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Advani writes, rewrites BJP history

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI AUG. 3. Is the current phase of the Bharatiya Janata Party's "history'' dominated by the Advani school of thought?

The Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani's depiction of the "four phases'' of BJP's history, each dominated by a personality or a combination of personalities, set everyone thinking. Here is what he said, before he corrected himself when it was pointed out to him how the media had begun interpreting his "four phases.''

The first phase from 1951 (when the Jana Sangh was born) to 1968 (when Deen Dayal Upadhyaya died) was dominated by the "thought'' of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Upadhyaya. The second phase from 1968 to 1980 saw the Janata Party experiment and the domination of Jayaprakash Narayan's thinking on the BJP. The third phase, Mr. Advani said, stretched from 1980 (when the BJP was established) to 1996 (when the party emerged as the largest in the Lok Sabha) and was the phase of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's unquestioned leadership(Although later, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pramod Mahajan, reminded the BJP delegates at the national council session that there was the `rath yatra' phase in which Mr. Advani had made a great contribution and helped expand the party rapidly. And naturally, there was a loud applause.)

The ongoing period was the fourth phase, Mr. Advani said — a phase in which the party would strive to give a "government with a difference.'' But he did not indicate which leader dominated this part of the BJP history, giving rise to speculation and "analysis'' that Mr. Advani saw himself as the dominating personality.

The matter was soon brought to the notice of Mr. Advani by the Urban Development Minister, Ananth Kumar, with whom some reporters had shared their "analysis.'' And then soon enough, Mr. Advani interrupted the proceedings of the council to correct himself. There were only three phases in the BJP history, he said. The third phase was from 1980 onwards, still continuing, and Mr. Vajpayee was the man dominating the phase.

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