The 15th Lok Sabha elections due in 2009, are gearing all the parties to prepare their best and the BJP is revising its strategy for its best foot front.  The real significance of the Gujarat victory and the happy bonhomie in the party is that they marked the first test for the parivar and its political wing in the post-Vajpayee era. In Gujarat, the mandatory rallies of Vajpayee might even have been an embarrassment to Modi who had won on his own mix of asmita and localized Hindutva.
Vajpayee had always avoided taking responsibility in day-to-day party running. Instead, his role has been at three levels. As the best crowd puller, he has been the main campaigner for the BJP, especially among the Hindi hinterland’s Brahmins. Even while Advani had the full control of the party, his only hurdle was a final endorsement from Vajpayee.

In 2003, Mahajan used the long time available for him to effect a change of leadership, toning up the governments and for organizational ground work. He had tried different models on the basis of the situations prevailing in different states. The new poll managers were rather late to realize the difficulty of sustaining the tempo of such a high-pitched campaign for so long. The BJP’s decision to put off as many as ten rallies had come later in the day after hard calculations of the ground reality. Even the budget session of Parliament was mentioned in defense of the campaign pause. With the regional parties and Congress refusing to waste their energy so early, the local BJP leaders had reported lukewarm response to the mobilization plans. They all have reported formation of booth-level committees. But in the absence of the poll mood, they just remain a list of names. Another worry was that the rallies and campaigns in states like UP, Jharkhand, AP and Maharashtra will distract assembly election campaign in Karnataka, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh where the BJP has a bigger stake.

Another issue is what to do with the publicity vehicles equipped with videos and pamphlets. Publicity will have to be customized for each state. And by the time the BJP’s vehicles move on, the focus may have to be changed. The results first in Karnataka and then in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh will have to be factored in any serious campaign for the next year’s general election. In the recent meeting of the BJP’s National executive a myriad of issues were raised but the entire exercise proved to be futile as both the Prime Minister is waiting as well as the party chief failed to put forward any clear cut prescription for reversing the electoral fortunes of the party. If the meeting was meant to showcase the party as a serious contender of power amidst speculations of the approaching elections it certainly did not send the required message down the line. The exercise only served to make a replay of the earlier resolutions with everyone taking refuge in high sounding words in praise of the Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. The outcome of the session was as vague as the rampant confusion riling the party cadres.