‘Since Jana Sangh days, a lot of canards and misconceptions were spread about our ideology, our leaders,’ says Bhupender Yadav
The Hindu
Union minister Bhupender Yadav and economist Ila Patnaik discuss their book ‘The Rise of the BJP’
Bhupender Yadav: I have worked in the party at various levels for a long time, travelled extensively for organisational work, worked as a ground-level karyakarta and I now have been privileged to serve as a Union Minister. I have seen the BJP’s evolution and growth. Along the way, I had the opportunity to work closely with some of the biggest party leaders. Since the Jana Sangh days, a lot of canards and misconceptions were spread about our ideology, our worldview, our leaders and their outlook. Many people who have only seen the party from outside have written about it. I, therefore, felt that an insider’s view needs to go out. It was challenging to cover the full story within the scope of a book. But it was something that had to be done — the rise of a non-dynastic party, the commitment to an ideology, the relentless work to ensure Antyoday.
Ila Patnaik: JNU that taught me to be curious, to analyse and to try to understand the world. Partnering with Bhupenderji, someone from inside the BJP, to go to primary source material and to study the views of different academics, politicians of all hues and journalists for the research for this book is very much in spirit of the search for knowledge and understanding that I learnt at JNU.
Bhupender Yadav: My aim in writing the book was not to provide the reader some corridor gossip. My task is to explain the BJP’s rise, explain how the BJP thrived when most other parties formed around varying ideologies disintegrated or turned into family enterprises.