Anita Katyal | Did BJP Just Lose The Middle Class?

The student protesters at Jantar Mantar have gone home after the Narendra Modi government bought peace with them by accepting their key demand for the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan but the disquiet in the Bharatiya Janata Party continues to linger. The ruling party leaders are trying to ascertain the long-term political impact of the protests led by angry, outspoken and irreverent students.

For a change, many of them are openly saying the protest could have been handled better. Party insiders do not hesitate to point out that the government should have settled matters amicably by reaching out to the protesters much earlier. Besides worrying about how the carefully crafted image of the party has taken a beating, BJP leaders are concerned that the fire lit by the protests is reaching their homes as their own children are sympathetic towards the protesters. It is also feared that the party could end up alienating a large section of the middle class if the government takes harsh action against the students as, in many cases, their parents are BJP supporters.

Besides brooding over the fall-out of the recent student protests, the BJP ministers and MPs are on tenterhooks over the much-talked about Cabinet reshuffle which appears imminent after Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. While ministers are hoping they are not axed or moved to inconsequential ministries, those outside are waiting to get their foot into the door.

According to the political grapevine, the performance of BJP chief ministers is also on the cards and changes are not ruled out. The performance of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan chief ministers is said to be lacklustre while Haryana’s Nayyab Singh Saini and Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis are considered to be in the safe zone. With Punjab Assembly elections coming up next year, several Punjabi leaders in the BJP are pinning their hopes on replacing Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta whose record has not exactly been impressive.

Last week’s Lok Sabha debate on the anti-paper leak bill witnessed some interesting scenes. The breakaway faction of Trinamul Congress MPs who have merged with a little-known regional outfit — the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI) — finds itself in an awkward situation. The rebels have been recognised as a separate group by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla but they continue to be listed as Trinamul Congress MPs in parliamentary records for all official purposes as the NCPI is not a recognised party. Predictably, there is palpable tension between the breakaway group and the original Trinamul MPs. This was on display during last week’s debate when the more senior and eloquent MPs like Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy and Saayoni Ghosh didn’t want to participate in the debate as they feared incessant heckling from their former colleagues. As a result, the group picked Sharmila Sarkar as its lead speaker. The Trinamul Congress fielded Abhishek Banerjee to send out a clear signal to the deserters, who complained about his style of functioning, that Mamata Banerjee’s nephew is there to stay.

And then there was an awkward moment when Opposition and BJP MPs clashed last week at the main entrance of the new Parliament house. While Opposition members kept up chants of “chanda chor” to highlight the theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and also drew attention to the police action against student protesters, the ruling party MPs countered it with slogans hailing Dharmendra Pradhan. It was during this shouting match that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came face-to-face with Sushmita Deb, a one-time member of Rahul Gandhi’s core team who first jumped ship to join the Trinamul Congress and then moved on to the BJP. Priyanka looked Sushmita in the eye and shouted “Nehru chor nahin hai”. A visibly embarrassed Sushmita was initially taken aback but recovered sufficiently to put her arm around Priyanka’s waist, saying, “I think we need to move on.”

The season’s mango party hosted by Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor at his Lodhi Estate residence last week was attended by a galaxy of politicians, diplomats, media personalities and, not to mention, many wannabes. The party drew a full house but the debate in the Lok Sabha played spoilsport as Congress MPs were unable to make it because Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to participate in the debate on the anti-paper leak bill around the same time. Among those who put in an appearance included Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and party office bearers Major Dalbir Singh and Captain Praveen Davar. But the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamul Congress MP Derek O’Brien and BJP’s Jay Panda compensated for the absence of senior Congress leaders. However, Delhi’s humid weather proved to be a dampener, both literally and figuratively. The best of chiffon sarees and halter tops were soaked in sweat. Ditto for the men in suits and Nehru/ Modi jackets. As for the food, there were plenty of mangoes but the long queues put off many guests while the chaat and pav bhaji proved to be a poor substitute for lunch. Several well-heeled guests rushed to the India International Centre to partake of more substantial fare.