Recently I read
the book “How the BJP Wins” by journalist cum author Prashant Jha. As the
title suggests, the book is literally about how the BJP keeps winning elections
back to back as you would have witnessed in the last few years and also been
expanding into the territories where it didn’t have much existence in the past.
As Ram Madhav has said in a chapter in this book “Elections are as much about
management as politics. You have to understand your constituency well, you have
to manage your resources, you need to know what to use where, you need to
strategize, plan and execute it carefully.” The BJP – NDA Govt’s victories in
various polls held during the last 3-4 years are a perfect example of that as
well as it shows what boundless, unlimited ambition can achieve.
Apart from the
introductory chapter, the book is divided into 7 different chapters starting
with the Modi Hawa and the formation of a new govt at the centre which is
distinct & unique in comparison as compared to its predecessors and how the
Modi Hawa played the crucial role in BJP’s upcoming wins. Then the book moves
on to Shah’s Sangathan which gives a good insight into Amit Shah school of
election management. The Modi – Shah duo has completely changed the image of
the BJP in terms of winning elections and also being a tough duo for the
opposition to handle and all this comes after a lot of hardwork and playing the
right cards. You will be completely exposed to the amount of sacrifice,
hardwork and journeys Amit Shah undergone to make the present BJP an unbeatable
force. The next two chapters focusses on the tools & technology uses to win
the elections and how the ground efforts of RSS’s workers had proven to be
crucial to winning elections for BJP. Also, it throws light on how the BJP is
evolving to a more inclusive Hindutva party under Modi – Shah which appears in
contrast to the ABV-Advani BJP we would have seen.
The chapter on
“H-M” Chunav has useful insights (although I have read some contradictory news
& views on the same. Hence, I am not commenting much on it). Then, the
focus on the book is on how the BJP has expanded beyond its Heartland where it
had not been in power before especially in J & K, North East states, etc.
& how the tactics followed to win polls there differed with the tactics
followed elsewhere. How Ram Madhav’s induction into BJP by RSS has proven to be
invaluable for the BJP in expanding into newer territories. Also, this chapter
throws light on the birth of new poll strategists for BJP who are now proving
very invaluable – Rajat Sethi & Shubhrastha. Finally the book ends with the
issues the BJP may face in future/ presently facing and things it may have to
deal to stay in power. Prashant ends it perfectly with the words “Winning is
easier than ruling. How the BJP uses the power it has acquired so successfully
will determine whether PM Modi’s vision of a “New India” is fulfilled”.
Go and read
this book to get a good insight on : How the BJP wins polls, How winning polls
is very much as success in any endeavour where lots of hardwork, planning &
careful execution of the same plays a good role, also on how the BJP is
evolving at present politically as well as ideologically as compared to the BJP
we saw decades ago. Thanks Prashant for this insightful book.
-
Srivatsan V
