Despite the high-sounding call of Thakre after coronation of
Vajpayee as Prime minister (Raj Tilak ki Karo Tayyari), from the way the political
events are unfolding, one gets the impression that all is not well within the BJP.
Politically the BJP has to contend with the following aspects in
its governance now:
a. To come to terms with practical politics and manage pressure
from RSS on Sangh ideology.
b. Managing the coalition with disparate groups with different
objectives but brought together by a common agenda for governance.
c. Damage control after Kalyan Singh's exit and the policy
towards Backwards.
The party with its a moderate face in Mr. Vajpayee may have
succeeded in capturing power in the country but the puritans in Sangh Parivar are seen to
be under severe constraint to re-invigorate and re-dedicate their cadres to the cherished
ideals of the party and the noble task of nation building, as desired by Mr. Thakre during
the National Executive meet. President Kushabhau Thakre and General Secretaries,
Govindacharya as well as Narendra Modi were Pracharaks of RSS, but drafted to the BJP for
promoting the Sangh ideology in Indian politics. Though, they never contested elections,
their role as monitors and strategists had always kept them in a high profile. For these
bachelor leaders, political power hardly mattered if it was unable to pursue the Sangh
ideology. They feel that the BJP in terms of RSS ideology has not come up to their
expectations.
Thakre in his Presidential address put up a brave front and said,
in the bipolar polity which emerged from 1999 Lok-Sabha election, the BJP was a dominant
pole. But these leaders due to their commitment to RSS traditions are learnt to be of the
view that the dominant pole has become the prisoner of junior partners in the coalition
government at centre.. Kushabhau Thakre has already said that he was not interested in a
second term as President of the party for which election is scheduled next year. These
leaders, compelled to accept the ground reality of coalition Dharma, feel helpless to
maintain the ideological mascot of the BJP.
Most of the Party leaders with strong RSS inclination find
themselves at the cross roads in a situation more confusing than ever. To them the BJP led
NDA government has hardly anything substantial to offer to Sangh Parivar befitting its
ideological or political philosophy. With Ayodhya in cold storage, Swadeshi becoming a
slogan of the past, recent pronouncement of Vajpayee for constitutional amendment to
overcome the verdict of Supreme Court on reservations issue appears to them to be in
pursuit of a vote bank and against the known stand of the RSS. The seemingly conflicting
statement of party leaders over Ayodhya controversy, which has generated a furore in
parliament, appears to be another fallout from this state of confusion.
The BJP parliamentary party in its emergency meeting ( December,
14, 1999 ), chaired by Mr. Vajpayee, declared that though the temple issue was a part of
BJP agenda, it had been left out of the common minimum programme of the coalition
government. This exercise was carried out to satisfy the junior partners in the coalition
government, but what about the growing disenchantment among the puritans in the party over
the approach of Vajpayee on issues related to the political philosophy of the BJP?
L.K..Advani and M.M.Joshi, the two senior most leaders in Union Cabinet and known to be
the real face of the BJP, do not appear to be in a position to push through any of the
political agenda of the party. Being accused and charge-sheeted in Babari Mosque
demolition case, their moves are under the close scrutiny of anti-BJP forces. The
month-long nation wide Vande Mataram programme, chalked out by Union Ministry of Culture,
Youth Affairs, and Sports was launched by Advani on December,11, 1999 at Tirunelveli in
Tamil Nadu. The programme, which commenced with the birth anniversary of Tamil poet
Subramanya Bharati will culminate at Ahmedabad on January 12 next year on the birth
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. This government-sponsored programme which reportedly has
the approval of the Prime Minister Vajpayee was proclaimed to be for national resurgence
in a new millennium but anti-BJP forces are learnt to be viewing it as an attempt to push
through the hidden agenda of the BJP.
On December 6, 1999, the seventh anniversary of Babari Mosque
demolition, the opposition in parliament made a loud demand for resignation of L.K.Advani
and M.M.Joshi, and Ms Uma Bharati from Union Cabinet on the ground of their being accused
in the Mosque demolition case. Revival of this issue by the opposition might be a
blessing in disguise for the cadres of the Vishva Hindu Parishad. They are encouraged with
the statement of their General Secretary, Acharya Giriraj Kishore that- When the stones
are ready it will not need much time to put together the temple. This has caused
embarrassment to the Prime Minister who does not appear to be in a position to keep the
leaders of Sangh Parivar under control.
The outburst of Kalyan Singh, the former BJP Chief Minister of
U.P. against the party leadership over his expulsion from the party on December, 9, 1999
that - "the party had signed its death warrant" was his natural reaction.
However, his assessment of mobilising the non-Yadava backward castes in the state
continues to haunt the minds of the party leaders. Though, they are confident, that Kalyan
Singh will meet the same fate of S.S.Vaghela, the set back of the party during Lok-Sabha
election in the state has prompted the leadership to search for a formula to counter
Kalyan Singh, who is likely to sink with the BJP in next assembly election in the state.
Of late, a larger section of government employees, educated
middle class and intellectuals who were a force behind Vajpayee in Lok-Sabha election are
found critical of him for initiating constitutional amendment on reservation issue. They
are surprised to see the Prime Minister reviving the politics of reservation, which is
hardly a solution to fill up the wide gap in education, health facilities, unemployment,
and other basic needs of the social sector. This was not the part of the manifesto of the
NDA on which the election was contested. By reviving this contentious issue, the BJP might
loosen its grip on upper caste voters further, who were found to be swinging towards
Congress in U.P. during the last Lok-Sabha election.
Instead of inspiring the electorate for nation building exercise,
it is unclear why the BJP is taking up issues which aggravate social disharmony when there
are more pressing issues to be dealt with. If the country can wait for the court verdict
on issue like Ayodhya, what was the urgency for Mr. Vajpayee to initiate constitutional
amendment for neutralising the judicial verdict on reservation issue? This will hardly
benefit the deserving candidates, as the creamy layers will again usurp it. The Sangh
leadership, which had floated a Samajik Samarasata Manch to counter the fall out of
the implementation of Mandal Commission report is known to be unhappy with the recent
decision of the Vajpayee government on reservation. This perilous trend, which is likely
to affect the BJP adversely in future, demands right concept in governance. The dominant
pole should therefore, be cautious against the trap of its adversaries both from within as
well as from outside, who might be interested to pursue their own hidden agenda in the
name of social justice. Vajpayee, who has reached the highest position of his
political career, is also expected by party cadres to shoulder a larger responsibility to
place the BJP, of which he was the founder president at the right place in history.
National Democratic Alliance is a laboratory for a country of
pluralistic society like India. The experiments that are expected to be carried out on the
basis of the experience of over half a century of governance are to put in place a
political order that will last the next fifty years. All the political parties have
more or less accepted the reality of coalition politics. By pursuing piecemeal
amendments in the constitution, the BJP in its search for a viable political order,
appears to be floundering. In going for short term gains in vote banks by tinkering
with social engineering, the party will lose its credibility on its claims of being a
party with a difference.
R. Upadhyay
16.12.99
Regional Adviser. E-mail: Ramashray60@yahoo.com
