Meeting with Sadhu Yadav can cost Modi dearly

New Delhi: Narendra Modi is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for battle 2014. He is using all the tricks in the book to win over even that section of electorate that is not very positive about Modi and BJP.That's why he recently advised his partymen to try and win as much of Muslim vote as possible. He reminded them that in Gujarat at least 25 percent of Muslims voted for BJP in assembly elections and he wanted the same strategy to be applied across the country. It's a different matter that Gujarat model of election management can't be implemented in other states because every state has its own distinct political dynamics. But it was an approach that can be lauded for the reason that it will push the BJP towards more inclusive politics. As long as you are aloof or just not bothered about the votes of a particular section of the society, the level of mistrust will only increase and the chasm will ultimately harm the social and political harmony in the country. Therefore, it's a good sign that Modi is trying to open dialogue with India's largest minority community. It may not pay immediate political dividend but will go a long way in erasing Modi's almost pariah image among Muslims outside Gujarat. Secondly, Narendra Modi has taken initiative to win back those mass based leaders of the party who had to leave because of intra-party political machinations. BJP has a long list of such leaders – from B S Yeddyurappa in Karnataka to Kalyan Singh in UP, Babulal Marandi in Jharkhand and Uma Bharti in MP among many others. Assembly results in Karnataka clearly showed the electoral might of Yeddyurappa who was sidelined and humiliated despite having single handedly creating the mass base of the party in the state. Similarly, it was Kalyan Singh whose unique social engineering formula had made BJP almost invincible in UP once upon a time. He was again sidelined because of BJP's dirty intra-party politics. The story of Babulal Marandi and Uma Bharti is no different. Modi was definitely moving in the right direction when he sent feelers to these leaders and initiated moves for their homecoming. But one place where Narendra Modi has almost committed blunder is Bihar. His meeting with Sadhu Yadav has not gone down well with BJP leaders in the state. But the most worrying part is that the resentment is not limited to BJP leaders only.It has spilled over to the common man as well for whom Sadhu Yadav still remains the ‘symbol' of ‘jungle raj' that prevailed during Lalu-rabri's 15 years regime.Different political surveys have indicated that the BJP is expected to do well in Bihar under Modi's leadership and Nitish Kumar's JD(U) will have to face people's backlash for breaking the alliance. But this one move of Modi can change the game completely in Bihar. In case, Modi invites Sadhu to BJP fold in Bihar, all anti-Lalu family forces will rally once again behind Nitish Kumar to prevent any possibility of Lalu and his family coming back to power . Sadhu is such an anathema to anti-Lalu forces in Bihar. Modi may be thinking of doing Vithal Radadiya type of experiment in Bihar. Radadiya, who was a Congress MP at that time, had pulled a gun while threatening a toll-booth plaza attendant in Gujarat and was widely criticized by media as well as BJP. But Modi lost no time in admitting Radadiya to the party fold when Radadiya showed interest. And the gamble worked for Modi as Radaiya won once again from his LS seat on BJP ticket. It was a Congress stronghold for a long time. But the difference between Radadiya and Sadhu is that while Radadiya is a powerful Patel leader of Gujarat, Sadhu has no political backing of his own. Modi was always on the lookout for a powerful Patel leader who could fill the vacuum created by the desertion of Keshubhai Patel. So they both needed each other and have complemented each other. He derived all his power and following from his closeness to Lalu Prasad. In absence of Lalu's support, he is a non-entity in terms of electoral winnability. And it has been proved through his continuous electoral losses after he deserted Lalu Prasad. Political observers in Bihar feel that closeness to BJP may not yield any political dividend to Sadhu but will definitely hit BJP's prospects badly.In fact, it can once again polarize the electorate into anti-Lalu family forces and pro-Lalu family forces. And any such polarization will only help Nitish Kumar in consolidating his position. Nitish Kumar must be the happiest man after hearing about this meeting.It's time for Modi to do some reality check and he should not take the electorate for granted. All his carefully crafted image will go in vain if he fails to read the minds of his existing as well prospective political constituency.