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There is no doubt,
the signs of a serious fault line in BJP cadre have always been
there, albeit in a dormant state, but the recent proposal of BJP
President Venkaih Naidu to protect both Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani as
joint mascots in the coming elections caused more than an occasional
tremor. The verbal somersaults are more a reflection of an
ideological divide of the party members. When seen through the prism
of shifty sands of politics. More so BJP is a motely group of
leaders with different shades of opinion. More often than not they
coalesce to form a uniform white coloured spectrum but sometimes
some shades stand out due to conflicting ideologies and ultra party
differences.
It all began on
June 1 when Mr Naidu declared that the BJP would project both Mr
Vajpayee and Advani as leaders of the party in the forthcoming
election campaign. This statement signified a radical shift in the
party line since earlier he had declared that the elections would be
fought on the slogan " Vajpayee Ke Naam, Vajpayee Ke Kaam."
Evidently, Mr Naidu had done the unthinkable by Vajpayees standard s
also. He had called into question the undisputed Commandership of Mr
Vajpayee by trying to equate the two top leaders and placing them on
the same plateform. Next, Naidu and his coterie issued immediate
clarification by maintaining that the Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee was the sole leader of the BJP, the NDA and the country.
They proceeded to swap the whole matter under the carpet of cheekily
play-acting as if had transpired.
The BJP President
and his mentors would have us believe that the whole nasty episode
was a brain child of the sensation hungary media which had quoted
him out of context. Mr Naidu's voltaface was the obvious tactical
choice to release t he strain his pronouncements had placed on his
relationship with the PM. Mr Vajpayee on his part was irked by the
gratitious attempt by his party President to undermine his
authority. Understandably, he was left fuming. Wasn't he the Supreme
leader of the coalition government he was heading? Unable to come to
grips with this unwanted betrayal, he took recourse to his customary
tactic - his propensity of talking in
riddles, leaving it absolutely to the listeners for twisting his
remarks any which way they liked. Getting the unmistakable whiff
that some of his party members were conspiring to unseat him from
his Centre of power by way of competition, the wily PM threw the
gauntlet on his party members to conduct the next elections under
his Deputy's leadership.
It was on June 4
that Mr Vajpayee declared in front of his party leaders and media "
let the party that is neither tired nor retired march to victory in
the elections under Advani Ji's leadership." taking the message, the
garrulous Naidu declared that Vajpayee " was is and would continue
to be the leader" and the question of anyone else leading the party
didn't arise. It should cause little surprise that eventually every
leader joined the loyality chorus proclaiming Vajpayee as their
Supreme leader. After humbling Mr Venkaih Naidu in public and
cutting him down to size Mr Vajpayee re-established his position as
the Numero Uno. It was at this stage that an overpowering need for a
damage control exercise was strongly felt. Giving a silent burial to
the ungainly controversy, the Prime minister praised his party
President lavishly, lauding his efforts to enliven the activities of
the party.
"I am astonished by
his energy levels. If all functionaries and activists work with such
enthusiasm. I have no doubt, we shall overcome all challenges before
us and march towards success," By projecting him as a paragon of
devotion and loyalty, Mr Vajpayee tried his best to redeem to some
extent the lost glory and supremacy of Mr Naidu
as the Chief of the ruling party. Once Naidu was duly placated and
restored his earlier authority, it was undoubtedly, his turn to
shower praises on his lord and master, Mr Vajpayee extolling the
virtues of his leader in glowing terms. He proclaimed that it was
the good future of BJP to have a great leader like Atal Ji, whose
popularity among people has been growing even after five years in
office.
To be sure, it was
a gesture of reconciliation that entitled the Deputy Prime Minister
MR L.K. Advani to receive a liberal shower of applause from the
Prime Minister in an effort to mend the bridges with the trusted
lieutenant that had been broken by the dual leadership controversy.
He praised his Deputy for ably discharging the liven
responsibilities of looking after the party and the Government. "Not
only is he source of strength for me in the Government but also
devotes a lot of time and energy to guide the party," Mr Vajpayee
said.
The day after Mr
Vajpayee lavished praise on Mr Advani, it was now the latter's turn
to return the compliment, who had nothing but good words for the PM.
Saying that the PM's peace initiatives had won global acclaim,
further, the Deputy PM eulogised his leader pronouncing that he was
the man destined to return the NDA to power in the next elections.
This ended all conjectures of an impending rift between the two
leaders. As a matter of fact, Mr Vajpayee's " googly", that is his
famous line, reinstated his position as the Supreme leader of his
party. He has made no secret of the fact that he is not at all
enthusiastic about a rival power camp as he, for all practical
purposes believes in sitting lonely at the top, again making the
hardliners to fall in line.
Given the vagaries
of the real-politik, Messer Vajpayee, Advani, Naidu and other
cohorts take turns to shower lavish praises on and admire each other
in the true spirit of the " Mutual Admirers Club ', giving credence
to the adage " you scratch my back and I will scratch yours". This
is being increasingly viewed as as a strategy to eliminate internal
dissension that may prove to be destructive for the party which
cannot afford to take any chances due to the coming elections.
Author is the
Contributing Editor, Weekly Koshur Gazette, New Delhi. | 
