SINCE its inception in 1980, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that celebrated its 45th anniversary of foundation two days ago has become the country’s political totem pole offering multiple benchmarks for other parties to follow or live by or assess their own value and values. Boasting of itself as the world’s largest political party, the BJP, today, has every reason to celebrate its success not just at the hustings but in every sphere in which it touched people’s lives in ways beyond common imagination. Though by definition, the BJP is a political party, its overall organisational thought and action make it look like the most authentic political signature of the larger Indian society. The spiritual importance of this signature can be assessed from Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s assertion all over the world that he represents 1.4 billion Indians cutting across ideological dividing lines.

 

That is not just a hollow, public-relations assertion, but a statement whose merit the BJP has established over the past 45 years. This is, for sure, not an eulogy to the BJP. But this is an attempt to explain the metaphor that the BJP represents in a context far wider than politics. This may be so because of the BJP’s association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that is celebrating its centenary -- and its different frontal organisations. But even beyond overall advantage, the BJP has built its own organisational strength that has less to do with political power and more to do with its philosophical beliefs and value-system that have generated a massive public appeal over time. As Mr. Narendra Modi is about to complete the first year of his third consecutive term as Prime Minister, the BJP is in a position to look back from two points of view -- one pertaining to satisfaction of the stupendous success in garnering power in ever-expanding geography of the country; and the other to the kind of psychological influence it has had on the larger Indian society. This awareness leads us to call the BJP the nation’s political totem pole.

 

True, the BJP -- like any other political party -- has had its own share of success and failure on multiple counts, at multiple milestones of its 45-year journey. It made many bold experiments -- and got rewarded or punished from time to time. But each of those points added value to the party’s collective learning curve that is altogether different from such curves of other political organisations. The best aspect of the BJP’s internal as well as external management is that it enjoys a wonderful collectivism in decision-making at the helm -- which intrigues other political parties no end. The obvious advantage of this approach is that every decision has the strength and power of everybody’s wisdom in the thought and action at every step of the way. Many may not agree with this observation and may accuse the BJP as being a party that is made to dance at beck and call of Prime Minister Mr. Modi and a few of his close aides.

 

That apart, the fact of the matter is that the inner democracy the BJP enjoys is the source of its constantly creative inputs that flummox the Opposition well as the entire nation. No other political party in the country enjoys such an advantage, such a premium. The current creative flourish of the BJP giving the nation multiple programmes that promote Indianness at the national and international levels is appreciated (though grudgingly) by everybody even in the Opposition camp. Rumours are doing the rounds in political circles that the BJP and its Government may see some major changes in high positions in the near future. No matter the substance or otherwise in those, the BJP has evolved to a level or height that has become a matter of intense envy for other political parties. And in that perception lies its one pointer of success.