The Hindu : From allies to acolytes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 02, 2003

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Opinion - News Analysis

From allies to acolytes

The helplessness of the NDA allies in checking the BJP is increasingly evident, says K.V. Prasad

The NDA convener, George Fernandes, with the Big Two in the BJP... equals no more?

FIVE YEARS ago, around this time when the BJP came to power heading a coalition Government, it kept aside contentious issues for the sake of the national agenda of governance of the quickly put together National Democratic Alliance; the Ayodhya bomb continued to tick away in the background.

Now five years later, the agenda is out in the open. This approach was demonstrated in the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani's statement that the Vajpayee Government was willing to bring forward legislation to hand over the undisputed land in Ayodhya to facilitate construction of the Ram temple, provided the main opposition party, the Congress, went along with it.

The suggestion sent a clear signal to its allies that the BJP was now firm on the path of pursuing policies that pushed forward its ideology. They could either hitch on to its Hindutva juggernaut or chart their own course. They were virtually put on notice that the BJP was now in a position to go ahead on its own.

A sense of unease has gripped the allies, especially those with a socialist background. It began last year over the handling of the communal riots in Gujarat, deepened after the results of the Assembly elections there and is now complete with the drum beats on Ayodhya getting louder.

Do the allies count anymore? While the constitution of the NDA remains largely undisturbed — barring the exit of Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party — among the parties which matter are the Samata Party (inside the Government) and the Telugu Desam (which lends support from the outside). As for the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee, it lost its relevance after a humiliating defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections last year.

Having burnt its fingers on Gujarat, when its demand for removal of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, was simply ignored by the BJP, the TDP preferred to be cautious. Instead of serving any notice, it stuck to a safe position on Ayodhya — let there be a judicial verdict and get on with work on issues of pressing importance leading to development and all round economic growth. "We should declare a moratorium for at least 100 years on all controversial issues — the need of the hour is to empower the people, to improve the economic standards of the people," the TDP Rajya Sabha leader, C. Ramachandraiah, said. The TDP parliamentary party leader, K. Yerran Naidu, claimed his party was the first to blow the whistle whenever the NDA Government deviated from the agenda. "The BJP may have its own agenda, the TDP has its own agenda... As and when it deviates from the common minimum programme, we make our voice heard... we are doing our job," he told the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the issue.

But is the BJP listening? That is a question the TDP or for that matter most of the other allies would hate to be confronted with. There is a feeling in the TDP that the association with the BJP may have done some harm to the party and diluted its ideology but then dictates of politics are different.

"There is a conflict between political expediency and ideological commitment but we are confident of maintaining our commitment to ideology," Mr. Ramachandraiah summed up.

The dilemma for the Samata Party is no less. It was the channel through which the BJP gained wider political acceptance, but now the Samata Party finds itself pushed to the margins. Egos and political ambitions of the leaders from the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) resulted in a break-up. And what was left suffered another split with Mr. Paswan walking away to form the Lok Janshakti leaving Sharad Yadav with a tattered JD(U).

This weakened socialist group was then administered a shock by the BJP when it shifted both Mr. Paswan and Mr. Yadav from high-profile portfolios. When no resistance was offered, the BJP knew the tide had turned. There was a brief scramble in the Janata parivar to close ranks, but the ambitions of the leaders proved to be the stumbling block.

With the Samata Party leadership coming under the odium of the Tehelka episode, its voice became muffled. The flip-flop on the Gujarat riots was a classic instance of its flexibility. For the record, the party general secretary, Shambu Shrivastwa, suggests that the final verdict in the Ayodhya title suit should be awaited and any move to hand over the undisputed areas should be with the express permission of the Supreme Court.

The helplessness of the allies, be it the TDP, the Samata Party or for that matter the DMK, in checking the BJP is increasingly evident. The socialist groups' boast that their being in the NDA Government prevented the BJP from embarking on its Hindutva agenda is no longer true. Their presence has only helped the BJP acquire greater acceptability and made the allies dependent on a party they helped come to power at the Centre.

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