25 at 75

A 75-year-old ideology in a 25-year-old body: that is the central dilemma confronting the BJP as it celebrates its silver jubilee. There is nothing special about this. It happens to almost every political party and, indeed, in almost every country. Thus, the Labour Party in Britain wrestled with the problem of reconciling young aspirations with old ideas, until Tony Blair came along. In the US, the Democratic Party faced a similar struggle, not once but twice: during the New Deal years, and again in the latter half of the 1960s. Even in the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev had to slog it out with the older generation, something which Nikita Khrushchev had also tried in the 1960s and lost. The interesting point to note here is that, on practically every occasion, the younger elements managed to come out on top. The question that faces the BJP now is whether it will take itself down the path that the conservatives under Leonid Brezhnev took the CPSU""no change, never mind the cost""or whether it will adjust to the new social reality. This requires mass mobilisation based, not on appeals to religious sentiment or identity, but to more practical and less divisive things like economics, governance, and a new social order. From the time of its birth, the BJP has had just two leaders of note: AB Vajpayee and LK Advani. Their time on the stage is now coming to an end, and the new party leadership's challenge is nothing less than re-defining (or at least refining) the party's mission.

The confusion within the BJP as to how to deal with this problem has been manifesting itself at two levels. One is its relationship with the RSS and the other is its dithering over the choice over a new president to replace Mr Advani. It is difficult to say which presents the greater problem, because while the first has a certain existential dimension, the second is a question of tactics in respect of getting the party to remain united when it is out of power. It does not require any particular gift of political insight to see that the RSS' contribution to the BJP is rapidly becoming a largely instrumental one inasmuch as, without the RSS cadres, the BJP gets severely handicapped during elections. This is not unlike the relationship of the trades unions with the communists. What the BJP, therefore, needs to do is to reduce its dependence on the RSS cadres, and that in turn requires it to recruit new followers, which will be possible only if it dilutes its religion-oriented ideology. Tony Blair did the same thing in respect of the unions in Britain.

As to the immediate issue of choosing a new president, the indications are that Rajnath Singh is set to take over. His allegiance to Mr Advani should make for a smooth transition. He is still in his 50s, and can therefore appeal to both the old and the young. His primary task, apart from the usual one of coalition building that all party heads are required to do, will be to present the BJP as a modern party with a future. He will also have to unite the powerful second rung of leaders and make them accept his leadership so that the party functions with cohesion and a sense of direction. If Rajnath Singh succeeds, he could become the new star in Indian politics. If he does not, expect the real battle for succession in the party to begin after a year.