Mr. Kalyan Singh has added another dimension to the BJP's plan for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya. In a recent interview, he said that the temple cannot be built "unless the BJP forms a government at the Centre and has a majority in UP." ...

There is an element of whistling in the dark in these assertions. For, if the chances of the BJP coming to power on its own at the Centre are dim, its chances of being in power both at the Centre and in UP at the same time are dimmer. So, the temple is likely to remain unbuilt in the foreseeable future.

'But that is not all. The BJP leaders could not have failed to note that the reaction of even their allies to any move on the temple has not been favourable. So it is not the godless "pseudo-secularists" who are supposedly alienated from the common people (and) opposed to disturbing the status quo in Ayodhya.

The BSP has made it abundantly clear that it would not countenance any unilateral move in Ayodhya .. The more acquiescent Samata Party, too, made the same point after Mr. Kalyan Singh's recent visit to the makeshift temple. So have the Akalis.

.. Even if, for argument's sake, the BJP comes to power at the Centre, it has to be under a coalition arrangement ...

Rut as the alliances of various parties with the BJP in the States have shown, the saffron outfit generally prefers to maintain a low posture in order to enable the government in which it has a stake to, survive, The BJP's thirst for power is deep ..

... Even during its brief sojourn at the Centre, it shqwed the same servile mentality.

The BJP ... offered to "freeze" all the controversial items on its agenda - Article 370, the uniform civil code and so on to persuade the other parties to help it. So much for its adherence to principles when the choice is between (principles) and power.

There is little doubt that Ayodhya, too, will be "frozen" if the BJP feels that it will hamper its quest for office.

*Arguably, the BJP might not have minded putting this controversial issue on the back burner for it has never been sure about its overall impact ... The demolition of the "disputed structure" and the proposed construction of the temple have kept it in state of uncertainty. Nothing testifies to this more than the varying responses of its leaders. While ... Vajpayee has regretted it ... Advani has regretted not the demolition but the "manner" in which it was carried out.

Unlike its previous endeavour, the BJP's current plan appears to be to move forward in combination with other parties for which at one stage, it even suggested the formation of national democratic front. Although it never took off, that remains its preferred course. However, to advance in this direction, it will have to ensure that the more contentious issues do not come to the forefront.

The chargesheets in the Ayodhya case, however, preclude such a possibility ... It is difficult to predict in what way the virtual reopening of theat shameful chapter will affect the BJP in particular and the political scene in general. There is a belief in some circles that by bringing the Ayodhya issue to the centrestage yet again, the court  case will help the BJP, but no one can be certain ..

As the BJP and the Shiv Sena cope with the charges,  the Sangh Parivar's other allies are bound to watch the scene with considerable interest ... to reassess their options ..

There is little doubt that the Ayodhya case will bring up the questions of the Mathura and Varanasi shrines, too, not least because the RSS has reiterated that it fully endorses the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's plans for "liberating" these two places of worship. Even if the BJP contends that its agenda does not include the two, the focus will once again be on a hard-line plan of action involving three shrines which has no support from any of the BJP's allies apart from the Shiv Sena. ...

... Now that the focus is on Ayodhya again, it has to explain its past acts and announce its future plans ... (As it is) its policy in this matter has always been full of subterfuges.                                                                                               (Source: The Hindustan Times, 13 October, 1997)