The BJP may have shelved its temple-building plans for the moment because of the elusive magic figures in Parliament, but this cumbersome fact has in no way crushed the exuberance of the colourful band of sadhus, sants and sanyasins who have romped into the Lok Sabha on the mandir issue. Since 1991, almost every election has seen the return of the faithful, though their influence has waned considerably over the years. The battle-cry of 'Jai Shri Ram' which resounded in the halls of Parliament in the initial heady years was gradually muted and has finally fallen silent, now that the BJP has cast aside its Hindutva agenda for the more acceptable common minimum programme.

But this motley crew of spiritual messengers' have lingered on. Their numbers have not gone beyond a frugal half-a-dozen, but their fortunes have been marked by some stunning wins and losses.

There are two distinctive categories of the Ram Brigade - the saffron-robed, vermilion-smeared sadhus and sadhvis like Ram Vilas Vedanti, Mahant Avaidyanath, Uma Bharati and the like, and committed warriors of Ram such as Bajrang Dal chief Vinay Katiyar, former SSP of Faizabad D.B. Rai, who was rewarded with a ticket in 1996 and 1998 for exemplary service at the height of the Ramjanambhoomi movement and S.C. Dixit yet another high-ranking police officer who joined the VHP after his retirement in the mid-eighties. They were all given a BJP ticket to contest the elections.

Charmed by their own conceit, these self-proclaimed (sadhus and sadhvis) carved a niche for themselves out of their devotion and unflinching dedication to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. But soon, political ambitions and more importantly, the deadly spectre of casteism made an appearance, putting their (spirituality) on the back burner.

The increasing pulls and pressures of OBC aspirations in a largely upper-caste party like the BJP has almost fissured the movement.

The Ram movement lost one of its most vocal and dedicated voices with the incapacitation of senior BJP leader Vijayeraje Scindia, the erstwhile Maharani of Gwalior. One of the prime movers of the temple cause, Scindia inspired thousands of Ram bhakts with her stirring speeches and discourses. She went on to become the vice-president of the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, the core organisation for the movement. But before she could claim the rewards that would have come her way, Scindia fell seriously ill .. She is still fighting her terminal illness.

That ail the swamis rode in on the crest of the Ram Mandir movement is evident from the fact that almost all of them entered Parliament after 1989. The only veteran among them is Mahant Avaidyanath, who was elected member of the UP Legislative Assembly as early as 1962 and returned once again in 1970. But the Mahant had to flounder in anonymity for almost two decades after (a) spectacular beginning and was salvaged from near-extinction by the temple movement o be elected in1989.

As 'spiritual head' of the Shri Gorakhnath Mandir, Avaidyanath ran a fiefdom in Gorakhpur. He was an unlikely sight for a swami. His devotees in the ashram carried guns and lathis instead of garlands and lamps.

... The Mahant ... finally retired from public life two years ago because of ill-health and appointed his trusted chela and nephew, Yogi Adityanath, who won both the subsequent elections (1998 and 1999) ...

So far, the swamis have displayed uncanny resilience and staying power, but as long as they continue to sit on the back benches, the message they send out is clear: their time is not yet come. (Source: The Indian Express, 23 October, 1999)

BJP: Sikander Bakht's Views

I don't believe in quotas. Once in the Rajya Sabha, a colleague Satish Aggarwal pointed out that his party had made a Muslim as the group leader. I got up to protest that he had pained me greatly. If I don't deserve to be there on the basis of my own capability but merely because I am a Muslim, I don't deserve to be there at all. Politics is flourishing on the divisions in society. If you are going to take on the basis of communities, then, yes, maybe some Muslim should be there. They have taken two as ministers of state ...

Can you say I was a token Muslim? If I was a token Muslim then I should be ashamed of myself. My politics has not been popular with my own community since the days of the freedom struggle when I supported Maulana Azad. In the dispute over the RSS issue in the erstwhile Janata, my point was that the yardstick for secularism must be the same for Hindus and Muslims.

The BJP for Muslims goes about begging for Muslims to join them. Why are the Muslims not doing it?

... Simply because a majority of Muslims think it is a communal party therefore nobody should go near the BJP? ...  (Source: The Indian Express, 5 December, 1999)