Akhand Bharati

Why BJP is desperately seeking Uma: it needs to neutralise her capacity to play spoiler in Gujarat.

BJP President Rajnath Singh8217;s acknowledgment that the party is working towards getting its prodigal daughter back in its ranks, has put an end to the persistent speculation 8212; which got its first outing in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh polls 8212; that Uma Bharati is indeed heading back to the party. Of course, the last word on this is still to be pronounced. Uma Bharati, a firm believer in the politics of suspense, has indicated that she will confirm this piece of news very shortly after consulting both her guru and party.

The urgency and persistence with which Uma Bharati is being courted is an accurate enough gauge of the current level of confidence within the BJP when the crucial Gujarat election is just weeks away. With memories of the Karnataka reversal still fresh in the mind, images of party dissidents donning Congress colours in

Gujarat are hardly cause for complacency. The worry is that Uma Bharati could be a pole to which a considerable number of anti-Modi dissidents would attach themselves, and the sanyasin herself had indicated that she was more than willing to provide cover, after terming Narendra Modi a 8220;pseudo-Hindu8221; and asking Keshubhai Patel to lead from the front. That Modi, despite these provocations, was still compelled to rope in the sanyasin8217;s guru in order to get her safely back in the party, indicates the extent to which the jitters have travelled. This talk of not dividing the 8216;Hindu vote8217; is reflective of party anxiety, not party confidence. But Uma Bharati, too, has good reason to be grateful for the return ticket that has come her way. The Bharatiya Janashakti Party she started, apart from its nuisance value, was a non-starter. Her political exertions after leaving the BJP, which included a 8216;Ram Roti Yatra8217;, didn8217;t help her party gain a single MLA.

The question of course is whether Uma Bharati8217;s return will infuse fresh energy into the party, or fresh hostility. There are many 8212; most notably her bete noire, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan 8212; who are not exactly enthused by prospects of the lady8217;s return. But for the moment party leaders, and the Sangh Parivar, have only one objective: to win Gujarat. By desperately seeking Uma, they hope to make that outcome a little more probable. At least they would have neutralised her capacity to play spoiler.