Subramanian Swamy: From Sonia to Sangh

He can put even the Sangh’s loony fringe to shame with his unabashed Hindutva rant and embarrass the BJP still cagey about its core ideology. Taking on the high and mighty across the political spectrum with chilling regularity, Subramanian Swamy may now just be a breath away from merging his one-man Janata Party with the Modi-fied BJP.

And he has a blueprint ready for BJP to storm back to power. Recently Swamy expounded his strategy, which is both intriguing and bone-chilling — consolidate the Hindu vote, divide the Muslims.

"India is 80% Hindu. If we rally the Hindu vote and wean away 7% of the Muslim population to our side, we will win the elections. There are sharp divisions in the community. The Shias, Barelvis and Ahmadis are already aligned with the BJP. There’s nothing called a consolidated Muslim vote-bank. Look at the brutal persecution of Shias in Pakistan. The strategy should be clear. Unite the Hindus under one flag and divide the Muslims."

But, the NDA cannot capture power on its own. With a polarizing figure like Modi at the helm, BJP remains an untouchable for its former allies — BJD, Trinamool Congress and TDP. Swamy is quick to rebut this theory. “Don’t forget, Naidu, Mamata and Patnaik joined the NDA bandwagon just after the Ayodhya movement and the Babri demolition. It’s all about coming close to the magic figure. The wind is blowing in NDA’s favour.” he said. And while party president Rajnath Singh does a deft balancing act on Hindutva, Swamy minces no words on espousing the Ayodhya plank. “If Modi becomes PM, the Ram temple will definitely be built in Ayodhya. There’s no going back on this issue. We will take the legal route and convince Muslims. The temple was always on BJP’s agenda and Ayodhya was a rallying point for the NDA in 1998.”

Swamy may now be a darling of the Sangh, but he remains a political paradox, having swiftly switched political allegiances in the past.