, it takes the foolishness of a lunatic to make gold look like copper. Similarly, Kejriwal, for me, and for a major part of the population changed the meaning of Dharnas. Slowly, the entire population started viewing them as pointless, which they were. Again, a few days ago, another man sat on a Dharna. This one was against the Dharna-man himself. Maheish Girri, in his wisdom and wit, has served the entire party a lesson for the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
I won’t go into the details, but Kejriwal accused Maheish Girri of having a part in the murder of a civil servant (read civil servant as key to a vote bank for Kejriwal). The latter, furious, though, was wise enough to be thwarted by the theatrics of Dharna-man. He started by inviting him to a public debate, which Kejriwal didn’t turn up for (he was busy testing the WiFi facilities at Jantar Mantar, because he wants to live tweet his next Dharna from there). Maheish Girri followed this with a visit to the palace of Aam Aadmi (read one room flat if you are living in ignorance), where he wasn’t entertained. Finally, he did what Dharna-man would have done, and before his house, sat on a Dharna, but unlike the ones we have been made witness to in the past, this one held some importance, especially for BJP.
For a while now, Dharna-man has excelled in the strategy of allegations and avoidance, much of which, I discussed in my last article. Thankfully, this time he did not get away like he always did. Maheish Girri came out all guns blazing. Following the routine, news cycles were forced to cover every bit of it. Kejriwal’s weak defense did not help his case, and his followers were nowhere to be seen (I am assuming they were checking the installation of the CCTVs across Delhi). For the ones like me, who were sick and tired of seeing this man get away each time, were applauding the path chosen by Girri. Today, Maheish Girri holds the moral high ground in this battle against Dharna-man, not because of what he did, but because his cause was real; prove your allegations or get ready to face some questions. In another welcoming move, Girri was backed by the Swamy and Rajnath Singh, thus emphasizing a critical point, which is Girri wasn’t alone, at no stage and had the backing of the senior leadership of BJP. What else could one ask for?
However, backing your party members is not going to solve the purpose of BJP alone, and now I come to the most important point of my article, the agenda of the 2019 Elections. During the recent state elections, one aspect came across clearly. No party apart from the BJP was willing to fight on merit. The NDA Government is doing great, and by Q2 of 2018, they would have sufficient achievements to show for.
Now, are we so naïve to believe that Congress is going to fight elections on merit? If that were the case, their adopted son would be rendered jobless. As we move towards the 2019 Elections, these blame games are just going to increase. Kejriwal is not going to let go off any opportunity to blame the PM, BJP, or their model of governance. News cycles are going to focus on him, his show of hollow strength, and this is what could lead to BJP missing its mark.
Make no mistake, the Indian voter is not dumb, but it’s not the smartest of the lot either. The voter can be distracted with ease. While the rural voter’s wish dwells around a bottle of liquor, the IQ of an urban voter nourishes itself on the balderdash of liberals and seculars (a majority of them). Kejriwal had one tool, blame, and with what Maheish Girri has achieved, he has left the former weaponless in a war that is far from over. Are we complaining? Hell, no!
Nothing lasts forever, not when it comes to public memory, and the episode of Maheish Girri, like many of our HRD Minister, is going to witness its own sunset. This is where BJP must learn, to give it back, to give it back hard, and to give it back till the allegations don’t come to an end. Also, this is precisely why I am in awe of our HRD Minister.
While the senior leadership toils hard for the people, the other prominent faces of the party would be required to tackle the menace of allegations and blame-games. These are going to increase, and hence, it is important that they aren’t allowed to amount to anything, which they could, if gone unchecked.
Maheish Girri has silenced Kejriwal well, and that is what BJP would have to do to all its competitors. Yes, achievements speak louder than words, but I don’t want BJP to leave the elections of 2019 to a philosophy that no longer works in Indian Politics.
BJP must realize that it’s going to be scrutinized before the 2019 elections, and the scrutiny would be severe, sharp, and sustained from an earlier time. 2019 has a lot at stake for Congress and other parties, and therefore, it’s important they come out strong on all fronts. The recent event at India Gate was great, but I don’t see why BJP should leave it there.
Keep the achievements a priority, but make sure that all the liberals and seculars are robbed off their shallow credibility. While I write this article, Maheish Girri has still not given up on that debate, and as he waits for Dharna-man to make a mockery of himself, he must divert the attention of the audience to the conditions prevailing in Delhi (no water on odd days, no electricity on even).
If BJP manages to repeat and amplify what Maheish Girri did to Kejriwal, they could be in a position to win the 2019 elections with ease. Else, the same media and secular brigade would look to pounce on the IQ of voters. To win 2019, BJP needs an informed voter, not a confused one, and Mahesh Girri has done enough to separate clarity from confusion, it’s time BJP took some lessons from it.
