Needed: Stunt Man

There is no shortage of wise men and wise women in the BJP. However, I suspect, they will be reluctant to confront the core complication: the blurred party identity. It cannot simultaneously pose to be a radical Hindu formation and also retain ambitions to rule India. The Hindu cause is fine for agitations and for mobilising perhaps 20 per cent of the voting public, but that path unfortunately does not lead to Race Course Road. However, existing merely as a bonafide right-wing combine involves power but no Ayodhya temple or uniform civil code or abrogation of Article 370. A choice has to be made.

Any BJP prime minister—Vajpayee, Advani or even Uma Bharati—cannot ride two horses at the same time. Till date, the party has been looking for a stunt man who can perform the impossible task. The first horseman, besides having little appetite for the ride, has failed. He is keen to ride one horse.

Even the more pragmatic leaders in the party are loath to address the question of identity. They believe some miracle man or miracle solution will appear. It is a forlorn hope.