This reiteration of the BJP’s distrust of aliens — in this case, directed against Sonia Gandhi — is in keeping with its latest tirades against foreign multinationals. But, its xenophobia does not gel with either its image of being a right-wing party or its current use of Leftist jargon against ‘global capitalism’.

Traditionally, both Rightists and Leftists are internationalists. The former may endorse patriotism, family values, rule of law and even elitism, but they are not insular. They are for an open society and a free market. The Leftists, on the other hand, are against the market and elitism and for a society where the emphasis is on the well-being of all, instead of a few at the top. But, they, too, believe in proletarian internationalism, which rules out patriotism by stressing that the workers have no country of their own, but are expected to unite against the bourgeoisie of all countries.

The image of the BJP till now, like that of its earlier avatar, the Jana Sangh, was that of a right-wing party as opposed to the Congress, which was avowedly left-of-centre with its preference for a ‘socialistic pattern of society’, as stated formally in a party resolution in 1955, and for non-alignment which had the former Soviet Union as a ‘natural ally’. The Jana Sangh-BJP, on the other hand, was seen as pro-American and pro-market.

Now, the two parties have interchanged their positions. But, if the BJP is proving to be a loser, the reason is that the world has changed. The Soviet Union is dead and Leftism is no longer the flavour of the day. Young men and women no longer embrace Leftism as in the 1950s and ’60s, but look for jobs in the corporate sector. Yet, the BJP is holding on to ideas that are no longer relevant just as the Samajwadi Party and the BSP are also doing. But, while the latter have at least realised that such a stance isn’t politically useful since it will take them closer to the ‘communal’ BJP or the communists, the BJP is in a bind.

If it doesn’t know which way to turn, the reason is, first, that the Congress has stolen its right-wing agenda and, secondly, because it isn’t broadminded enough to admit that the Congress is on the right track and needs to be helped rather than hindered. The scene is not unlike what happened in West Bengal in the last days of Leftist rule. When Buddhadev Bhattacharjee realised that his comrades had made the mistake of scripting the state’s decline into bankruptcy and tried to undo the earlier ‘flight of capital’ by inviting the private sector, Mamata Banerjee did not have the wisdom to see that she could cause irreparable ideological rifts in the Left by supporting the then chief minister’s pro-capitalist policies. Instead, she tried to outflank the comrades by turning Leftward herself, scaring the investors as the Marxists had once regularly done with their invention of the gherao tactics. The result is that the state’s, and Mamata’s own, decline continues.

It is the same with the BJP. Having taken a Leftward turn, it has forsaken its right-wing ideology where the economy is concerned. But, the danger is that this ploy may compel it to become even more virulent in projecting its Hindu Right identity in order to hold on to its core group of supporters, who may be confused by the party’s recourse to Leftist terminology in defining its attitude. It is possible that the raising of the foreign national issue, where constitutional positions are involved, is an attempt by the BJP to play the ultra-nationalist card when it is on the back foot in the political game.

This particular card has long been a favourite of the saffron camp. One can recall its use of the term, ‘Macaulay’s Children’, to run down anglicised Indians, and of ‘Babur ki Aulad’ to demonise Muslims. Sushma Swaraj’s threat to shave her head and live on a bowl of nuts if Sonia Gandhi became prime minister also underlined the abnormal levels to which the Hindu chauvinists were prepared to take their campaign. When Sonia Gandhi outsmarted the saffron warriors by refusing to accept the prime minister’s post, they had no option but to lie low, but the issue, like the Ram temple, could not have been far from their minds. In fact, now that the BJP has comprehended that the UPA is far ahead of the NDA in terms of channeling its allies, it may decide to play the temple card as well and fall back on its pet peeves. (IPA Service)