There was a palpable relief among the liberals in India when a non-BJP coalition could form the government in Karnataka. That is also the case whenever BJP loses by-elections to national and state-level legislatures. In my view, there is a need to question this attitude.

Needless to mention that I am not a fan of the Hindutva politics of the BJP. I have no interest in demonstrating loyalty to that party. Even if I am an opportunist, I am not a fool to do so at a juncture when the popularity of Narendra Modi has started to decline in most parts of India. My argument is simple: There is an excessive anxiety about the ascendance and power of the BJP and Modi, and that is not based on a grounded understanding of Indian reality.

I will argue my case in the simplest possible manner. Take the state of Odisha. Biju Janata Dal is in power for the last four terms. Do the liberals want the BJD to continue to be in power for 5th, 6th, 7thterm and so on? Isn’t there a need for a viable opposition, competitive democracy and the emergence of a new government in Odisha? The BJD-controlled government is a classic case of the elite-capture in India. The deepening of democracy requires a strong opposition there. Is congress capable to play that role? Congress in the state has been controlled traditionally by the sections of elites, and I don’t think that it can be a credible force at the moment to channelize a non-elite (and anti-incumbent) mobilization. This role is likely to be played by the BJP and that is good for the political transition within the state.

Let us take Tripura where the CPM has been ruling until recently. Have the liberals wanted the CPM to rule the state for 50 or 100 years? Isn’t there a need for a political mobilization which can channelize the anger and frustrations of people against a long-serving government? Congress has failed miserably in this regard, and hence it is somewhat natural that the people there have turned to a party which has seen the opportunity, and is enterprising enough to capture the votes of those who want the CPM to be out of power. Whatever be the arguments of the intellectuals who are sympathetic to the CPM, this change in the regime is a step forward for the democracy in Tripura.

Let us come to a great tragedy in Indian politics. That is in West Bengal. There were frustrations and a hidden anger against the left-front government (which ruled the state for more than three decades) and finally a populist leader could bring it down and form the new government. However, Mamata’s government also needs a powerful opposition, and otherwise, her dispensation can become tyrannical after a few terms. What happened to the party which ruled the state for three decades? It is on the verge of disappearance in the state, if we take the latest indications. West Bengal may need the BJP to provide a viable opposition to the government headed by Mamata Banerjee.

Is it good to keep Cong-JD coalition to be in power forever in Karnataka? Which party other than the BJP can be a viable opposition and form the government after one or two terms – a change inevitable in Karnataka?

A similar situation is there in states which are ruled by the BJP for 2, 3 or 4 terms. That is the situation in Gujarat. I am not a fan of the Modi Government in Gujarat, but the lack of a strong opposition there until recently cannot be due to him. It is only in the recent election that the Congress has built up ingeniously a social coalition to take on the BJP. Let us hope that the Congress is able to be a viable opposition in Gujarat. That is the hope in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. However in all these states the political development and competitive democracy would hinge on these two parties. BJP should not disappear or its demise can be harmful for the people there, as long as there is no other viable opposition to the Congress. One can only hope that the Congress will put its act together so that there is some semblance of opposition to the long-serving BJP government in Chhattisgarh.

Who will be in the opposition if SP-BSP-Congress coalition forms the government in UP, and RJD-Congress combine runs the government in Bihar? In the current situation, BJP is going to be indispensable either as a ruling party or an opposition force in these states too. That is the case in many states barring probably Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Let us come to the central government. Isn’t there a need for a competitive democracy, even if the Congress is an ideal party? Which party or coalition can play that role of a counter-force to the Congress? Other than the BJP, the parties which oppose the congress are all regional forces. These are either mobilizations based on regional identity or based on one or other caste which can muster adequate support only in one or a few states. The parties like the CPM which could have mobilized people at the national level have not been successful in that regard and have also turned out to be regional parties. Even if a number of regional parties come together as a coalition, it may not be able play the role of a counter-force to the Congress. That can be done only by the BJP in the current situation.

The emergence of BJP need not be an ideal outcome in Indian politics. However the supremacy of the Congress without an effective opposition is also not ideal. As I have been arguing, the progressive political change in India requires an intensely competitive democracy, and the BJP’s role in providing a strong and viable countervailing force to the Congress cannot be neglected.  One can argue that this could be due to the absence of a left-of-centre mobilization of people against the centrist Congress.

What I have written so far is nothing complex for an undergraduate student to assimilate. How come then the liberal intellectuals in India fail to comprehend this political reality? This is closely related to an issue that I have been highlighting in a number of essays. Intellectuals in India (and these include academics and non-academics) see politics in terms of ideology, norms and philosophy and not in terms of practice – or what enables marginal improvements in the life of people. They may agree that the Congress has failed to make substantial improvements in the life of the majority, despite its commitment to democracy and secularism. However they fail to understand that it is not merely the ideology of the party in power that encourages it to make improvements in the life of people. It should be compelled by the democratic processes and here the role of a strong opposition cannot be overlooked. Given the ideological position of the Congress as a liberal-secular force that collaborate with the educated elites of the country, the failure of the left parties to mobilize people at the national level, and the limited reach of parties which are rooted in a state, or one or other middle-caste, or Dalit politics, BJP has done what is the most feasible in India to develop a political force against the Congress. That is to use of the majoritarian religious identity for political mobilization.  Such a mobilization is not at all unique to India.

Is BJP such a powerful and dangerous force? What was its core issue two decades ago? Have they constructed Ram Temple? What is their economic policy? Has it been following RSS agenda in that regard? Will it be possible for Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan, even though the former was interested deeply in normalizing the relationship with Pakistan? If we analyse all these, one can see that the BJP, like any other political party is not driven primarily by the core ideological agenda. Instead it is driven by the interest to capture and be in power and is happy to compromise its ideological positions for that purpose.

Narendra Modi and the current dispensation have proven that they are not that infallible. The government has shown its inabilities on many fronts. Or the attributes which many think would make Modi invincible – the majority enjoyed by the party, the concentration of power in his hands, the sidelining of all dissenting voices within the party, etc., – are the ones that make the governance fallible. Demonetization happened without seeking much expert help. There is a claim of maximum ability to solve all problems of the country without understanding their complexities. There is a tendency to do everything possible to capture or be in power in states. There is no need to be surprised. These are the usual tactics of a party in power, and these will ensure the gradual emergence of popular frustrations and finally the failure in elections. However that is not the end of the story. It will come back after one or two terms. However the country would benefit from the periodical successes and failures of competing political formations.