A new trend: Government and party join hands to deliver quickly

NEW DELHI: The BJP's last stint at the Centre was marked by an acute power asymmetry between government and party. The period of LK Advani's ascendancy when the party enthusiastically embraced the cause of Ram Mandir despite Atal Bihari Vajpayee's reservations had seen the former PM progressively disengage himself from the organization.

The aloofness did not diminish when Advani, in a tactical masterstroke prompted by an astute recognition of the limits of his appeal, stepped aside to project Vajpayee as the "man India awaits".

With all senior leaders joining the government, the party retreated into the background. The choice of apparatchiks like Jana Krishnamurthy to fill the organizational void accentuated the imbalance.

The lopsided equations with RSS's indifference, was one reason behind the surprise defeat of 2004.

Fast forward to 2014. The situation looks starkly different in terms of synergy between government and party. Amit Shah's appointment as party chief is an extension of the same project under which Narendra Modi was projected as PM candidate at grievous cost to Advani.

Modi and Shah have shared an excellent rapport since Modi spotted the organizational acumen of Shah, then a 15-year-old ABVP activist. Both are defined by intense commitment to Hindutva — some say Shah is more passionate than Modi — and have married it to technological efficiency and other modern managerial techniques.

They've fought and won many battles together, and the depth of their partnership is why many in the party believe the BJP chief had a say in ministry composition; even selection of some bureaucrats, some say. They have the support of the cadre: reason why Shah could eject Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from the parliamentary board and the central election committee with surgical precision.

With their credentials established and commitment beyond doubt, the cadre is ready to give them the leeway to push the organizational envelope.

This'll help the Modi government in consolidating its efforts. Like in Gujarat, Modi doesn't want to be dependent on the official apparatus to popularize his government's themes and achievements.

His use of social media attests to that. In the Amit Shah-led BJP, he'll find an enthusiastic partner.The collaboration is evident from the way Modi's ministers have been asked to meet and address concerns of cadre at the party headquarters to the organizational mobilization for the launch of Jan Dhan Yojana.