Many are comparing @BSYBJP speech in the assembly today to Vajpayee’s ‘96 speech. It’s a travesty to do so. BSY was emotional no doubt, he almost broke down, but one felt that was for his private loss. His diction and delivery were both terrible. He was lisping and slurring.
He didn’t have the moral authority to make a soul stirring speech like Vajpayee.His party’s dark deeds of the past week to cobble up a majority were exposed, and he stood there as a loser plucking worn out phrases from fatigued corners of his mind to ignite sympathy. Didn’t work.
BSY is not much of a speaker anyway. He is so anxious that he pulls out slips with notes jotted down. In fact during the campaign one of his senior colleagues told me they are concerned that he reads and doesn’t speak, which was hindering unfettered communication with the crowds.
But BSY has a conscience. As he spoke, a part of himself was revolting the sad state he had brought himself to. A self-respecting leader like him had become a salesman for some cheap ware produced by a duo in Delhi. In fact he had done well without them to get 110 seats in 2008.
All through the campaign he was a loner. His @BJP4Karnataka colleagues were coldly calculating the moment of his departure. Their silence constantly reminded him of his age and his vulnerability. That was cruel.
It was like children reluctantly making concessions to an ageing family patriarch who is yet to decide on his wealth. As I said on @ndtv earlier today his utility for his party is over.
If am reading correctly caste will not be @BJP4India’s game in K’taka. They may want to go beyond the Lingayat idea to build a polarising Hindutva narrative. The performance in the assembly today was clearly BSY’s swan song. @INCKarnataka @INCIndia
