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Toll of opportunism

THE ACTUAL STRENGTH in terms of numbers in the dissidents' camp in the BJP's Uttar Pradesh Legislature Party may not threaten to bring the Mayawati Government down immediately. True that the dissidence is not the fallout of any serious concern among the party's MLAs over the failure of the dispensation to provide a responsive administration as they are making it out to be. The dissidents, after all, became active only after the last round of Cabinet expansion and the crisis is, hence, the outcome of their aspiration for ministerial berths not being met. But then, the responsibility for the crisis rests entirely with the national level leaders of the BJP for they were the ones who put together a coalition in the State with just one aim — to remain in power even after being voted out in the elections to the State Assembly. The BJP was reduced to the third position in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and this certainly was a steep fall for a party that was in power in the State. The mandate, in this sense, was so clearly against the BJP. But then, the State unit leaders were in no position to resist the trappings of remaining Ministers and their efforts received unqualified support from the national leaders despite their claims, every now and then, to being a party with a difference. A coalition with the BSP, a party that has hardly considered consistency a virtue, was also seen by the BJP's leaders as a means to contain some of the smaller NDA partners who were striking strident postures against the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and his determination to take some "hard" decisions on the economic policy front.

This indeed was the larger context in which the BJP decided to enter into a coalition with the BSP, facilitating the swearing in of Mayawati as Chief Minister along with a whole lot of its own State unit leaders. The crisis within the Uttar Pradesh BJP legislature party was indeed brewing and if it took so long to come out into the open it was only because the aspirants to ministerial posts were convinced all these days that their "interests" would be taken of care soon. So much so, the stand taken by the rebels — that the BJP Ministers in the Mayawati Cabinet resign and that the party only support the Government from outside — is clearly a statement that such leaders as Kalraj Mishra and Lalji Tandon (now Ministers) shall not "enjoy" the spoils of office while they remain ordinary MLAs. There is hardly any ideological significance to the developments in Lucknow. The BJP chief, Venkaiah Naidu, has declared that his party will not tolerate indiscipline but it remains to be seen if the party will risk acting against the dissidents. The BJP's record in Uttar Pradesh hardly shows any serious commitment to political principles and the party's desperation to remain in power and willingness to compromise on principles has been on display for some time now. The manner in which the BJP bartered away ministerial berths to anyone who teamed up with it (and this included history-sheeters too) in 1997 and the post-poll arrangement with Ms. Mayawati shows opportunism at play.

The effect of all these and the ongoing crisis is palpable not just in the affairs of the BJP but on governance as well. From the shift in the strategy adopted by the BJP's leaders — from the threat of dealing firmly with indiscipline, the events of the past couple of days suggest clearly that the idea now is to appease the rebels — the likelihood of ensuring their loyalty in exchange for office (ministerial or some such assignments in the State Government Boards or Corporations) appears imminent. After all, the cost of such games are not just restricted to the "image" of the party concerned but involve a drain of funds meant for development when the objective of those demanding positions is just the gains that come out of such offices.

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