Now this must qualify as one of the most dim witted statement I have heard from Ravi Shankar Prasad and the BJP. In an interview on TV yesterday (in an obvious reference to the likes of Jaswant Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni et. al.) he said that there are these intellectuals who come to the party are rewarded with good posts and then they go away when things don't go as per their wishes, while the average party worker sweats for the party without any rewards for his effort and the sole motive of serving the country and the party.
Well if he was suggesting that now the masses (of the cadre) will lead the masses (the general public) it is downright silly. If he said this in an attempt to boost the morale of the party workers it sounds all too disingenuous.
Looks like, the BJP has forgotten the lessons from the life of Ram (and perhaps also their own history). Only a Ram could have transformed a vanar sena (army of monkeys) into a powerful force that devastated the much powerful army of Ravan. The vanar sena gave itself willingly for Ram. It was their faith in Ram and his cause (that he represented without compromise) that gave them their strength. Led by Ram the vanar sena could win against a mighty demonic army.
So if you e.g. consider me to be a common BJP supporter (a vanar in the BJP’s army) I'd gladly give my time and energy for an inspiring leader. I'm sure that's also true for the hundreds of thousands of the cadres and the ordinary BJP supporters.
People gladly gave their time and energy and even undertook great risks when Vajpayee and Advani provided the leadership. That's what propelled the BJP forward. Leadership. That's what propels an army, a nation, an enterprise forward. Leadership.
All the talk about ‘collective leadership’ is humbug. Shared responsibility? Yes. Collective leadership? That's an oxymoron.
If at all it is that the BJP has to find its next Vajpayee and the next Advani and even the next Jaswant. Surely there must be great talent amongst its cadres but the search cannot be limited to this group.
By the way, the best assaults on the treasury benches in the parliament were led by rebel BJP camp (Jaswat Singh, Yashwant Sinha et. al.). And if the incumbent camp (Advani, Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj et. al. look a little jaded in comparison, it is perhaps their compromise with excellence that has robbed them of their shine.
