Arun Jaitley says Priyanka Gandhi 'won't take off'. Is BJP really nervous?

Is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra really a threat to the BJP's prospects in 2019 or in the years to come?

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has taken a dig at the Congress party which recently appointed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the party general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East in his latest blog post. Jaitley hit out at the Congress saying that the party has been trying “to convert India to a dynastic democracy.”

“Generation after generation, the Congress Party’s leadership berth is reserved for a member of the preferred family. When the Party is now in doldrums, another member of the family has entered the scene,” said Jaitley referring to Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into politics. He, however, did not mention Priyanka Gandhi’s name.

Priyanka Gandhi was given the responsibility of eastern Uttar Pradesh in January this after the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party left the Congress out of their alliance for the Lok Sabha election. Priyanka Gandhi’s political activities were limited to only two constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented by brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and mother Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson.

Her appointment assumes significance with the Congress emphasising on rebuilding the party’s organisation in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the eastern part. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are elected to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha respectively from this region.

Many in the Congress described Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into active politics as a “game-changer” for the Lok Sabha election in April-May. Jaitley, however, dismissed the enthusiasm of the Congress party.

He said, “It (the Congress) believes that two owners are better than one…One failed. The other won’t take-off.”

The Union finance minister’s comments were made in the fifth part of a series of blog posts on “Agenda 2019”, wherein he claimed that “Prime Minister Modi and aspirational India will prevent India from becoming a dynastic democracy”.

This is a typical news piece. But why denounce someone whom you consider a non-starter? And, why worry about some rival who has "failed"?

I firmly believe that Sonia Gandhi and the Congress led by her gave Narendra Modi the stature that he enjoys today. After the 2004 electoral loss of Vajpayee-Adani's BJP, Narendra Modi was reeling under pressure. A leader no less than Vajpayee had indirectly blamed Narendra Modi's failure to effectively bring riot situation under control with the speed expected of the government for the loss in 2004.

After Vajpayee-Advani, Sushma Swaraj was their biggest leader. Shivraj Singh was fast gaining control over Madhya Pradesh BJP after becoming the chief minister in 2005. His state was bigger than the one under Modi, who was still facing challenges in Gujarat.

The 2002 assembly election win in Gujarat had been credited to the surcharged atmosphere in the backdrop of Godhra incident-2002 riots. The next election was being considered as a tough ask for Modi in 2007 as even Advani, who was a tall leader from the state capital was on a downslide. Modi was not believed to be on good terms with the RSS leadership.

In came Sonia Gandhi and spoke those words - Maut Ka Saudagar. The rest is history. Modi, now we all know what he can do with phrases - Achchhe Din was not his invention, it was a phrase coined by Manmohan Singh for 2014 polls - turned the Maut Ka Saudagar comment into the last nail in the Congress's coffin in the state for years to come.

The Congress has not been able to remove that nail from its coffin in Gujarat. It was not 2002 but 2007 Gujarat election that established Narendra Modi as a leader with a 'mission', the next poster boy of the Hindutva brigade.

Not too many people can actually distinguish between Hindutva and Hinduism. Modi became the pole bearer and 'saviour' for the Hindus in Gujarat. Sonia Gandhi created a wedge and forced it down the fissure between two communities who were coming to terms. She opened up the wounds and left them open.

The situation simply paved the way for Modi's political growth. Advani had practically lost the sheen and was wavering. Sushma Swaraj was mild to the Hindutva followers. Modi appeared acceptable because even those who thought he was 'hard core' did not have an acceptable alternative.

Practically, Sonia Gandhi created TINA (there is no alternative) factor for Narendra Modi. This also explains why he keeps targeting Sonia Gandhi and her family. He attained all his success till 2014 election that way.

Arun Jaitley may be doing a Sonia to Priyanka Gandhi. However, one big difference is that Jaitley is one of those rare politicians in India who still believe in subtlety while targeting their opponents. When he calls Rahul Gandhi a "liar", Jaitley makes sure he does not take his name. His common refrain in such situations is "this gentleman".

One can easily see the difference between Jaitley and others when they brand their opponents as liars. I initially thought Rahul Gandhi would be different. He is not. He claims he does not hate Narendra Modi. But his temper flies when he talks about Modi. You can easily notice the change in his tone. "Narendra Modi jhooth bolta hai", you must have heard him telling his audiences many a time. "Saare choron ke naam Modi kyon hote hain," is another example. Just notice the anger when he says so. He looks no different from Modi's disdain towards Nehru-Gandhi family.

Priyanka Gandhi may be a little different. She has been brief and more subtle in her short career as an electioneer. Jaitley might have noticed this. I clearly remember that Jaitley was one of the early promoters of Narendra Modi.

In 2006/07 or 2008, I don't recall the date, Jaitley had told an informal gathering of BJP reporters - I was part of that group then - that Narendra Modi's "biggest strength is his brain". He is very sharp, Jaitley had said then. Now, many officers say that he would ask questions which most politicians fail to notice.

Does this explain why Jaitley is targeting Priyanka Gandhi? Does he believe that she might have a sway over people of India, if not in 2019 then over the next few years? Read his blog and make up your own mind.

Opposition vs Modi vs TINA

Photo: Twitter/@INCIndia

For record, I have not been able to have 'respect' for politicians. In my experience of political reporting and writing, I have found politicians to be extremely opportunist and mean people at business. Humans are, it has been my impression, just tools for politicians across the spectrum from extreme left to ultra right.

But as things stand today, only politicians can rule the country and since we have a self-proclaimed democracy, we are required to choose a leader. Choosing a leader is a process, which must be a decision akin to an informed choice.

Since politicians have been able to acquire more right to privacy than We, The People of India, knowing their true character has become difficult. Income tax department can place your financial details in public domain but an RTI application about a politician will return saying the information sought is very personal in nature. And, then the same politician will go about hankering about transparency in public life. They make every attempt to keep crucial information required for making an informed choice.

So, as the election approaches, the people have minimal information about the leaders and parties they may be forced to elect to power for next five years. On the available evidence, Narendra Modi appears more convincing. Not because he is a better leader but because he is a better communicator.

Modi appears to be in lead not because of his policies adopted or ignored in the last five years but because of the fact that the Opposition simply doesn't inspire enough confidence. Modi, to my understanding of politics, became Modi because of myopic politics of Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party. There were too many challengers to Modi within the BJP. But, Sonia Gandhi, when she was the most powerful politician of the country, targetted and attacked Modi so much, right from her Maut Ka Saudagar comment, that she brought him at par with the top national leadership. Modi cashed in on his criticism by the top politicians of the then ruling party and turned it to his advantage because he was a better communicator.

Sonia Gandhi's son and successor in the Congress party Rahul Gandhi seems to have not learnt from those mistakes. He doesn't seem to have learnt the lesson properly from the history. Pay some attention to his speeches and one would know that he is playing into the hands of the BJP. The way he has been addressing, mind it addressing not campaigning against, Modi, there has been rudeness - Narendra Modi bolta hai...kahta hai...jhooth bolta hai... This looks surprising given the support Rahul Gandhi and the entire Opposition is getting from the intelligentsia in media and academia.

Plus, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party keep embarrassing themselves and their supporters. Perhaps calling Pulwama terror attack an accident by Osamaji and Hafiz Sayeed Sahab-fame Digvijaya Singh was not enough for the Congress party that the president Rahul Gandhi himself called Jaish-e-Mohmmed chief as Masood Azharji.

And, if you said it, it is better to admit that it was a slip of tongue. India is changing. Indian youth has changed a lot over the last one decade. Admitting to one's fault is now appreciated even if Modi-like opponent would try to cash in on it. Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi - both incidentally in 2015 - have proved this.

Instead of admitting, a spokesman of the party is spent on it to make people believe that it was sarcasm. Dear Congress, when the video is in public domain, anyone can hear it and call your bluff. Trying to cover upa faux pa is bad politics which only may satisfy a feudal lord not the subject, if you still treat the people of India that way.

The Congress already had people like Mani Shankar Taiyar, Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, Rahul Gandhi need not enter the competition if he is serious about harbouring the dream of leading the country as a prime minister. Modi is far superior a communicator to use rewire the defused verbal salvos to bomb the Congress party back. :Achchhe Din' should remain fresh in the Congress's memory.

It's for people like Rahul Gandhi, who fail to show any consistensy in their public politics, that Modi appears to be armed with TINA - there is no alternative.

To me, five years of BJP-led government has been no different from the Congress-led regime for previous ten years. All are the same. Only the faces have changed not the facets.