You have already heard many opinions about why the Bharatiya Janata Party lost in Bihar, but you should ignore all of them. Here is the truth. It was a colossal failure of the "Good cop-Bad cop" routine.
Good cop-bad cop is an old American police technique, in which one cop is mean, while the other is kindly. They lock you up in a room, and one of them beats you, while the other murmurs that he feels your pain and he can stop it if you just confess everything. In India, the police are more single-minded. If the beating doesn’t work, they shove a chilly up your backside. If all else fails, they lose documents. They’re simple that way. But the more sophisticated US technique has seen widespread application in our politics.
Ironically, the people who did this best were the BJP in the eighties. After 30 years of trying, they realised that looking grumpy and wearing strange pants would never be enough to win elections. Instead, they introduced uncles. LK Advani was the angry uncle, while Atal Vajpayee was the kindly uncle. Whenever it seemed like Advani was about to have some kind of fit, and we worried about what he would do next, Vajpayee would drop a couplet or two, and we would feel reassured.
This is why, when Advani recently started talking about tolerance, a few people of my generation were perplexed. We were like wait, what? It was disturbing and unnatural, like a rabbit playing the saxophone. Personally, I thought a duplicate had replaced him. He was making the same mistake that is being repeated now. He was mixing up good cops and bad cops.
Multiple messages
Things were not always like this. There was a time when Rajiv Gandhi was both good cop and bad cop. On the one hand he talked computers, while on the other he opposed poor Shah Bano. Clearly, these two were contradictory. We may have allowed this because he was handsome, and he had recently lost his mother. Also we were still scared of Indira Gandhi, even after she had passed on. The Emergency was very recent, during which vasectomies were widespread. Questioning her son was not an option. When we closed our eyes, we heard snipping.
Not being dynastic, the BJP has had to provide different roles to different people. This team approach is something that even those who are disturbed by their pants find appealing. Unlike their pants, the good cop-bad cop approach is tailor-made for them. It’s also ideal when you have multiple messages. Their current political thrust can be summed up as a combination of two things. “Here, have some development,” and “OMG! Muslims!”
In this scenario, the prime minister was the cool dresser who would bring us goodies, while Amit Shah was the bad cop. For a while, things went well. Everyone knew what their roles were, and they stuck to them. While the prime minister cannot drop couplets like Vajpayee, no one can deny that his rhetoric is lyrical. All Amit Shah had to do was be Amit Shah. A few intellectuals were getting upset, but the truth is, no one much cared, except for their blood relatives, and one or two journalists. Things were good. The system was working.
Stick to the formula
In Bihar, it collapsed, in full public view. It’s hard not to sympathise. The pressure of having to take Lalu Prasad seriously must have proved too much for them. One minute, the prime minister talked about development, next minute he talked about cows. The cow is a lovely animal, very good-natured, and always giving us milk, but no one associates it with development. The public was confused. Like everyone else, I blame Amit Shah. If he had played his part properly, the prime minister would not have had to step in. Amit Shah has to be a better bad cop. It’s completely unfair otherwise. If he is reluctant, they should bring back Advani. He has relevant work ex.
The BJP must go back to the formula, before it’s too late, or all will be lost. Because it’s true that as a nation, we are very illiterate, due to lack of schools, but even the most ignorant amongst us will eventually realise that if we go one step forward and one step back, all we will do is end up in the same place.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
Good cop-bad cop is an old American police technique, in which one cop is mean, while the other is kindly. They lock you up in a room, and one of them beats you, while the other murmurs that he feels your pain and he can stop it if you just confess everything. In India, the police are more single-minded. If the beating doesn’t work, they shove a chilly up your backside. If all else fails, they lose documents. They’re simple that way. But the more sophisticated US technique has seen widespread application in our politics.
Ironically, the people who did this best were the BJP in the eighties. After 30 years of trying, they realised that looking grumpy and wearing strange pants would never be enough to win elections. Instead, they introduced uncles. LK Advani was the angry uncle, while Atal Vajpayee was the kindly uncle. Whenever it seemed like Advani was about to have some kind of fit, and we worried about what he would do next, Vajpayee would drop a couplet or two, and we would feel reassured.
This is why, when Advani recently started talking about tolerance, a few people of my generation were perplexed. We were like wait, what? It was disturbing and unnatural, like a rabbit playing the saxophone. Personally, I thought a duplicate had replaced him. He was making the same mistake that is being repeated now. He was mixing up good cops and bad cops.
Multiple messages
Things were not always like this. There was a time when Rajiv Gandhi was both good cop and bad cop. On the one hand he talked computers, while on the other he opposed poor Shah Bano. Clearly, these two were contradictory. We may have allowed this because he was handsome, and he had recently lost his mother. Also we were still scared of Indira Gandhi, even after she had passed on. The Emergency was very recent, during which vasectomies were widespread. Questioning her son was not an option. When we closed our eyes, we heard snipping.
Not being dynastic, the BJP has had to provide different roles to different people. This team approach is something that even those who are disturbed by their pants find appealing. Unlike their pants, the good cop-bad cop approach is tailor-made for them. It’s also ideal when you have multiple messages. Their current political thrust can be summed up as a combination of two things. “Here, have some development,” and “OMG! Muslims!”
In this scenario, the prime minister was the cool dresser who would bring us goodies, while Amit Shah was the bad cop. For a while, things went well. Everyone knew what their roles were, and they stuck to them. While the prime minister cannot drop couplets like Vajpayee, no one can deny that his rhetoric is lyrical. All Amit Shah had to do was be Amit Shah. A few intellectuals were getting upset, but the truth is, no one much cared, except for their blood relatives, and one or two journalists. Things were good. The system was working.
Stick to the formula
In Bihar, it collapsed, in full public view. It’s hard not to sympathise. The pressure of having to take Lalu Prasad seriously must have proved too much for them. One minute, the prime minister talked about development, next minute he talked about cows. The cow is a lovely animal, very good-natured, and always giving us milk, but no one associates it with development. The public was confused. Like everyone else, I blame Amit Shah. If he had played his part properly, the prime minister would not have had to step in. Amit Shah has to be a better bad cop. It’s completely unfair otherwise. If he is reluctant, they should bring back Advani. He has relevant work ex.
The BJP must go back to the formula, before it’s too late, or all will be lost. Because it’s true that as a nation, we are very illiterate, due to lack of schools, but even the most ignorant amongst us will eventually realise that if we go one step forward and one step back, all we will do is end up in the same place.
