Hyderabad: Chaotic scenes at an event organised by the BJP in the city to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government left the old-timers worried about the weakening discipline and corrosion of core ideology in the party.
They feel discipline and core ideology, which made the BJP standout, are being replaced with cult culture and factionalism, which could make the party no different from power-centric parties like the Congress or the BRS.
The Sankalp Sabha, which was organised at Imperial Gardens in the city, was chaotic from the beginning, said BJP old-timers. “When the pundits were chanting Vedic hymns to begin the Sankalp Sabha from the dais, two senior leaders from Medchal Malkajgiri district disrupted the invocation by announcing the arrival of a senior leader and the expected arrival of another leader,” said Padma Rani, a senior woman leader from Balanagar.
She wondered if this is how the current generation of the BJP leaders, especially those who came from other parties, show respect for the Sanatana Dharma.
“When azaan was heard at a public meeting during an election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped addressing the audience till the prayer is completed and resumed only after it was stopped,” Padma Rani recalled and asked why can’t these leaders wait for a few minutes till the pundits complete Vedic chanting.
The fact that the chaos was enacted in front of senior party leaders, including Sunil Bansal, the national general secretary of the BJP, who is incharge of the party in Telangana, and general secretary (organisation) Chandrasekhar, is most concerning..
“Back in Vajpayee and Advani’s time, the respect for leadership was genuine. Today, the dais is crowded with leaders who joined the BJP for their personal benefit, and not for the party’s ideology. We built this party brick by brick with our sweat and sacrifice. Now, it feels like anyone with political ambitions can just walk in and claim space on the dais. The ideology that once united us is taking a back seat to personal glorification,” said a woman leader from Nizampet, who requested not to disclose her name.
After the BJP came to power at the Centre, the party attracted several leaders from other parties like the Congress and the BRS, leading to a rift between the old-timers, consisting of those who started off the political journey either with the BJP or the Sangh Parivar, and those who joined the party for the quick political ascendency.
The old-timers recalled that the party events during the Vajpayee-Advani era were marked by the playing of songs that reflected nationalism and ideological values. But now, the events will often have folk music and songs eulogising leaders.
