BJP’s acquisition-and-alliance strategy is key to its expansion

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

BJP would enter the 2024 electoral ring with four of its state units headed by not rank BJP insiders but leaders who have joined from other parties, of which two are ex-Congress. At one point, this would have been considered impossible in a party in which attaining a post was seen as an outcome of the years spent within the fold mastering the larger ideological purpose. But that’s clearly changed with the evolution of a leadership-based acquisition-cum-alliance building strategy from a position of strength — a significant shift from the coalition politics of the 1990s and 2000s, which were built around common minimum agendas reflecting fractured mandates of the day.

This is not to say BJP has compromised on ideology. In fact, quite the opposite. The party’s commitment to its core ideology has found greater expression and commitment.

What’s changed, however, is to not let that alone dictate progression within the party. This comes with an implicit recognition of the fact that if BJP has to increase its electoral footprint in the long run, it must look at acquiring talent externally — especially in places where its own leadership is weak or non-existent. The recent appointments of Sunil Jakhar as BJP Punjab unit president, a post he held for Congress until two years ago, and D Purandeswari, a minister in the UPA government until she parted ways, as head of BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit, point to a loosening of rigidity norms to hasten the process of building leadership through an acquisition route.