Inside BJP’s centralization: Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay on Modi’s grip | SpeakEasy-Episode 3

In the third episode of Frontline’s SpeakEasy, independent journalist Amit Baruah is in conversation with Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, journalist and author who has closely tracked the BJP and the Sangh Parivar for decades, to unpack the political meaning behind the appointment of Nitin Nabin as BJP’s working president. Mukhopadhyay argues that Nabin’s elevation is less about organisational renewal and more about tightening the grip of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah over the party apparatus. He examines how the BJP has normalised a culture of diminished leadership, sidelining mass leaders in favour of low-profile figures who pose no internal challenge—mirroring the Congress’s historic collapse into personality-driven politics. The conversation ranges widely—from media’s monochromatic coverage of the BJP, the erosion of internal party democracy, and the blurring of lines between party and government, to the changing power equation between the BJP and the RSS. Mukhopadhyay traces how the RSS, once an equal ideological force, has been reduced to a subordinate partner, intervening only selectively, as seen during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.