As the Monsoon Session Ends, BJP’s Hype Masks Lack of Narrative

The BJP had reason to feel chuffed as the curtain came down on the monsoon Session of Parliament, probably the penultimate one before the Lok Sabha polls. On the face of it, the Modi government seemed to have erased a lingering perception after a disastrous budget session that it was on the backfoot.

There were three reasons for this impression. One was the exit of a valuable ally, the TDP. The Modi government lacks the ability to win and keep friends, the Opposition mocked.

The second was its obdurate refusal to allow an Opposition-sponsored no confidence motion. The government was running scared, jeered the Opposition. And the third was the virtual paralysis of the last session. Except for passing the budget, Parliament did hardly any work. It’s all the government’s fault, blamed the Opposition, absolving itself of all responsibility for helping Parliament to function.

The monsoon Session was a frantic exercise in damage control as government managers spared no effort to counter the charges levelled by the Opposition.

They finally agreed to a discussion and vote on the no confidence motion. Needless to say, the government passed the test with flying colours.

Both Houses actually worked, for the most part. More than a dozen bills were passed including an important reform measure in the insolvency and bankruptcy code.

‘NDA is Expanding, Not Shrinking as Opposition Claims’

The icing on the cake was the government’s victory in the election for the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha where technically, non-NDA parties have a majority. Determined to prove that he can win friends and influence allies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself stepped in to work the phone lines with key non-NDA parties to ensure a win for the government’s nominee, Harivansh Singh of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).

It was most uncharacteristic because Modi has preferred to leave political management to his Man Friday, Amit Shah. But this time, he took matters into his own hands and dialled BJD’s Naveen Patnaik personally to request his party’s support in the election. It was a request Patnaik could not refuse. Harivansh’s victory, boasted BJP spokespersons, was proof that the NDA is expanding, not shrinking as the Opposition claimed.

Hype usually manages to mask reality.

However, take a hard look behind the smokescreen erected by BJP propagandists at the end of a well-managed Session and there are enough signs of a government in distress as it struggles to find a narrative to sell to voters in 2019.

BJP Still Struggling to Find Narrative For 2019

They say that when a government runs out of ideas it falls back on populism. Two big ticket bills to woo the OBCs and Dalits, both important voter groups, were introduced by the government in the monsoon session.

One was the bill to establish a National Commission for OBCs which would have powers reserved for the government to notify groups in the OBC list. The bill was put on the backburner last year after the BJP failed to muster numbers in its own ranks to pass it. It was resurrected in the monsoon Session to kick off an aggressive campaign to woo disillusioned OBC groups. Needless to say, the bill was passed unanimously as no political party wants to annoy this vital voter segment in election season.

The second was a bill to reverse a Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST bill. Despite a nationwide agitation by Dalit groups, the government had refused to bow to demands to overturn the apex court’s order diluting some provisions of the original SC/ST bill. Now that elections are around the corner and Dalits are again on the warpath, the government seems to have had second thoughts. This bill too was passed unanimously with hardly any debate.

Significantly,the government is working overtime to correct the impression of paralysis, as alleged by the Opposition.

In the Rajya Sabha, Amit Shah donned the mantle of a government spokesperson to speak on the NRC and on the recent hike in MSP of the kharif crop. He wasn’t allowed to speak by TMC MPs who continuously disrupted him, but it is interesting that the government turned to the party president to speak on issues that should be dealt with by the concerned Union ministers.

The real giveaway of a sliding narrative was Modi’s reply to the debate on the no confidence motion. It lacked substance and his trademark punch. Most of the speech was devoted to mocking Rahul Gandhi and attacking the Congress. That can hardly be a plank to attract voters as Modi seeks re-election after five years in power. He needs a new narrative but doesn’t seem to have found one yet.

It is equally significant that for the first time since he assumed office, the PM attempted to soften his stern Lone Wolf image by conceding space to allies. The decision to field a JD(U) candidate for the post of Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson, the phone call to Naveen Patnaik, the outreach to angry allies like the Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are all signs of growing anxiety that the party has to hold on to old friends and will possibly need new ones in 2019.

(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)