AMIT SHAH’S OWN CHARACTERISTIC STYLE

AMIT SHAH’S OWN CHARACTERISTIC STYLE

5-MAY-ENG 9

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------------If you haven't prepared for the next ten years in advance, don't even bother contesting an election against Amit Shah—you’ll end up with nothing but frustration.

It was through Santosh Bhartiya’s writings that I first began to grasp that the BJP (and the Sangh) does not base its politics solely on elections. Their politics operates along a distinct timeline. Amit Shah has brought this very concept to life right before our eyes, playing out like a feature film. He is the producer, the director, the screenwriter, and the casting director—all rolled into one. He is the one who draws the crowds to the box office; and after achieving success, he stands beside the Prime Minister, smiling quietly without ever seeking personal credit.

Imagine this: it is 2013, and you have arrived as the in-charge for Uttar Pradesh. Your leader is gearing up to launch an assault on the central government, and UP stands as the most critical stronghold. Without conquering this territory, you cannot even dream of hoisting the saffron flag atop the Red Fort. Yet, here, you are merely a third-tier party. One segment of your core voter base—the Thakurs—is politically aligned with the Samajwadi Party, while another segment—the Brahmins—is aligned with the Bahujan Samaj Party. The organization itself is plagued by severe factionalism. Even in a "best-case scenario," no one is willing to concede that you could win more than fifty seats. And then, when the results are declared, you deliver a tally of 73 out of 80 seats. Both the Samajwadi Party and the Congress find themselves reduced to mere shadows, confined strictly to their own doorsteps. This marked Amit Shah’s debut innings in national politics. Since then, he has never looked back.

Be it the campaign to build a party with a membership base of ten crore people, or the effort to shed the label of the "Brahmin-Baniya Janata Party" and re-establish the BJP as a "Backward Janata Party"—Amit Shah has, since 2014, been systematically preparing the party to navigate the political landscape of the coming decade. Today, within India’s political landscape, there is simply no other party visible on the horizon that can effectively challenge the BJP—either on an organizational or an ideological level. Today, the victory in Bengal is not merely an electoral triumph; for the BJP, it represents a jackpot—one that will pave the way for its 'Hindutva 2.0' project. Yet, back in 2016, the BJP held a mere three seats in Bengal.

Even then, Amit Shah had recognized the state as a potential stronghold for the BJP's future and had embraced the challenge it presented. Due to a 'guilt-trap' campaign orchestrated by I-PAC—which targeted the entire BJP cadre over Modi campaigning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic—and a failure to fully grasp the violent, 'raid-centric' culture of Bengal elections, the BJP appeared to have lost the battle, despite having surged from 3 seats to 77. However, Amit Shah had already deciphered the strategic fortifications of Bengal. His subsequent plan focused on purging 'bogus voters' from the rolls and ensuring a fear-free electoral process. This singular, meticulously executed strategy was precisely what would bring the party to the very threshold of victory. And indeed, it was the successful execution of these two tasks that ultimately sealed the BJP's triumph.

Sitting at the counting center in Bhabanipur, the defiant Mamata Banerjee and her insolent nephew may currently be at a loss to understand at whose behest the deity Indra unleashed such a 'saffron shower' upon Bengal; yet, the entire state of Bengal—and indeed the entire nation—knows the name of that man: Amit Anilchandra Shah.