There is general consensus that the man most fitted to be the next Prime Minister of India is A.B. Vajpayee .. He is personally above communal prejudices and has never been known to make statements that would hurt the religious feelings of any community. ...

Vajpayee is a; far-sighted statesman and is not known to compromise his principles for immediate gains ... There is only one minus point in Vajpayee's curriculum vitae - the political party over which he presides, it is tarnished with anti-Muslim and anti-Christian prejudices .... He does not share these prejudices. Soon after the destruction of the Babari Masjid, at a small party he read out a poem he had composed on his birthday, 25th December. In no uncertain terms it expressed deep anguish over what had happened at Ayodhya and explained his silence through a refrain, "Have I really become old?" ... It did show that he realised that although India is a predominantly Hindu, it is not a Hindu but a Secular State in which other religious minorities expect equal treatment. I hope ... he will distance himself from men and women who have given Hindutva an ugly image.                                       (Source: Hindustan Times, 27.12.97)