Time for reckoning

There are varied perceptions on Jitin Prasada's defection to BJP — some see it as a sign of Congress' weakened authority while others as showing the door to the young leaders who could pose any challenge to Rahul or Priyanka's authority. But amid all this, the important aspect of BJP's politics has missed media and public scrutiny.

Why BJP is keen on allowing young leaders into its fold when it already has a litany of young emerging leaders in all age brackets? How new entrants are being treated and how they blend within BJP?

To understand this, one will have to go back to August 2015 when Himanta Biswa Sarma resigned from Congress to join BJP. Sarma had been a powerful politician in the state and 'go-to-man' for all kinds of political or other issues in Assam. He resigned after realising that Tarun Gogoi, his mentor, was keen to promote his son ahead of him. For BJP, it was a prized catch. Gogoi called it a 'storm in a tea cup' and Central leadership didn't even react. Then came the jolt by Jyotiraditya Scindia. Gandhi's again treated it as good riddance to bad rubbish. Scindia helped bring BJP government in Madhya Pradesh. Finally, in the case of Sachin Pilot, some sense prevailed on both sides due to constraints faced by Pilot and Ashok Gehlot as well due to internal dynamics of the party. The rebellion was doused with some helping hand of the old guard of the party. The latest in the list is Jitin Prasada, son of late Jitendra Prasada — a tall leader of UP and Rajiv Gandhi's loyalist who later contested against Sonia Gandhi for the post of Congress President. Jitin joined Congress to become IYC General Secretary, two-time MP and a Central minister in UPA-1 & UPA-2 governments, spokesperson of the party, CWC member and in-charge Secretary of party's Bengal unit.

Himanta Biswa Sarma (HBS to his admirers) proved his political astuteness by bringing all North-East ruling regional parties under the umbrella of NDA. After serving as finance minister in Assam and being persuaded against contesting Lok Sabha polls, Sarma worked hard to bring back the BJP government in Assam in 2021. Sarma was awarded the CM's chair and is now well entrenched within the BJP.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior, promised to bring an adequate number of MLAs into the BJP fold to bring down the Kamal Nath government. He had a loyal band of MLAs who were willing to risk their politics at his command. He also promised to make these MLAs win, as and when by-election caused by defection ensued. Scindia delivered on his promise and won maximum seats from Gwalior-Chambal and Malwa region by-elections held for 28 assembly constituencies. He was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat and is a contender for ministership in the Modi cabinet.

Sachin Pilot failed to muster enough support from MLAs; his supporters were mainly disgruntled elements who were against Gehlot. In effect, Sachin Pilot and most of the MLAs were trying to achieve their own goals. BJP wasn't ready to buy a half-baked cake! Sachin Pilot wasn't an asset for BJP if he couldn't bring down the Gehlot government. A crestfallen Pilot returned to the party fold with some face-saving provided by the old guard and a phone call from Priyanka Gandhi after Rahul refused to engage. He was promised that his supporters would be accommodated in the government and the party but nothing has happened in the last 10 months and resentment is building up again.

The defection by Jitin Prasada is in the backdrop of Congress taking prompt action on the complaints of comparatively new entrant Navjot Singh Sidhu about his grouses against Caption Amarinder Singh and the party organisation in Punjab. Jitin had been treated persona non grata in the party hierarchy. Now, BJP has hyped the issue as a big Brahmin leader joining its ranks. The brahmins seem to be turning against the present UP government. The BJP's in-house community leaders were failing and Yogi refused to mend ways. As Jitin's supporters had been deserting him, he had earlier tried to stem the rot by creating and running a parallel organisation called 'Brahman Chetna Parishad'. It did help him. Jitin tried every trick in his book to remain relevant — from supporting Brahmin reservations on the economic ground to welcoming the Supreme Court decision on the Ayodhya Mandir-Masjid dispute. He even raised issues pertaining to individual victims of crimes, where Brahmins were at the receiving end. The Congress leadership became circumspect and wary of Brahmin Chetna Parishad. He was first asked to tone down his association with the Parishad, eventually to disband the same.

BJP is now presenting him as Brahmin leader – both in Uttar Pradesh and in Uttarakhand, electing a new legislative assembly in less than a year. He has to better or at least scale to the record set by those who have crossed over to BJP from Congress before him. Those who have shown some mettle in elections, have been rewarded. In 2014, Choudhary Birender Singh was made a Rajya Sabha member and was also inducted into Union Cabinet, a feat he couldn't achieve in four decades while in Congress. There is a high bar set by Prasada's peers who preceded him into BJP. His joining with Delhi is a message to Uttar Pradesh that he is important for Central leadership. He has to prove his utility in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections to command some respect, earn and enjoy political eminence, and rise in stature in the saffron party. If he fails, he has a bleak future because Modi-led and Amit Shah-administered BJP doesn't allow failure or non-performance. This is time for Jitin Prasada to perform not only to justify his anointment by the BJP but also to prove to his erstwhile colleagues that he is a leader of grassroots and not a mere dynast. It's time for him to validate that he deserved the positions given to him in Congress; that he wasn't politically pampered or mollycoddled for being close to Rahul Gandhi. Time of reckoning for the young politician.

Views expressed are personal