The dictum of Dharmasya Moolam Arthah ((धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः – One requires money to do the desired and right (Dharmik) things) is a profound and a practical one. The same idea is expressed more directly in a Hindi proverb – Bhookhe Bhajan na Hoye Gopala, भूखे भजन न होय गोपाला (if a person is hungry, she cannot sustain singing paeans of God).

After the announcement of the 2024 election results, various analysts and media personnel started analyzing the shocking performance of the BJP-led NDA in the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. As a person who is interested in political developments, I also started discussing the developments with my friends and acquaintances. Since my roots are in UP, I was in a much better position to connect with my friend circle in various cities of UP. In particular, I reached out to various relatives, friends, and Dharamshala owners (where I had stayed) and discussed the reasons for the defeat in various constituencies of UP.

Various causes were discussed, and a detailed discussion of each of them is beyond the scope of this article. In this article I will confine the discussion to only one issue – the lack of financial support to the cadres by the BJP and the larger RW ecosystem. Further, the data on this topic has come from inhabitants of three cities in UP – Varanasi, Ayodhya and Lucknow. While the sample size is decidedly small, the near-universal existence of this phenomenon in various RW organizations is evident to anyone who has worked in the RW ecosystem for some time.

Lack of Financial Support – Setting the Context

Let me set the context by recalling a conversation from the year 2015. Narendra Modi led the BJP government in the center, and Devendra Fadnavis was the CM of Maharashtra. I met a committed right-leaning[1] author based in Mumbai way back in 2015. This person had left his media career in order to work for his tradition and Parampara. He had published multiple articles in the organizer and had also written a few books. We had a detailed discussion, and he expressed his irritation and disillusionment that he could not be accommodated in any of the academic or government / semi-government positions. The person felt that he was abandoned and left to fend for himself, even when the resources were there, and the dispensation both at the center and the state was that of RW (BJP).

Over the last ten years, I have heard similar grouse from multiple quarters, specifically those in the intelligentsia. Most of them compared the situation under the BJP government to that under the Congress government. A near unanimity was that the Congress used to take care of its cadres, particularly financial matters, in a much better manner. After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power, they set a new record in accommodating their supporters in various positions, even going to the extent of “creating” jobs (refer to this link). The way AAP doled out “incentives,” not only to their workers but also to the media at large was unprecedented.

As committed RW workers observed this, they were irritated. The old-school seniors continued to serve silently, but the more ambitious and less spendthrift younger crowd were decidedly uneasy. Evidence of this could be seen from the more popular RW YouTube channels. Nearly every RW channel starts and ends with a request for financial support. They often repeat that while the opposite camp (read Left-Liberal ecosystem) was getting money from various sources, including foreign collaborators, they (RW people) were left to fend for themselves and hence needed support from the audience. Many of these popular channels (for example, Ajeet Bharti or Abhishek Tiwari) often criticize the BJP IT cell for not supporting them enough despite having resources. If one reads between the lines, they often lament the lack of financial support from the larger and more resourceful body, which is the BJP IT Cell.

Lack of Financial Support to Cadre and its Effect on 2024 Elections

Under PM Modi and Amit Shah, the electoral “Chanakya,” the BJP established itself as the party with a formidable election machine. The case study of Panna-Pramukh and Ardh-Panna-Pramukh was touted in multiple informal political discussions.

However, this widely publicized machinery could not deliver the goods in 2024. Multiple residents in my society confirmed that, unlike in previous years, they were not approached by the BJP/RSS members or Saraswati Shishu Mandir teachers. Further, no pramukh (either panna or ardh-panna) had approached them. My friends in other cities and various social media handles also reported similar findings. On the other hand, senior citizens reported that the election commission machinery did reach them and helped them to cast votes. These reports showcase that the famed BJP booth-level machinery performed worse than the government machinery, an organization that is ridiculed for its Babudom or Red-Tapeism.

I now want to highlight the reports from Varanasi, where PM Modi himself was lagging in few initial rounds and was able to win by a substantially reduced margin (According to the Election Commission’s data, in 2024, PM Modi won by a margin of 1,52,513. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, PM Modi won by a margin of 4,79,505 votes, a reduction of 68 % in the winning margin). The Kashi sources informed that the booth-level machinery of the BJP almost collapsed. In fact, it was the efforts of a few extremely committed cadres of the BJP and PM Modi’s popularity that saved the day for the PM.

We will now discuss the main point of this article – why did the booth-level machinery of the BJP collapse?

This collapse happened because the basic amenities – food, daily allowance, and transit allowance were not given to booth-level workers. “Bhookhe Bhajan na hoye Gopala” was on full display for the BJP workers. There was no one to take care of the basic requirements of the workers, and therefore, it was no surprise that the number of workers eventually dwindled. One of the sources clearly said – “Bhaiyya, aadmi sewa kar sakta hai, par kam se kam petrol ka paisa to mile. Ab petrol bhi jeb se bharwana ho to seva kab tak sambhav hai? (Brother, a person can do free service, but (the planners) should ensure that at least money for fuel is reimbursed. If we have to pay for the petrol from our pocket, how long can we sustain doing such a service.”). It is important to add here that we are not commenting on whether the BJP central campaign team allocated booth-level payment. We are only highlighting the fact that money did not reach the intended BJP booth-level cadre.

In Varanasi, there was a connected issue. It was the talk of the town that in multiple projects, the Gujarati contractors have made huge sums of money. There is no way to identify the veracity of this claim. We can, however, convey that this rumor created cynicism and mistrust and did much damage to the “Hindu Hriday Samrat’ image of Narendra Modi. While people agreed that Modiji was incorruptible, he acquired a Manmohan Singhesque image because he supposedly tolerated the corruption of the Gujaratis. This one rumor perhaps affected the image of PM Modi more than the constant diatribe of Adani-Ambani influence. Common people who aimed to benefit from such projects (small contractors, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, suppliers) but did not get orders or did not get hired readily believed these rumors and, in turn, shared this andhergardi (lawlessness) with their close circle. As mentioned, people were ready to ignore the Adani-Ambani taunts. Still, they could not ignore the fact that the various projects were indeed running in their city, and the cascading benefit of the development did not reach their friends to the desired extent.

The second issue in Varanasi was related to land acquisitions. Multiple cases of corruption in land acquisitions were reported, and folklores of swindling by over-evaluation of property were commonly discussed in the chai stalls and Paan shops in Banaras. In short, no Banarasi denied that development was there, but the discontent now emerged because the locals did not get a share in the pie.

The land-acquisition situation was no different in Ayodhya, where the narrative of less payment to the affective persons gained an even higher currency. The deluge of visitors in Ayodhya was huge. Media was reporting the huge receipt of donations, which was touted to be in crores per day. Yes, Ram Mandir was built, but what about equitable distribution of sudden inflow of money? One local BJP leader said – Bhaiyya, jyada hi lalach kiya inhone. Zameen li mandir ke paas ki. Uska paisa ya to diya nahin ya kahin door zameen de rahe hain. Arre Karono Chadava aata hai, jyada paisa de dete. Ek family ka matlab – 5 votes. (Brother, these folks actually were a tad greedier than required. They acquired land that is close to the temple. They didn’t pay proper compensation or gave land that was far away (and lower priced). They are getting tens of millions of donations every day; why couldn’t they pay more to the displaced family? One family means 5 votes (One disgruntled family means 5 votes to the opposition).

Now, let us discuss a mini-case of Lucknow, where some old party workers were asked to ensure that they provide food for 20 booth-level workers. This approach can be considered slightly better and shows that someone is taking care of the ground-level worker. However, this approach only showcases that the buck has been shifted from the bottom of the pyramid to the lower middle of the pyramid. In the specific case of Lucknow, the supporters were asked to foot the bill of 20 people in a fortnight-long campaign. One such BJP loyalist told me that he was not after getting any undue favors from the party and simply wanted to run his shop. He was well aware of the political funding that a party like the BJP enjoys and asked whether it was fair to leave the entire burden on people who support them. His point was that now that the party could afford it, a more professional approach could be planned without forcing the expenses on day-to-day workers and thereby penalizing supporters for their loyalty.

The fault of the BJP is that it missed these ground-level sentiments, and that clearly means that the MPs and MLAs were not keeping their ear to the ground or, worse, no one was ready to convey the bad news to the king. What was amazing was that not only the BJP but all major exit pollsters also missed these signals.

Going a bit deeper – Identifying the source of lack of financial support to cadres

Even if we categorize Varanasi and Ayodhya as isolated cases, the issue that the BJP lets the cadres fend for themselves has some merit. Although this article focuses on financial aspects, the apathy of the central leadership of the BJP to the mistreatment of its West Bengal BJP cadres is a case in point. But where does this approach spring from?

This article proposes that this apathy emerges from the practices of the larger BJP-RSS ecosystem, where a field worker has to find a living for himself. PM Modi had recounted on more than one occasion that there were times when he was not sure whether he would get the next meal. As a student closely associated with ABVP, I saw a similar need for more funds. This voluntary approach has apparently worked for RSS as a social organization, but for a political organization like BJP that has to campaign effectively, the ground-level machinery cannot be expected to fend for itself. The entire machinery has to be logistically supported so that the workers focus on quelling rumors, countering opposition propaganda, and reporting ground-level developments, and similar activities without any distraction.    

The Pretension that Money is not important

Upon analysing further, we find that there is also a less studied issue of Hindus avoiding “money matters” for collective or community work. The author has experienced it firsthand. At IIT Bombay, as part of student-run initiatives, we wanted to invite a few known literary and social voices. Long discussions were done on the persons to be invited, on the topics, Q&A, selecting Master of Ceremonies etc. But for some reason, everyone was silent on how the guest would reach IIT Bombay. How to plan for the stay or the food of the guest? These matters were considered mundane, and the “Prabuddha” Hindus assumed that things would take care of themselves. Surprisingly, even though these things were discussed at the last by the organizers, these issues are usually most important for the invited speakers. This tendency can be seen in any Hindu community event.

One more important point. While the Hindus keep silent about discussing logistical arrangements for a community function (lest they should be burdened with it), they are very susceptible to receiving benefits. Many aggressive RW voices (e.g., Vaibhav Singh or Ajeet Bharti) point out that Hindus are irritated when Muslims get houses. The author had a different experience. By nature and temperament, the Hindu does not mind if a poor person, even a non-Hindu, gets benefits, but the Hindu is more sensitive to her needs. So, as long as a Hindu also gets a toilet or house, she is happy. The key is to identify that the average Hindus, despite pretensions of being non-worldly, are acutely aware of their personal benefits and are ready to get free personal benefits at the first instance.

Difference in the quality of volunteer and paid work

I have had the experience of working with two non-government Dharmik organizations closely and, in this process, have noted the stark difference in the work output of volunteers and workers who were paid. In both organizations, we engaged some volunteers to write or translate articles. It may be noted that the jobs were assigned to those who promised to do seva and showed interest; however, after a short while, one of the two things happened. Either the volunteers left after writing (or translating) one article (perhaps they realized the effort involved), or the article that they produced was of extremely poor quality. Steadily, we learned, through hard experience, that despite high moral ground by emotional Hindus, we could not depend on volunteers or poorly trained Hindus for any serious academic work. 

On the other hand, the experience of working with professional workers who were paid timely was simply great. In both organizations, high-quality work with consistent efficiency was done by the paid employees. It may be noted that we did hire people who had Dharmik Drishti and were committed to the task, but the key point was that we took care of the material needs of these contributors, so they focused on their work without any distractions.

Conclusion

If we look at the Semitic ideologies, they have promised tangible benefits to their residents, which has resulted in not only keeping their flock united but, in fact, increasing it. In the Vyavaharika realm, the Hindus cannot merely rely on higher ideals such as inner satisfaction and seva. It is extremely important to provide decent remuneration for the service provided and to not rely on volunteer services. As mentioned above, a ground-level worker can focus on her work only if her household runs smoothly.

The BJP would do better to remember the dictum of (धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः) Dharmasaya Moolam Arthah. The Dharmik or the righteous activities can only be done if proper availability of money and resources are there. Instead of avoiding the money aspect or leaving it to Seth ji or Koshadhyaksha (treasurer), due attention should be paid to this aspect by top leaders. 

In the 2024 elections, the BJP messed up on multiple grounds but one avenue that they can immediately rectify is the financial compensation part. We have the following specific recommendations:

• Clearly allocate funds for various ground-level activities along with some discretionary spending. This motivates the leader and increases her social standing.
• Clearly develop a booth-level committee and ensure that money reaches the booth-level workers directly.  
• Reach out to the displaced householders and, apart from genuine apologies, hand out substantial amounts.
• Ensure that both in Ayodhya and Kashi, local contractors and suppliers are given various supply orders and work orders. 
• Ensure that prominent RW voices on YouTube and social media are given some financial support. Most of them are already committed and a steady (even though small) inflow will further motivate them.

[1] The term Right Leaning or RW” will be used multiple times in this article. The author wants to emphasize that he uses this term to include Dharmik individuals who are either BJP or RSS members or have been working in the area of Hindu / Dharmik Parampara and tradition. For the author, an average RW is one who has affection and reverence for Bhartiya Bhoomi and Bhartiya Parampara.  

-Anupam Sharma