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BJP plans : UP roadblock

	January 07, 2008

The BJP is upbeat after its election victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, with senior leader L.K. Advani talking of the party being on the comeback trail at the Centre, but the party faces a big road block in the form of Uttar Pradesh, ob¬servers say. The state, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, remains a weak spot for the party, which was demonstrated once again by the poor performance of the party candidate in the Ballia byelection. The party candidate secured a little over 22,000 votes, losing his deposit.



BJP leaders admit that their endeavour to regain power at the Centre cannot succeed unless and until the party re-establishes its hold in Uttar Pradesh. The party’s support base has been shrinking gradually since the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, with the major castes that once formed its backbone shifting their allegiance to alternative political destinations. The party finished a poor third in last year’s Assembly elections, winning only 50 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.



With the party’s attempt to regain its support base in the past few months not making headway, the BJP, observers say, is desperately hoping to latch on to some emotive issue which will overcome caste distinctions. But this is an uphill task, party leaders admit.





BJP’s brainstorming : To project Advani as strong leader



There was a prolonged brain-storming session at senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s residence in New Delhi on Dec. 29 where party leaders deliberated on ways to project the party’s prime-ministerial candidate as a “strong, effective and assertive” leader of the nation as against a “weak and indecisive” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A senior leader who attended the brain-storming said that this would be the focus of the BJP’s campaign in the coming elections in several states this year. Those who attended the meeting, besides Advani, included party president Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh and significantly, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.



While Narendra Modi has not been rehabilitated in the party parliamentary board by Rajnath Singh, he appears to have been informally accepted as an important member of the national lead¬ership following his impressive performance in the Gujarat elec¬tions.



Among other senior leaders who attended the meeting were Murli Manohar Joshi, general secretary in charge of organisation and RSS pointsman Ram Lal, spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad, Arun Shourie and Ananth Kumar, senior journalist and Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra. Party ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni and Director of Mumbai-based saffron thinktank, Rambhau Mhalgi Institute, Vijay Sahastrabuddhe too participated in the discussions where the results of the Gujarat and Himachal polls were analysed.



The other important areas on which the BJP meeting decided to concentrate in the coming days were drawing up of an action plan to tone up the party organisation all over the country and the main issues to be highlighted in the election campaign. These included issues of the aam admi - like the price rise and farmer suicides, development, national security and national identity.



Hardcore Hindutva issues like the Ayodhya temple dispute are apparently going to be avoided in the election campaign while a “soft Hindutva” approach focusing on the Ram Setu will be pursued in a big way, sources said.



A committee was set up under party general secretary Arun Jaitley to consider all the suggestions made at the meeting. Among its members are Sushma Swaraj, Arun Shourie, Ananth Kumar and Sahastrabuddhe.





Profile of Lok Sabha constituencies to be prepared



As part of its preparation for the Lok Sabha polls due in May 2009, the BJP meeting decided to immediately begin a systematic study of the social and political profiles of each of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. Lists of regions and constitu¬ency-specific problems are to be made to complement the issues that the party hopes to raise at the national level.





BJP back in demand among regional parties



After its victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the BJP appears to have re-established its credentials as a vote-catching force among present and prospective alliance partners. The party has decided to forge alliances in states where it does not have a significant popular base.



Reports say that the party is happy at the signals emanating from Tamil Nadu and Haryana.



AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayala¬lithaa was among the first to congratulate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on his victory in the Assembly elections. This has been followed up by Jayalalithaa with a lunch invitation for Narendra Modi in Chennai on Jan. 14 when he would be in the city.



Commenting on the Gujarat verdict, the AIADMK leader said it proved that integrity, good governance and hard work were always appreciated by people. For the Congress, it was time for intro¬spection.



To a question whether she was inching closer to the BJP, she replied that “it is up to you to speculate in any way.”



Asked whether it could be surmised that she kept her options open for an electoral alliance, her response: “I think that is the obvious inference, definitely.”



On the Congress and Left parties describing the BJP’s per¬formance in Gujarat as a victory for the communal forces, Jaya¬lalithaa said it was not appropriate to trivialise the people’s verdict. The elections were held in a democratic and fair manner.



The Indian National Lok Dal led by Om Prakash Chautala, an important regional party in Haryana, sent its representative, Ajay Chautala, for Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony in Ahme¬dabad on Dec. 25. On the same day, Om Prakash Chautala went to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s residence in New Delhi to greet him on his birthday.



Observers say that with the BJP appearing to regain its vote-getting ability, regional outfits find it better and more worthwhile to reopen channels of communication with the party. There are reports that the BJP leadership is also exploring the possibility of forging ties with the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, who is now in the United National Progressive Alliance may also be approached to ally with the BJP.



The BJP is aware that if it is to recapture power at the Centre it will need to widen the ambit of its alliance by having more smaller and regional parties on board. The smaller regional parties also know that if they are to be part of a government at the Centre, they will need to ally themselves with either the Congress or the BJP.