By KS Tomar
Stupendous buildings often stand on unsung foundation stones, which provides strength to the delicately carved arches and corner stones thereby protecting it from intentional or unintentional wear and tear.
With the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the forefront, BJP in India has now transformed into the biggest political party in the world and a formidable election machine which is becoming increasingly hard to defeat in the democratic process of the country by the opposition alliance led by Congress.
Everyone knows about the role of Home Minister Amit Shah – a master strategist and got full credit for crafting the poll game plan ending into desired results in the recent assembly elections in the three major states.
But there is another person, who has been an important cog into the BJP system at the helm, and has been toiling day-in and day-out to make every endeavor of the party a success and his name is – JP Nadda.
PM Modi liberally praised JP Nadda during the post victory celebrations at party headquarters in New Delhi and described the National president as a leader having organizational prowess, a habit of untiring hard work put in behind the scenes besides preparing the groundwork for the party’s eventual electoral success in Hindi heartland states. PM Modi went to laud Nadda’s commitment and dedication even in the face of personal bereavement during the assembly elections.
When asked by this writer about the future strategy to ensure third win for PM Modi in 2024, Nadda did not mince the words but shared his thoughts that how writings are on the walls that people of the country have made up their mind to give another chance to prime minister to take India to the category of developed nations in the world.
During the chat, Nadda also came down heavily upon the vested interests, which are trying to create a wedge between North and South as such ploy will not work especially when BJP is hell bent upon foiling the divisive agenda to divide the country. BJP has got a plan to counter these forces, which will be supported by people of India who will never accept such propaganda.
Regarding the losses in Telangana and Karnataka, Nadda’s optimism rests on the viewpoint that electorates vote in different modes when it comes to the center and that will be visible in 2024. Nadda was upset when the party lost assembly polls in his home state – Himachal Pradesh, but plans to regain the lost ground by winning all four Lok Sabha seats.
Nadda’s close association with Modi dates back to the early nineties when the latter was in-charge of party affairs of Himachal Pradesh and they used to move together on Lambretta scooter in Shimla.
It has been a long, arduous journey for grassroots Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker and former students’ leader, 63-year-old Jagat Prakash Nadda who had been initially appointed the working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is considered as a symbol of zestfulness, perseverance, sobriety and maturity. Later he got elected to the post of national president of BJP on January 20,2020 and extension up to June,2024 due to state polls and general elections.
Nadda’s ascent from a students’ leader to the working president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at a time when the party has flourished in a majority of the states and has decimated the Opposition in the recent parliamentary polls, makes it special and significant as it took him to the top slot in the party.
At this juncture, one can’t help but recall Nadda’s forceful exit from Himachal politics in May 2010 due to his differences with former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal after being a Cabinet minister twice in the BJP government. This turned into a blessing in disguise because it gave him a golden opportunity to work in the organization. He was then appointed as the general secretary by then BJP president Nitin Gadkari.
The unflinching faith that Nadda had in Modi and Shah was seen in post-Himachal assembly polls in 2017 during lobbying of probable candidates for the post of Himachal Pradesh’s chief minister following the unexpected defeat of Dhumal from the Sujanpur assembly seat. Dhumal had been declared the CM candidate by Shah during campaigning. At that time, Nadda was termed as a front-runner for the post by the local press – which can often be wrong. The final choice was Jai Ram Thakur, termed by critics as the accidental CM. Nadda’s reaction of being unaffected by this choice reaffirmed the party leadership’s faith in him.
Analysts firmly believed the notion of PM Modi and Shah to strategies much in advance which was evident in the announcement made by the party president in a 2019 Lok Sabha election rally in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh about the possibility of giving greater responsibility to Anurag Thakur, if electorates ensured his victory. This categorical assurance had surprised many as no one seemed to be sure of a Modi wave at the time. But political observers believed that it was clear proof of secret planning by PM Modi and Shah to induct Anurag Thakur in the cabinet, while also carving out a big space for Nadda in the organization.
There were many indications of this strategy way back in 2019. First, despite Nadda being one of the senior ministers in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 1 and his close proximity to PM Modi and Shah, he did not get a phone call from the Prime Minister’s office or from the party President, while Anurag Thakur did.
Second, Nadda was given the responsibility of the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, which is proof of the BJP leadership’s faith in him. His master stroke — the inclusion of the Apna Dal in the NDA — was a snub to detractors and propagators of caste equations. Despite this, no one, including Nadda, had any clue about his future; a fact known only to Modi, Shah and RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat.
JP Nadda was a student in Patna College, when he participated in Jayaprakash Narayan’s Bihar movement against corruption and the misrule of the state government. This movement later turned into a total revolution to oust Indira Gandhi from power at the Centre on November 18, 1974. He had a close association with the RSS as a worker and was in the RSS’ student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for several years and was their national president in 1990-91.
Nadda grew under the influence of stalwarts such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and LK Advani, who guided him at every step of his political career. He is known for his qualities of being moderate and open-minded.
In the end, while negating the opposition ploy of caste census, JP Nadda feels that BJP will take appropriate decision national caste census but Modi’s vision of four castes will be predominant takeaway in 2024 polls, who feels that youth, development of women, farmers and poor will take India to next level in future.
KS Tomar is political analyst and senior journalist based in Shimla, India.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times
