Strong message in BJP's recent changes

The recent changes in the BJP’s top decision-making bodies have state-specific intent and a message meant for the whole party. The two top decision-making bodies of the party, the parliamentary board and the central election committee, were reconstituted to better cater to the party’s immediate needs and reflect its current concerns and at the same time reaffirm the dominance of its present leadership. The elevation of B S Yediyurappa, who was stripped of his chief ministership in Karnataka last year, to powerful positions shows that the party would continue to bank on him in the campaign for the forthcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. It is difficult for the party to face the elections without the top Lingayat leader leading it. It will also be seen as a sign of the failure of the experiment with Basavaraj Bommai as Chief Minister and an exercise to balance the equations at the top where B L Santhosh, the RSS’ main man in the BJP, wields much influence.

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, the North-East region and Telangana have received special attention in the shake-up, in accordance with the party’s requirement in each region. Devendra Fadnavis’ profile had to be strengthened in Maharashtra, especially after dropping Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari from the parliamentary board. Shivraj Singh Chouhan was dropped because he is a relic from the party’s pre-Modi past and Madhya Pradesh would need a new leader in the next election. The top position for Sarbananda Sonowal, a tribal leader, would boost the party’s appeal in tribal-dominated North-East. The inclusion of K Laxman from Telangana in the board is an indication of the BJP’s plans for the state, its next target in the South. There are more leaders from the backward sections of society in the top bodies now and that points to the image that the party wants to project. It is a recognition of the social realities and electoral needs and shows the party’s ability and willingness to change its strategies to suit changing situations.

The most significant message to the party is that the dominance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah within the party will continue. The purge of Gadkari, who is close to the RSS and has a reputation as an efficient minister, and of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, both of whom were considered to have ambitions beyond their stations, is proof of that. The omission of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is considered by many Hindutva hardliners to be the latter day ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’ and the party’s PM-in-waiting, may be another message -- that there is no room at the top, now and in the near future, for others.