Kiran Bedi’s presence and her stature would galvanize BJP workers. Her presence would make them counter Kejriwal’s barbs. Once she goes out in the field, enthusiastic workers would find their voice again. And Tiwari and Mukhi will have no option but to add to the chorus.

Manoj Tiwari is a good singer; he should concentrate on singing. Sounds similar to Kiran Bedi’s retort to Kumar Vishwas, when she asked him to focus on writing ‘damdar’ poetry instead of comparing her with traitor Jaichand? Yes, but this is exactly the advice for Tiwari and other BJP leaders who sulking because of Bedi’s induction in the BJP: start singing her praise.

No amount of heartburn, sulking or public display of anger will force Amit Shah and Narendra Modi to reverse the decision of projecting Bedi as the party’s CM candidate. Tiwari, Jagdish Mukhi, Harshvardhan and Satish Upadhyaya will have to ultimately fall in line and march behind Bedi.

First, Modi is not Vajpayee; he is Indira Gandhi: It is becoming increasingly clear that Modi and Shah are taking all the important decisions, which are then relayed to others with the fiat to implement them. Bedi decided to join the BJP only after meeting the PM, who assured her that she would be the CM if BJP wins the election. And Modi is not the kind of person who would change his decision or a renege on a promise just because some of his underlings are unhappy.

It would be tempting to call Modi authoritarian and criticize Shah for turning the BJP into a personal fief. But the BJP has suffered because of a weak leadership and intra-party rivalries during the Vajpayee era. One of the famous examples of the damage BJP inflicted upon itself was the pre-Modi Gujarat, where the constant wrangling between Shankar Singh Vaghela, Keshubhai Patel, Suresh Mehta and Sanjay Joshi culminated in open rebellion and public displays of strength for several years. This wrangling ended only after Modi became the CM and threw out most of the rebels.

So, Modi knows the risk of giving too much attention to dissent. He may be from the BJP, but Modi’s style—of foisting people of his choice as state leaders—is inspired by Indira Gandhi, who was famous for selecting and removing CMs like office furniture.

Two, Kiran has Tina working for her: Modi and Shah would have been happier implementing the Maharashtra, Haryana formula of not declaring a CM candidate. That was the original plan. But during the campaign they realized that the BJP would be knocked out because it was not offering an alternative to Arvind Kejriwal. Since November, in every opinion poll the BJP’s popularity was steadily declining and the lead over AAP was decreasing. Some independent polls even suggested that the AAP had moved ahead of the BJP and would continue to gain till the elections. Bedi was brought in as a desperate measure to regain lost ground after every other state BJP leader was rejected by people in internal surveys conducted by the BJP. Bluntly put, Bedi was the BJP’s only choice. Naturally, it can’t even think of clipping her wings now even if other party leaders try to undercut her.

Three, cadres matter, leaders don’t: There was a time when voters used to listen to powerful local leaders and their voting behavior was influenced by them. But in the age of TV, parties communicate with voters directly, obviating the need for intermediaries. In a small state like Delhi, their role is diminished further because it is possible for the CM candidate to visit most of the constituencies. Kejriwal has already held rallies and meetings in most of the constituencies; Bedi plans to do that over the next few weeks. But maintaining the morale of the workers who mobilize voters and bring them to booths is critical in urban constituencies. Over the past few weeks, the BJP workers were getting disheartened because of Kejriwal’s resurgence and the lack of enthusiasm for Mukhi, Upadhyaya and other CM-hopefuls in the BJP.

Kiran Bedi’s presence and her stature would galvanize BJP workers. Her presence would make them counter Kejriwal’s barbs. Once she goes out in the field, enthusiastic workers would find their voice again. And Tiwari and Mukhi will have no option but to add to the chorus.