Release, withdraw, re-release: Protests over J&K candidates list force rare BJP flip-flop | India News
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday released the first list of 44 candidates for the upcoming J&K assembly elections, a day after the party’s top brass led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting over the names. However, in a rare turn of events, the party was forced to withdraw the original list and release a new one with just 16 names for the first phase of elections.The party then released another list with just one name.
The hasty retreat was triggered by protests at party’s headquarters in Jammu – a rare public show of anger against the decision of the top leadership. There have not been many instances of such open dissent within the BJP in the last 10 years. In fact, the BJP has often taken digs at opposition parties, including the Congress, for failing to enforce discipline within its ranks.
However, this is not the first time that the BJP has made a U-turn in the recent past. The third term of the party at the Centre has been marked by quite a few instances when the party has been forced to make a retreat.
The BJP which pushed through its governance agenda with gusto in the first two terms, is coming to terms with the realities of coalition compulsion despite all the bravado of “business as usual.” PM Modi is dependent on allies for the survival of his third government and hence can not afford to ignore their concerns.
The first U-turn made by the BJP government was its decision to put on hold UPSC’s “lateral entry” move to induct 45 officers. With the opposition parties accusing the government of using lateral entry to bypass reservations and some key allies echoing similar views – the Modi government was quick to request the UPSC to withdraw the advertisement.
Then there was the Waqf Bill, which was introduced in Parliament to bring about transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards at the state level, was sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further discussions. Incidentally, in the first two terms of the government, when the BJP had majority on its own, not many bills were sent to the JPC despite several opposition demands. However, with BJP’s own allies favouring a detailed debate on the proposed changes, the government had little option.
The Congress has claimed that government’s decision to launch the Unified Pension Scheme – guaranteeing pension to govt employees – was another policy decision influenced by the allies. BJP’s earlier position was that the National Pension System (NPS), introduced in 2004, was a “revolutionary thing” and was good for state finances.
The UPS assures a lifelong pension of 50 per cent of the last drawn salary while under NPS pension was linked to the accumulated value of the contributions made by the employee and the government during the former’s working life. The NPS, on the other hand, is based on defined contributions by employees and employers, which are invested in selected funds, with the pension amount depending on the returns on those investments.
Modi 3.0 dependence on allies was reflected in the first Union Budget of the current term when two critical ally states – Andhra Pradesh and Bihar got special allowances and key projects. Both Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar had demanded special status for their states. While the Modi government did not announce that it ensured that the two leaders were kept in good humour.
Clearly, the way ahead is not going to be easy and Modi 3.0 will have to continue to keep all the allies in good humour making this government more of NDA 3.0. And while coalition pressure will continue to be there, the BJP top leadership would not want any additional pressures from within that sends out “weak” signals.
The hasty retreat was triggered by protests at party’s headquarters in Jammu – a rare public show of anger against the decision of the top leadership. There have not been many instances of such open dissent within the BJP in the last 10 years. In fact, the BJP has often taken digs at opposition parties, including the Congress, for failing to enforce discipline within its ranks.
However, this is not the first time that the BJP has made a U-turn in the recent past. The third term of the party at the Centre has been marked by quite a few instances when the party has been forced to make a retreat.
The BJP which pushed through its governance agenda with gusto in the first two terms, is coming to terms with the realities of coalition compulsion despite all the bravado of “business as usual.” PM Modi is dependent on allies for the survival of his third government and hence can not afford to ignore their concerns.
The first U-turn made by the BJP government was its decision to put on hold UPSC’s “lateral entry” move to induct 45 officers. With the opposition parties accusing the government of using lateral entry to bypass reservations and some key allies echoing similar views – the Modi government was quick to request the UPSC to withdraw the advertisement.
Then there was the Waqf Bill, which was introduced in Parliament to bring about transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards at the state level, was sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further discussions. Incidentally, in the first two terms of the government, when the BJP had majority on its own, not many bills were sent to the JPC despite several opposition demands. However, with BJP’s own allies favouring a detailed debate on the proposed changes, the government had little option.
The Congress has claimed that government’s decision to launch the Unified Pension Scheme – guaranteeing pension to govt employees – was another policy decision influenced by the allies. BJP’s earlier position was that the National Pension System (NPS), introduced in 2004, was a “revolutionary thing” and was good for state finances.
The UPS assures a lifelong pension of 50 per cent of the last drawn salary while under NPS pension was linked to the accumulated value of the contributions made by the employee and the government during the former’s working life. The NPS, on the other hand, is based on defined contributions by employees and employers, which are invested in selected funds, with the pension amount depending on the returns on those investments.
Modi 3.0 dependence on allies was reflected in the first Union Budget of the current term when two critical ally states – Andhra Pradesh and Bihar got special allowances and key projects. Both Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar had demanded special status for their states. While the Modi government did not announce that it ensured that the two leaders were kept in good humour.
Clearly, the way ahead is not going to be easy and Modi 3.0 will have to continue to keep all the allies in good humour making this government more of NDA 3.0. And while coalition pressure will continue to be there, the BJP top leadership would not want any additional pressures from within that sends out “weak” signals.
