The BJP ... on its own has secured only 182 ... is only one more than ... in the last Lok Sabha. Had there been no Pakistani aggression at Kargil, ... the BJP would not have probably crossed 150. Or still, if Sonia Gandhi, whose foreign origin rankled the people, had not been the only alternative, Vajpayee would have been handicapped.
The Telugu Desam, which has won 29 seats, has given the maximum strength to the BJP's elbow, The Congress, which believed that Sonia Gandhi was like Idira Amma in the Andhra Pradesh countryside, has got one of its worst electoral drubbings. The DMK in Tamil Nadu has not only got 12 seats but helped the BJP to get a foothold in a state where the Hindi protagonists have been treated as the most unwelcome people.
Sharad Pawar has campaigned so feverishly against the Congress that the BJP-Shiv Sena combine secured more seats than expected in Maharashtra. But for his poaching and making most contests a three-corner affair, the combine would have been roundly defeated because of its ugly governance.
I am not blaming Pawar. He was literally pushed out of the Congress. But the number of votes his Nationalist Congress Party has got is generally the margin with which the combine has won. I am not mentioning the gain by the BJD in Orissa, winning 10. The party was part of the Vajpayee government. Its acts of omission and commission visited the BJD. But in spite of that it won. In some way, the BJP may have spurred it to victory. In the same way, I have not counted the improved tally of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. She too had aligned herself completely with the BJP-led government, although she did not join it.
The case of the Telugu Desam is different because Chandrababu Naidu only made seat adjustments with the BJP. The vision of the future he has given to his people has really worked. Similarly, the DMK has not been part of the Vajpayee government. In fact, the BJP bended rules and changed portfolios to cover up the misdeeds of AIADMK chief Jayalalitha, the DMK's rival. The party felt helpless at this because the Centre was all for her. Therefore, the DMK is one of the BJP's luckiest acquisitions. The Janata Dal (United), with which the Samata Party and the Lok Shakti have merged, is a new ally. Its tally is 20.
The Telugu Desam, the DMK and the JDU have put it back in power. These parties have secular credentials and believe in the ethos of pluralism ... Announcing the suspension of the contentious issues is no reward for their help. T'he party has to announce that the issues have been suspended for good and that there is no question of reviving them. But how can the party do it when it has to keep the wishes of the RSS in mind while framing policies or implementing programmes?
This is disturbing because the RSS has a different agenda. Only recently did RSS chief Rajendra Singh say that the construction of the Ram Mandir at the site where the Babari Masjid stood before its demolition was very much the Sangh's commitment. Over the years, this controversy has polarised the country between the ultras and the liberals. It is not only the question of hurting the sentiments of Muslims. It is a case of challenging the composite culture of India.
In truth ... when it comes to Hindu fundamentalists, there is no way to curb them. The case regarding the destruction of the Masjid is pending in court. Charges are yet to be framed against L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and Uma Bharati, who are among the 49 who have been named in the FIR filed nearly seven years ago after the Masjid's demolition.
... The Prime Minister of India can be subservient to Parliament, which is elected by the people, or to the President, who is the custodian of the Constitution but (not to) the BJP or its mentor.
.. The parties, which have aligned themselves with the BJP, should consider how far they would compromise on the respect that the office of Prime Minister demands.
They have in the past spoken against the interference by the RSS in the affairs of the state. Political convenience may have shut their eyes. Still, they have to face the fact that India's pluralism provides the country with the sinews of unity. The RSS has the Hindu Rashtra as its goal. This is the anti-thesis of secularism, the basic structure of our Constitution. In fact, the allies of the BJP should take into account the reiteration of the commitment by the RSS to build the temple. Advani said during the polling that such issues had been deferred, not dropped. The party would take up the issue when it got a majority on its own.
In other words, the allies are only the means, not the end. The BJP is deferential to their stand on certain issues at present because it needs their support. How tragic that these elements who once swore by the name of secularism - probably they still do - have sold their commitment for the pottage of office .... The BJP or, for that matter, Vajpayee should say without further loss of time that the building of mandir or whittling down the autonomy of J&K ... is no more on the national agenda. (Source: The Hindu, 12 October, 1999)
