Inside the BJP’s big rejig | Powertrip #161

Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter curated exclusively for subscribers of The News Minute and Newslaundry. This week’s edition is by Pooja Prasanna and Shabbir Ahmed.In this week’s edition, we identified three things that the BJP appears to be signalling with its major rejig; Karnataka features in this in a big way.Is it really true that arch-rivals DMK and BJP are going to be allies? We spoke to leaders from both parties and realised it isn’t as simple as certain reports that claim an alliance soon.In our next story, the Congress government in Karnataka appears to be trying to take back two spaces where the BJP has traditionally had an advantage: nationalism and urban governance.Powertrip is a newsletter that senior political reporters of TNM put together every week. For those who can’t access the full newsletter, get a subscription and read every Tuesday. .The signals behind the BJP’s big rejigThe latest rejig of BJP office bearers has thrown up some interesting names, both among those brought in and those shown the door.The most significant exit is perhaps that of Amit Malaviya, the party’s IT cell head. Another major change is in the youth wing, with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya being replaced as the head of the BJP Yuva Morcha.Both Malaviya and Surya had occupied their positions for some time and there was a view within the BJP that their innings had run its course. The thinking was that the party needed fresh faces and a different political approach.Though an exit was imminent, the timing is significant. The student protests and the wider public backlash appear to have accelerated the churn. Sources say both were held responsible, in different ways, for failing to read the mood among young voters, both on the ground and online. More importantly, they were seen as having struggled to counter a campaign in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself became the face of the anger.The message from the BJP now appears to be clear: a more aggressive response, particularly in the digital and youth space. The new appointments are expected to bring a sharper, more combative approach to that task.But there is another, perhaps equally important, signal in this rejig: the RSS imprint.Around 10 of the new office bearers come with an RSS background. And BL Santhosh, whom a sizeable section of the Karnataka BJP had been pushing to remove, has been retained as the general secretary (organisation). But his continued presence also comes with what appears to be a counterweight. Ram Madhav, another RSS leader from the south, has been brought into the mix and is seen within the party as a potential balance to Santhosh.The other important Karnataka face in the rejig is Nagaraju. His RSS background matters, but his Kuruba identity could matter even more politically.With Siddaramaiah having indicated that he will not contest elections again, the Congress is likely to face a leadership vacuum within the Kuruba community. The BJP clearly sees an opening here. Nagaraju’s elevation could be part of a larger attempt to make inroads into the Kuruba vote bank and, at the very least, peel away a section of it from the Congress.The BJP appears to be signalling three things at once: a reset in its youth and digital strategy, a stronger RSS imprint at the organisational level, and a more deliberate attempt to redraw its social coalition in Karnataka.DMK and BJP?From being identified as a fierce opponent of the BJP and maintaining a clear anti-BJP stance in politics, Delhi circles are buzzing with speculation that the DMK is likely to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Amar Ujala in fact reported that both DMK and Sharad Pawar’s NCP will join the NDA and will be given cabinet berths.However, DMK leaders we spoke to say that though there is one section of the leadership that is mooting synergy with the BJP, there are others staunchly opposed to the idea. DMK’s parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi has conveyed to the party leadership in no uncertain terms that any sort of understanding with the BJP would be suicidal and cost the party dearly in Tamil Nadu.The latter group says MK Stalin is also cognisant of the dangers of warming up to the BJP and is unlikely to make any hasty decisions.Meanwhile, opinion within the Tamil Nadu BJP is divided over the DMK. A BJP leader explained that at the moment, the Union government is trying to garner support from all political parties, including the DMK, to pass the ‘all-important Delimitation Bill’, for which it is trying really hard to forge an understanding with its arch-rival. This in turn is being interpreted as an attempt to bring the DMK into the NDA’s fold.Another BJP leader told TNM that both the BJP and DMK leadership are aware that a tie-up is not going to help either party. The DMK is only trying to provoke the Congress, he said.DMK sources also alleged that the Congress was floating such rumours in Delhi to try to mount pressure on them.Why Bengaluru is suddenly at the centre of the Congress strategyBengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has been steadily making himself difficult to ignore. This week, it was Freedom Habba, a day-long spectacle outside the Vidhana Soudha that comprised concerts, a parade, fireworks, and stalls centred around the Constitution.But the interesting part was not just the event itself. Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was there too, waving the national tricolour and spending time with youngsters. For a Congress government that has often allowed the BJP to dominate the political language around nationalism, the imagery was deliberate.People involved in putting the event together tell us that inclusivity was the central idea. The ambition was to present Bengaluru as a miniature India, a city that reflects the country’s diversity while celebrating its constitutional values.There is, however, a larger political calculation behind it.The Byre Gowda-Shivakumar combination appears to be trying to take back two spaces where the BJP has traditionally had an advantage: nationalism and urban governance.Freedom Habba is one way of entering the first. The more consequential battle may be the second.We hear that the next major initiative is an attempt to bring 12 to 14 civic agencies, ranging from the water supply board to other city-level bodies, onto a common technology platform. The idea is simple but potentially transformative: get agencies that currently operate in silos to talk to each other, coordinate better and deliver services more efficiently.That fits neatly into the larger Bengaluru project Byre Gowda appears to be pursuing. The strategy is to start with the visible problems that can be fixed relatively quickly, while simultaneously pushing structural changes in how the city is governed.The political payoff, if it works, could be significant. Fix enough things that people notice, change enough systems that officials notice, and create enough positive headlines that the government gets noticed for something other than its internal politics.We hear the next big target is Bengaluru Metro.For a government that has spent considerable time dealing with stories of internal friction, this shift is worth watching. There has been much speculation about tensions between Byre Gowda and DKS. But those familiar with the two say the equation has changed and that they are now working closely together.In fact, Byre Gowda’s steady run of positive headlines has had another useful side effect for the government. It has helped push some of the more uncomfortable stories, including the cabinet reshuffle controversy, further down the news cycle.DKS, meanwhile, appears to have arrived at a rather pragmatic conclusion. He does not necessarily need to be the only Congress leader generating headlines. If leaders such as Byre Gowda and UT Khader are competing with each other for visibility, the government as a whole gets more positive attention.That could be the real strategy taking shape in Bengaluru: make the city the showcase, give individual ministers room to build their own political capital, and let the cumulative effect strengthen the government.Zero HourA political story of public importanceIndia’s cockroaches are offering a reality check about the country’s development model.PowermovesTop 5 political storiesCAG report says not even half of emergency disaster funds transferred to statesNearly a century ago, Dravidian magazines were advocating for women’s reproductive freedomOperation Mukta: Bengali Muslim workers cannot be turned into an arbitrary ‘suspect class’Kerala agrees to PMAY logo, beneficiaries may have to pay up to Rs 1 lakhHyderabad: Govt land auction beside Durgam Cheruvu sparks row over heritage rock site