Sunday, Aug 04, 2002
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By Neena Vyas
The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, at the BJP national council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday. — Photo: Anu Pushkarna
Although the BJP allies in the ruling National Democratic Alliance were invited to the party's national council session at the Talkatora Stadium here — which leaders of many allies attended — the BJP's desire to get a clear majority of its own was articulated strongly, leaving rather vague the fate of the NDA by the time the next Lok Sabha elections are held in 2004. Earlier, the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, said that the BJP's progress was on account of its own ideology. Two senior leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Madan Das Devi and Mohan Rao Bhagwat, were also present. Concluding the one-day session, Mr. Vajpayee indicated that some more changes in the party organisation and the Council of Ministers were in the offing, as "more partymen working in the Government are needed for party work.'' In short, yet another Cabinet reshuffle could be on the cards. "Ghoom phir ke baat wahin aa jati hai ki akele chalenge" (every time the same thing is heard, let us go it alone) Mr. Vajpayee said, but not before warning his partymen that running a government was not just a game of numbers. "Even after that (getting a majority), you need to be able to work with other parties,'' he said, reverting time and again to the theme of political consensus. There was already a consensus on issues of national security, what was needed was a consensus on development issues, he said. "India can and will change its destiny,'' he told some 1,000 delegates. His advice to the party workers was neither to overestimate the Opposition, which was "scattered and dissipated," nor underestimate the BJP's strength. The party must be "farsighted,'' and must not lose sight of the larger good of the country when taking up specific poll issues. Mr. Advani also made the point that the NDA experiment had not only helped get a majority in Parliament, but had also made the Government at the Centre more representative, and strengthened federalism through the participation of smaller regional parties. When the party expanded its base, the workers must keep up the friendly relations with the allies and regional parties, he said. Although some people had begun saying that the BJP was ready to go back to its own agenda, especially after the round of electoral defeats in the State Assemblies, "we must continue with the NDA agenda,'' as the "NDA also strengthens federalism.'' Giving a brief account of the BJP's rise from being a "small pressure group'' to the "biggest party in the Lok Sabha in 1996'' and then as the leader of the ruling alliance, Mr. Advani said that the BJP was a "party with a difference.'' Its Government now must try to be a "government with a difference,'' he urged, releasing the Delhi pledge (Dilli Sankalp) document, unanimously adopted by the council.The Government was stable, and the "bowlers (Opposition parties) were weak'' and if the Government got "out," it would only be because of a "hit wicket'' — internal weaknesses alone could bring down the NDA regime, according to Mr. Advani. Earlier, Venkaiah Naidu's appointment as the new BJP president was ratified unanimously through a show of hands.
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