Ever since the Bhartiya Janata Party, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, saw an unprecedented rise in popularity in 2014, several legislators from other parties have time and again switched loyalties to the BJP. While it does show that PM Modi is seen as the biggest leader in the country today and also makes it clear that other parties have been unable to keep their house in order, this is slowly becoming a cause for worry. Yesterday, former Congress legislators from Gujarat, Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala, joined the BJP.
Thakor is the same leader who had created a big controversy last year, when a video surfaced in which Alpesh Thakor could be seen inciting a crowd of Gujarati people to carry out attacks on the migrants living in the state. He could be seen accusing the migrants of looting the state and also abetting the crowd to indulge in widespread violence forcing the migrants to leave the state. It was preposterous how a Congress leader openly incited mob violence in order to make petty electoral gains. In fact, Alpesh Thakor led Thakor Sena is believed to be involved in a big way as far as the exodus of North Indian migrants in the state of Gujarat was concerned. Even among the arrests made by the police into the attacks within the state, a large proportion of arrested people belonged to the Thakor Sena. The BJP vehemently opposed Thakor’s tactics and criticised the Congress for it. However, Alpesh Thakor has now defected to the BJP, and this did not sit well with many BJP supporters on social media.
Recently, another major defection took place when ten out of fifteen MLAs from Goa Congress resigned and switched over to the BJP. Now dissent is reportedly brewing within the state over the inclusion of Babush Monserrate within the BJP. He was once the mastermind behind the dethroning of Manohar Parrikar. He is an infamous as the poster boy of Goa’s money and liquor laden politics. He is also facing trial for alleged rape of a minor girl in the year 2016. Kavlekar, the Leader of Opposition, who has also switched over, has also become a source of concern. He is known as the ‘Matka King’, believed to be the man behind the illegal gambling empire throughout the Konkan region. Even the senior leadership of the Goa unit of BJP is said to be unhappy with the induction of these 10 MLAs because they see it as a gross dilution of BJP’s core values.
A major defection is on cards in the state of Andhra Pradesh as well. As per an ET report, after four out of six Rajya Sabha leaders of the TDP defected into the BJP, two-thirds of the TDP MLAs in the state of Andhra Pradesh are expected to join the largest and the strongest political party in the country today.
It is clear that while these defections might lend numerical strength to the BJP, it does create an awkward situation with opposition leaders finding an evergreen avenue in the BJP. This also compromises the ideology and core values of the BJP. Inclusion of tainted leaders also compromises with the party’s promise to provide clean governance. With such developments, the BJP has become a dumping ground for other parties and the party leadership must take corrective steps immediately. The BJP was not elected with a whopping majority only to be reduced to a dumping ground. It must not be seen as an automatic choice once a leader resigns from his party. It is time BJP considered the policy of looking at the leader’s credentials before allowing him or her to switch over. Careless induction of leaders without thorough consideration of their background, only to increase numerical strength, may backfire against the Bhartiya Janata Party in the long run, as the essence of Narendra Modi’s party faces the risk of fading away.
