In the BJP’s universe, the space of intellectuals and lateral entrants

Swapan Dasgupta isn’t the only career professional without direct roots in the RSS to switch to the BJP. The party has had a longer history of association with journalists who may or may not have joined it but are aligned with its world view and have assumed formal positions

On Saturday, senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta filed his nomination as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the West Bengal assembly polls, after stepping down as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.

Representational Image. (HT archive)

While Dasgupta has been a prominent supporter of the party for three decades, he isn’t the only career professional without direct roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to switch to the saffron outfit. In the central government, union ministers S Jaishankar, Hardeep Puri and RK Singh are among the former bureaucrats who have joined the party.

The party has had a longer history of association with journalists who may or may not have joined it but are aligned with its world view and have assumed formal positions — Surya Prakash was appointed the chair of Prasar Bharti, Ashok Malik is now a policy advisor with the ministry of external affairs after having served a stint as press secretary to the President of India, and Chandan Mitra, before he switched to the Trinamool Congress, was a BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP.

These are just some representative names, but they point to a larger story — even as the BJP has drawn criticism from intellectuals of Left and liberal persuasions, the party has also, over the decades, engaged with intellectuals and professionals and sought to bring them within the party fold.

The roots of the engagement

Party veterans recall that this initiative was often led by LK Advani, who, with his articulate English-speaking skills and ability to communicate to elite audiences and engage with ideas, had opened doors for newer professionals; — indeed, Dasgupta was considered close to Advani in the 1990s. Atal Bihari Vajpayee too worked with talent from outside the party fold, with his prime minister’s office home to three former journalists — Sudheendra Kulkarni, Kanchan Guptà and Ashok Tandon. Both the towering leaders of the BJP enjoyed the company of those who were a part of the larger intellectual and media ecosystem of Delhi.

Over the years, said a Rajya Sabha MP from the ruling party on the condition of anonymity, the BJP has steadfastly worked to expand its footprint in the intellectual circles with two objectives — to expand its legitimacy and to gain experience that helps in governance.

A second BJP leader said that the party’s push to bring the intelligentsia gained momentum in the 1990s. “The party created cells back then, like the economic cell, the intellectual cell and the media cell,” the BJP leader said. “The aim was to bring the professionals sympathetic to the BJP closer to it.” This got momentum after the party formed the government in the wake of the 1998 polls. “After the BJP came to power, during the coalition era, a lot of talent joined the party. It comprised a number of professionals, including government officers,” he added.

“This is a calculated approach that has been continued by the Prime Minister,” said the MP. “When the Congress took power in 1947 under the leadership of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the party had a whole crop of experienced professionals to choose from who became members of it. Indira Gandhi emulated the same model.” The MP added that while BJP has a mass base and cadre on the grassroots, the elites have traditionally been opposed to the BJP’s core ideology. “So, the idea is to make a dent in that segment. It also draws from a need for governance experience and add legitimacy to the party,” the MP said.

The MP further added that the party is consistently trying to expand its base among the liberal elite, while keeping its Hindutva ideology intact. “People who are active, intelligent and futuristic, and most importantly aligned to the party’s core ideology, have been made ministers, others have been made MPs,” he said.

The challenge for the new entrants

While the BJP is home to leaders and activists who have not come from the RSS, there is often more than a direct connection between the rise in the party and the roots in the Sangh — from Vajpayee to Advani, Narendra Modi to Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari to Manohar Lal Khattar, Devendra Fadnavis to Jairam Thakur, Murali Manohar Joshi to JP Nadda, top leaders proudly trace their roots to the Sangh or one of its affiliate organisations.

In this backdrop, how do lateral entrants from professional backgrounds navigate the party?

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said that the party was formed as an outfit that is not limited to the RSS. “The party has attracted a lot of talent. Many people, including some like me, who do not have a formal background with the Sangh, have been given responsibility in the party,” Kohli said.

A senior government official working in a BJP-ruled state, who is closely affiliated with the Sangh, said that whoever joins the party from outside the RSS fold has to work extra hard rise in the party. “The party considers the individual very carefully,” the BJP member said. “Only after the loyalty to the party has been proven, does the individual rise in the organisation.” Giving the example of AK Sharma, a bureaucrat who worked closely with PM Modi and has now been inducted in the party fold as a member of the legislative council in Uttar Pradesh, the official said, “If people can reach the prime minister and the home minister, and have their confidence, it helps them rise even if they are from a non-RSS background.” the official added.

The rise, and limits of the rise

According to political analyst Suhas Palshikar, as the party grows, it requires intellectuals and experts to join it. “But these intellectuals and experts will have a limited brief,” he said. “They wouldn’t cross the line. Otherwise, they will not have the same leeway in the party.”

He added that the leaders would have to uphold the cultural vision of the party. “Dasgupta has culturally upheld the vision in a different manner. There will hardly be anyone who directly contradicts the culture of the Sangh. Also, because it is not just the culture of the Sangh, it also the vision that the prime minister puts forth. Vajpayee did not necessarily do that.”

There have also been long standing differences between the RSS and the BJP on questions of organising the economy, he added. “To talk about the RSS as a single organisation would not be adequate. There is a larger network of organisations not directly controlled by the RSS. Post the 1970s, the RSS tasked several people with the intention of preparing for statecraft for when it came to power,” he said. “So, they have a primer on foreign policy, security and economy.”

He added that now that the BJP is in power, the Sangh will want its share of the power. “Intellectuals are often enamored by power, so it is easy for organisations such as the Sangh and the BJP to attract persons with intellectual pretensions now that the BJP is in power. However, at this moment if you’re an intellectual without the backing of the RSS, it is highly likely that there will be a limit to which you will rise and you will either stagnate or be set aside,” Palshikar said.