Given present trends, it is possible that BJP will repeat the Congress’s trajectory All indicators demonstrate that the Congress is suffering from a terminal disease. What is not so evident is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is beginning to suffer from the same malaise. There are three major ingredients that determine the health of a political party in a democracy: shared ideology, dedicated cadres, and inner party democracy. All of them have been absent in the Congress for decades. Charisma can be fickle Inner party democracy was never a major characteristic of the BJP as it was the top brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that decided who would lead its political arm. This tradition continues with one major difference. Earlier, even the tallest leaders of the party including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani could not create a cult of personality around them thanks in part to the RSS’s control. This has changed drastically under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The fortunes of the party have become inextricably tied to the durability of Mr. Modi’s charisma. Echoes of “Indira is India” can be heard in the slogan “