Why Jaswant Singh fell:
1) He had served in the party for 30 long years. He was also the external minister in BJP's rule. His support base was big, he had made several contributions to the party and India during his time in the govt and he was well-liked and respected even outside his party. Poor Mr. Singh must have thought that he was an indispensable cog in the party, more so being an honest party worker. He thought he was an important part of BJP.

2) But the so-called "Next Generation" of the BJP had little regard for that (or maybe it was just Rajnath Singh with his desire to seem macho, or maybe some "invisible" forces acting in the party??).

3) Jaswant Singh antagonized too many people at one time. He antagonized Advani and Jaitley by putting forth his logic of "Parinam" and "Puraskar". No one uses Hindi terms now a days in logic. He also antagonized Sushma Swaraj by pointing out that she was more junior than her and still she got the Deputy Leader post in Lok Sabha. He antagonized the RSS and the hard-liners in BJP by his book on Jinnah.
In politics, this is a strict no-no. Antagonizing so many people in one shot? Maybe it works if you kill two birds in one shot. But if you are just going to hurt them, and the birds are in politics, you better watch out.

4) Singh thought he was saying the same thing that Advani said a couple of years back, so he could take shelter in that argument. But Advani was essential then, he was the PM-in-waiting, Jaswant Singh was clearly dispensible. MP from Darjeeling? Who cares a damn for that? With 116 MPs anyways, who cares if it becomes 115?

5) Suprise, Suprise! The same leaders who were antagonized by Jaswant Singh now form part of the very committee that decides the future direction of the party! Under the garb of ridding party of factionalism and bringing the crumbling party together after its Lok Sabha loss, they act on Jaswant Singh. And boy, do they show all the others who dare to disagree with the "High Command" !

What to watch out for now in the BJP:

1) Watch out for a more hypocrite BJP.

2) Watch how BJP becomes more Hindutva-oriented and tries to dangle some carrots of development now and then, without really doing it anywhere except Gujarat. Also watch out for some statements about "National movement against price rise" and "Nation-wide agitation against UPA's collusion with terrorists" and such garbage...

3) Watch out for the executions of the likes of Arun Shourie and maybe, Yashwant Sinha next (if he doesnt keep his bloody mouth shut!)

4) Watch out how several development-minded, educated youngsters feel discouraged and disillusioned by the acts of the party. If difference of opinion is not being tolerated in the name of maintaining party discipline, should all the workers be doing only what a dozen people in the High Command think?

5) Watch out for some farcical statements out of the "Chintan Baithak"

Maybe I am being too pessimistic. Polyticks is a rapidly changing game. Who knows, maybe Jaswant Singh may be re-inducted on the condition of being more passive? Maybe things will go in the right direction, with the new leaders showing some vision for the party in the future? Its possible, but given the recent happenings, it seems highly unlikely.

Another interesting observation is how devastated the party becomes after each defeat in the LS polls....crumbles further. On the other hand, since BJP came to be established in 1980, it lost several LS elections before finally coming to power in 1998. But everytime, after every loss, the party emerged stronger. What we see now is exactly the opposite.

I wonder what you - the readers - think are the reasons why this is happening. Hunger for power? Visionless leadership? Lack of tall leaders? Normal cycle of politics? Anything else? Please post a comment noting your view.

UPDATE:
Here's a nice cartoon by Shreyas Navare, a cartoonist at Hindustan Times on the Singh fiasco.