'Left will be loath to pull the rug'

Q&A: Arun Jaitley

BJP General Secretary and prabhari for Gujarat Arun Jaitley spoke to Business Standard during what was a very hectic day for him. He gives his take on why the BJP posted a fourth consecutive win in Gujarat.

How do you analyse the results?

The BJP's victory in Gujarat, I believe, is based on three things. First is the organisation and the ideology of the BJP, which continues to be vibrant and relevant in the state.

Second, the leadership in the state gave confidence to the people that it was honest and development-oriented. Third, a good government which delivered on its promises.

It has been said that Modi's victory will make his stake in the Central leadership stronger.

In politics, there is no such thing as stagnation. Political careers evolve and develop and, let me tell you, unlike in the Congress, where the leadership comes only from one family, in the BJP, there is a meritocracy.

We have LK Advani as our prime ministerial candidate and a host of leaders. We are proud to say we have a collective leadership.

Is this the election which has proven that the BJP can win without the RSS?

First of all, this is a fallacy that the RSS or the VHP did not help us. At a personal level, I know that lakhs of RSS karyakartas came out on the streets and helped us.

Sadhvi Ritambhara of the VHP campaigned for us, and VHP office bearer Ashok Singhal took out advertisements asking for our support.

The rebel factor was convincingly trounced by Modi in these elections. How do you see that?

I was very sad that some of our people decided to part ways with us, but I was also proud that not a single party worker deserted the party and worked for us, whoever the candidate.

What kind of effect will this result have on national politics?

First of all, I think this will give a second wind to the Central government, because the Left will now be loath to pull the rug from under the UPA since the electoral tide is against them.

Another effect it should have for the Congress is that the party should now revisit the proposition that she is the principal vote getter for the party.

As for the BJP, this has only strengthened our belief that governance and development work. People want a government that delivers what it promises.