Speaking at a meet of writers, Shah said politics of ideology was the only alternative to the politics of caste, self-interest and family, and claimed that BJP government at the Centre and in states could execute their developmental agenda as they were not about individuals but party and ideology.
After the death of socialist stalwart Ram Manohar Lohia, his movement withered away.
Talking about various social blocks, he said, "Due to political interest, some of them saw socialism in Congress and some in Charan Singh. In the end, all ideological affiliates of the socialist bloc slowly turned into casteist parties. If you go into the root of all Bihar and UP-based caste parties, you will find that they had socialist background.
Taking a dig at Congress over dynasty politics, he said everybody knows who will be its next president but nobody can say who will succeed him in BJP.
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Congress, he said, attracted people of different ideologies during the independence struggle as it was seen as the "special purpose vehicle" to fight for the the country's freedom but began weakening gradually afterwards as it "lacked" an ideology to bind it together.
Shah said he had read a book on all the resolutions of the Congress but did not find any coherent ideology. The book, he said, was brought out after the party completed 100 years.
The multi-party democracy that India adopted has political parties and their ideologies and programmes at its centre and not personalities, which are important in the presidential form of democracy but not the one practised in India, he said.