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BJP goes back to Ram mantra |
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Immediately after taking over as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, L.K. Advani has invoked the Hindutva plank and said the party would not compromise on its ideology. He said the party is committed to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya even if it had to pay a political price for it. Addressing the party’s National Council meeting in New Delhi, the former Deputy Prime Minister declared that if the Vajpayee Government had been returned to power, the construction of the Ram temple would have begun by now. Advani emphasised that the party cannot and must not ignore its ideological constituency and ideological parivar (RSS family).
Advani disclosed that the Vajpayee Government had been on the verge of finding a solution to the Ayodhya temple issue before the Lok Sabha elections. He said this would have been through a settlement between the Hindus and the Muslims which was the best way to solve the problem. Saying that the BJP led NDA Government held talks with both Hindu and Muslim leaders, Advani said the parties involved were in favour of arriving at a consensus after the Lok Sabha elections.
Observers say that with L.K. Advani returning as BJP president, the party is set for a more aggressive role in politics. This was reinforced by the fact that tough talking second generation leaders like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former Law Minister Arun Jaitely were chosen to present the political resolution at the National Council meeting. The resolution made a sharp attack on the Congress and the Left parties.
Ironically, the party leaders are again harping on making the BJP a party with a difference. This is despite the fact that the voters primarily rejected the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections as it came to be perceived as a ‘B’ team reflection of the Congress so far as corruption and misuse of power is concerned. There was very little indication at the National Council meeting of how the BJP would end the stigma of just being a worse reflection of the Congress culture. The lifestyle of the BJP leaders does not show that there is any serious attempt to return to make the BJP a party with a difference. Significantly, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Acharya Dharmendra commenting on the changes in the BJP said there is no need to change faces, the policies need to be changed.
Venkaiah Naidu who made way for L.K. Advani as party president after the defeat in the Maharashtra elections, says that he is disillusioned with politics. He said political parties are forced to make too many compromises, especially in the coalition era. Naidu said he is thinking of working as a social activist although he would continue to make his services available to the BJP.
Advani’s new team
L.K. Advani has named a new team of party office bearers after taking over as president. Five general secretaries, Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitely, Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Sanjay Joshi, have been retained from the Venkaiah Naidu team. The only new general secretary in the list is former Union Minister and Karnataka leader, Anantha Kumar. There were reports that Uma Bharati who had stepped down as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, would also be inducted as general secretary. But she reportedly told Advani that she would not be part of the general secretaries team as Pramod Mahajan whom she considers as her principal “baiter” has been retained as general secretary. A party leader said : “What message does the party intend to send to the rank and file including a person who had worked against Uma Bharti’s Tiranga Yatra. Arun Jaitely, however, said that it was L.K. Advani’s prerogative to pick a team of his choice and he had done so after due consultations.
Observers say that Advani’s team does not reflect any serious thinking on a party revamp to regain the people’s support. Five of the six general secretaries belong to the upper castes, of whom four are Brahmins. There is only one general secretary from a backward caste. This may not make for the party expanding its base when more than 80 per cent of the people in the country belong to the so called lower and backward castes.
All the seven vice presidents under Venkaiah Naidu have been left untouched. A new addition is Kishan Singh Sanghwan who was secretary earlier. Notable first timers in the National Executive are Najma Heptullah, Varun Gandhi and Vijay Kapoor. Arif Mohammad Khan who joined the party a few months back, has been made a special invite. Madan Lal Khurana who gave up the Rajasthan Governor’s post and Kailashpati Mishra also find a place in the National Executive. Ved Prakash Goel is back in his job as party treasurer.
With L.K. Advani taking over as BJP president and also continuing as the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, party cadres are confused about the role to be played by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. L.K. Advani retaining two positions was thought to be a not so veiled message to Vajpayee that he should call it a day. But when Vajpayee made the concluding speech at the BJP national council meeting he said nothing to suggest that it was farewell time. Party sources were in for a surprise when Vajpayee harped on the UPA government’s contradictions and instability and asked the party to be in readiness to face a mid-term poll. He was tantalisingly silent on the question of who would lead the BJP in such an eventuality.
NDA allies angry at Advani’s temple talk
Many of the allies of the BJP in the National Democratic Alliance have reacted sharply to L.K. Advani’s assertion that the party will not give up its commitment to building a Ram temple at Ayodhya. Janata Dal (United) president George Fernandes said he would talk to Advani about the BJP’s Hindutva agenda. He said before joining the NDA we had laid conditions that the BJP would drop controversial issues like Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code etc. Reports say that the JD(U) is divided over continuing its ties with the BJP. According to party sources, both Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav are keen on dumping the BJP and joining hands with the anti-Lalu secular forces in Bihar. A JD(U) leader is quoted as saying that the party in Bihar is opposed only to Lalu Prasad Yadav. “We have never been opposed to Sonia Gandhi or the Congress, and we are keen to uphold the secular fabric of the country.” Barring George Fernandes, who has developed close ties with the BJP leadership, most of the JD(U) leaders prefer the Congress, sources said.
Ram Bilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party has indicated that it is open to the idea of forging an electoral tie up with the Janata Dal (United) provided it breaks its ties with the BJP. Ram Bilas Paswan has already broken his ties with the RJD and is exploring the possibility of either having an alliance with the JD(U) or fighting the coming elections in Bihar on his party’s own strength. The JD(U) is also facing a crisis in Jharkhand with four of its MLAs leaving the party and forming a separate group.
The Akali Dal has indicated that it would rethink its options in case the BJP revived the Ram Temple issue. Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said if the BJP wanted to continue with its allies, it would have to stick to the same line that it had adopted during its years in power.
The Telugu Desam Party has not taken kindly to the remarks of L.K. Advani about the construction of Ram Temple. Party sources said that former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders have taken serious note of the change in the BJP’s stand. The sources said that it will severely damage the TDP if the electoral alliance with the BJP in Andhra Pradesh is continued even after Advani’s remarks on the Ayodhya temple issue.
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