For those hacks keeping track of the tumultuous times that the BJP has been going through, she is fondly known as the mistress of lost causes. In 1998, sensing that its citadel in Delhi was about to crumble, the BJP made her the chief minister of Delhi. She and her party were roundly and soundly defeated by Shiela Dixit. In 1999, when Sonia Gandhi plunged headlong into electoral politics to save the Congress from disintegration, she was nominated to contest the Bellary Lok Sabha seat against Sonia. She drew applause and plaudits for her enthusiastic campaign. Of course, she lost to Sonia by about 50,000 votes. In 2004, after an unexpected victory in Lok Sabha polls, when Congress sycophants beseeched with Sonia to become the Prime Minister, this lady created a storm by publicly announcing that she would shave her head if Sonia became the Prime Minister. That is Sushma Swaraj, the well liked middle-of-the-road BJP politician. Even in the race to become the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP for the 2014 elections, she seems to have lost out to Narendra Modi despite the blessings of L.K Advani and the late Bal Thackeray of Shiv Sena.
Says political analyst S.K Dutta, “Sushma Swaraj is PM candidate material and she could play a big role against Sonia Gandhi in the 2014 elections. Unfortunately, the BJP has not been able to properly utilize her talent and potential”. There are many within the BJP who think that Sushma Swaraj has the ability to translate crowds into votes. And yet, compared to the other four women featured in this package, Sushma does represent the metaphor of what could have been. Sonia, Jayalalitha, Mamata and Mayawati are all undisputed leaders of their parties-or fiefdoms. They have always been so. In contrast, Sushma has not even been the first among equals in her own party. According to a senior BJP leader who doesn’t want to go on record, “You see, the other four are absolutely ruthless when it comes to crushing their rivals. Compared to them, Sushma lacks the killer instinct.” The party abounds with tales of how leaders without mass bases of their own-like Arun Jaitley, Venkaih Naidu and Rajnath Singh- have grown out of the shadows of their mentors- and formed their own cliques and support groups within the party organization. Sushma Swaraj even today lacks a core team of loyal supporters within the party and seems totally dependent on the ability of the aging and fading patriarch L.K Advani to further her cause.
As is well known by now, it was this inability to grow out of the shadows of Advani and the failure to form her own coterie that left her isolated in Goa when the party bosses decided to ignore the Advani sulk and anointed Narendra Modi as the chairman of the campaign committee of the BJP for the 2014 elections. It is not as if Sushma was the only one not very keen on handing over so much power to Modi. Arun Jaitley himself was not very excited about the idea. And there are whispers of how BJP leader from Karnataka Ananth Kumar held secret parleys till wee hours of the morning to try and block the anointment of Modi. Nor were BJP chief ministers like Shivraj Chauhan and Raman Singh very thrilled with the prospect of Modi emerging as the Boss. But it was Sushma Swaraj who became the public face of the anti-Modi camp within the BJP while all other leaders seemed to have made peace with Modi and decided to fight another day. Of course, party insiders say that it is the fault of Sushma Swaraj because she has never discouraged Advani from openly advocating her cause against Modi inside the party. This despite the tremendous goodwill she sill enjoys within the party for dedication , her hard work and her attention to detail. Says Naresh Sirohi, national vice president of the BJP Kisan Morcha, “I have worked very closely with her and I can say without any hesitation that she not only grasps farmer related issues very well, but is also a rare BJP leader who can speak with authority on issues like the Seed Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill and other important issues.” There is no doubt that Sushma Swaraj has performed vey well as the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha when it comes to oratory and a passionate denouncement of the UPA regime, including withering attacks on Sonia Gandhi.
And yet, the halo seems to be missing. One of the reasons could be that she lacks the ability to single handedly sway the voters of a state or region. She belongs to Haryana, where the BJP has never been very strong. In contrast, Jayalalitha, Mamata and Mayawati have held complete sway over their states and stand out as towering personalities even in electoral defeats. The fact is, Mamata, Mayawati and Jayalalitha have the ability to end up delivering a combined 100 Lok Sabha MPs in 2014 who will be unquestionably loyal to their diktats. Sushma Swaraj, unfortunately, has allowed a perception to generate that she needs the support of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Chauhan to win her own Lok Sabha seat.
But while the mistress of lost causes may lack the formidable prowess of her counterparts, there can be little doubt that she is capable of springing a surprise. There are many in the BJP-including Advani- who seem determined to not accept Modi as the first among equals. They know that potential allies too are not very comfortable with the ‘polarizing’ image of Modi. If the BJP becomes the largest party in 2014 and still needs the support of regional parties, who knows, the mistress of lost causes could end up having the last laugh. And a pretty big laugh it is going to be.
