bjp-l-digest Thursday, December 25 1997 Volume 02 : Number 015
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News, Opinion, Analysis and Publications Digest
Today's Topics
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BJP fine tunes poll strategy
Mamata and Hegde may soon be in BJP's parlour
Rallying around BJP
BJP and allies hope to get 265 seats
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Date: Dec. 24, 1997
Source: Economic Times
BJP finetunes `Vajpayeeism', skirts Hindutva
P R Ramesh
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NEW DELHI 23 DECEMBER
NO shrill campaign on its pet Hindutva agenda. Emphasis on
compromise and accommodation. Persistent efforts to win new
friends. `Vajpayeeism' - a rapport with various social and
political groups - is the new slogan of the BJP.
Having made a beginning to end its `splendid isolation' by
striking a string of strategic alliances in regions alien
to the party's ideology, BJP president and master
strategist L K Advani is now fine-tuning his party's new
ad-line - ``Our rivals are led by pygmies, Vajpayee is the
man India will accept''.
A preview of the forthcoming hardsell was available at
Bhubaneswar, where the party's apex decision-making body
met to chalk out its strategy. If the deliberations at the
just-concluded session was any indication, the attempt of
the party now is to occupy the slot of an ``aggregative''
party - a status held by the Congress(I) till a couple of
years ago.
What has been prompting the party for this latest
mood-swing was explained by Mr Advani himself at the
meeting. ``Our chief weakness lies in our disability so far
to build our organisation and expand our appeal in the
southern and eastern states to that critical level where
vote shares convert themselves into electoral victories,''
he told the members of the national executive. This clearly
was an acceptance that the exclusivist agenda has little
appeal beyond the Hindu-minded electorate of the Hindi
heartland.
The `realism' in the party runs the risk of antagonising
its tradition followers, who have been fed on the staple
diet of temples, common civil code and opposition to
Article 370. But the party strategists do not seem to share
the perception. ``The party has been winning the current
war of perception. We are seen as the winning side and the
traditional support base will stay intact,'' is the common
refrain.
The party president, who has made his willingness to
observe the rules of the coalition, is on record stating
that his party would not push its agenda down the throat of
its allies. ``We will live up to the agreement.'' was the
assurance Mr Advani gave at a press conference in Mumbai.
This is also seen as the readiness on the part of the BJP
to work in a coalition milieu.
What is interesting is the party's eagerness to shield
Jayalalitha and legitimise the alliance at every forum. Mr
Vajpayee, the party's `Mr Clean' and Mr Advani has not
speared a single opportunity to defend her. It is sure to
be seen as an affirmation of its fidelity towards its
allies.
Politically, the party must be drawing satisfaction from
the fact that its past action has not become long-term
impediments in its dealings with other political parties.
For, even Mamata Banerjee, a staunch critic of the party
during the post-demolition phase, is not ready to brand the
BJP communal.
``We have overcome the stigma that we cannot get new
allies,'' is now the point that is being rammed in by the
leadership. This coupled with the troubles in the rivals
camp, it is expected, would break the 20 per cent barrier.
Advani, who laid great store for the new alliances, had
told his colleagues in the national executive that the
``resultant vote swing can augment the ballot share by
anywhere between 5-10 per cent''.
Independent observers do not appear so sanguine. With many
of the key players shopping for the right match, the BJP
expectations may remain mature only on paper. Moreover,
they feel its new stance of realpolitik is yet to be
tested.
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Date: Dec. 24, 1997
Source: Indian Express
Mamata & Hegde may soon be in BJP's parlour
CALCUTTA, DEC 23: Bharatiya Janata Party president
L K Advani has asked the party's state unit to
take initiative for forging electoral adjustment
with Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee.
State BJP General Secretary Rahul Sinha here said
after returning from Mumbai that Advani rang up
the state president Tapan Sikdar and the BJP would
contact her within a day or two.
The state unit of Samata Party said it had already
communicated to Mamata its willingness to join her
front.
Meanwhile, in Dhenkanal (Orissa), Lok Shakti
president Rama Krishna Hegde today said he did not
believe in ``political untouchability'' and was
ready for seat adjustments with BJP in the coming
general elections without being a constituent of
the front led by it.
``In fact untouchability is an offence under the
Constitution'', the former Karnataka chief
minister said after launching the state unit of
Lok Shakti at a public meeting here.
Replying to a question by newsmen, he said BJP had
already agreed to abide by the Supreme Court
verdict on the Babri Masjid issue.
In Calcutta, terming her expulsion as `a good
riddence,' Mamata Banerjee said her irrevocable
decision to float an anti-CPI(M) platform had
already began eliciting favourable response from
other parties and the Trinamul would soon teach
the day-dreamers in the Congress, United Front and
the CPI(M) a lesson.
A confident Mamata, flanked by the leaders, said
she was sure that the Trinamul election campaign
would build up an anti-CPI(M) wave in West Bengal.
On Bangla Bachao Front, she said the front would
be launched soon and she already started getting
offers from various political parties. The
modalities of the front would be worked out soon,
she added.
Asked if she has decided to take the BJP in the
fold, an angry Mamata said: ``I have left nothing
unsaid and why BJP even a section of the state CPM
is likely to join the front.''
When asked if she could convert the overwhelming
support to vote for her Trinamul Congress, she
shot back saying ``it's for you to probe if the
masses are with us.''
Mamata, who is leaving for Delhi tomorrow, said
after her return the party leaders would decide on
the election manifesto and the strategy.
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Date: Dec. 24, 1997
Source: Times of India
Author: Editorial
Subject: Rallying Round BJP
The Congress party's loss of Ms Mamata Banerjee
in West Bengal is a gain for the Bharatiya Janata
Party. Ms Banerjee is in step with the trend of
those breaking away from the Congress, either as
members or allies, rallying round the BJP. In the
first phase of the run up to the general election
the BJP is clearly ahead, of both the Congress
and the United Front, in winning friends and
partners. In state after state, the party of
Hindutva is being assessed afresh and there is
growing reluctance to dismiss it as ``communal'',
and for that reason ``untouchable''. The BJP's
loss of untouchability with the very announcement
of elections is a landmark, which may turn out to
be as significant as the poll outcome. One
plausible reason could be that the BJP, more than
the UF now, or the National Front-Left Front
earlier, is perceived as a credible and effective
counterpoint to a Congress party in the decline.
Another reason could be that regional forces are
still strongly inclined to join hands with a
party spread over many states than be limited to
other regional parties. This may well be the
rationale for the AIADMK of Ms Jayalalitha or the
breakaway Janata Dal in Orissa opting for the
BJP, encouraged by its handling of regional
parties in Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and
Bihar. Another stalwart of the
`secularist-centrist' forces, Mr Ramakrishna
Hegde is also canvassing that no party is wholly
communal. While the collapse of the
secularist-communal divide as an unbreachable
line has been so far in favour of the BJP, it
cannot ignore the risks involved in being all
things to all people.
This new-found appeal for those who would
hitherto not have touched it with a barge pole
has made the BJP sweep all contentious issues,
such as Ayodhya and Article 370, under the
carpet. At the recent executive committee meeting
in Bhubaneswar the party was pre-occupied with
how to widen its acceptability and avoid
controversial issues. Atal Behari Vajpayee, the
party's most liberal face, was at pains to point
out that Swadeshi and Ram Mandir were important
but not the principal issues in this election.
That the Ayodhya dispute would be resolved
through negotiations is the revised position of
the party, which had promised in 1991 that if it
came to power it would build a mandir in the
place of the Babri Masjid. The message from
Bhubaneswar is that the BJP's thrust should be on
meeting the electoral challenge by forging
alliances with different parties and putting on
hold the matter of ideological coherence and its
``distinctive ethos''. Such dilution of its
Hindutva drive, the loss of the `communal' taint
may be comforting to present and potential
allies. The more disturbing question is how the
Sangh parivaar would reconcile to this in the
post-poll scenario. Should the BJP succeed in
reaching office, the parivaar's extreme flanks,
like the VHP and Bajrang Dal, may not remain
restrained from reviving not only the Ayodhya
issue but also the demolition of mosques in
Varanasi and Mathura. The BJP's core
constituencies, discreetly dormant now, may not
be so accommodating to the party's new allies
once the election is over. The ideological
dilution, followed by slackening of discipline,
may actually sow the seeds of discord leaving the
BJP trapped between its parliamentary obligations
and primeval pressures.
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Date: Dec. 24, 1997
Source: The Asian Age
Subject: BJP hopes to get 265 seats
BJP hopes to get 265 seats with its allies
By Bishwanath Ghosh
New Delhi: The BJP is expecting to win about 265
seats along with its allies in the coming
elections, with the party hoping to touch the
220-mark on its own.
Though the rosy picture painted by enthusiastic
state BJP presidents at the recently-concluded
national executive at Bhubaneswar prompted the
leadership to put the number of winnable seats at
around 300, the party think-tank pruned it to a
"realistic figure" of 265, with 10 per cent
"overestimation factor."
"By all means, the BJP will form the next
government. In the present situation, the party and
its allies will easily manage 265 to 270. In a case
a wave is created in the next 15 days or so, we can
get even 300," BJP sources told The Asian Age on
Tuesday.
"So even if the wave does not happen, we will fall
short just by five to 10 seats, which will be taken
care of by post-election realignments. The numbers
might comes from the present United Front or even
the Congress. The Congress' strength will be
reduced and getting one-third from them will not be
difficult then," the sources said.
Besides opening its account in southern and eastern
states where it does not have a presence, the BJP
is expecting to make considerable gains in Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is confident that the
Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party will
never join hands, thus causing a split of votes in
favour of the BJP. "Both Mulayam Singh and Kanshi
Ram are prime ministerial aspirants, for which both
need to win at least 30 seats each in order dictate
terms in a United Front-type government. And they
can get so many seats only in Uttar Pradesh. So
even if we forget their enmity because of other
reasons, this factor rules out any alliance between
the two," the sources said, putting the number of
expected seats at around 60.
In Bihar, the BJP is estimating around 35 seats.
One factor which the party thinks will go in its
favour in the release of Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav from
prison. "When he was in jail, our target was
missing. His release and return to the media
spotlight has made things easier for us," the
sources said.
In 48-seat Maharashtra, the BJP is banking on a
split in a "demoralised" Congress and hoping to
sweep the state with the help of ally Shiv Sena,
while in Madhya Pradesh, it is confident of winning
at least 35. In Karnataka, the BJP has ruled out
any alliance with Mr S. Bangarappa though it is
still keeping its fingers crossed about Mr
Ramkrishna Hegde's Lokshakti. "It has to be
mutually beneficial. Mr Hegde is demanding 16 of
the 28 seats. It is unreasonable. We have the
potential of winning 12 seats on our own," the
sources said.
In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP has tied up with the
regional outfit floated by well-known film producer
Dasari Narayana Rao and also has noted film stars
Mohan Babu and Vijayashanthi to campaign for it.
"In several of her movies, Vijayashanthi has been
projected as the messiah of dalits. One such movie
is presently running in the theatres. This is bound
to help us," the sources said. In Tamil Nadu, the
BJP is confident of bagging at least one seat on
its own, Nagercoil.
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End of bjp-l-digest V2 #15
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