BJP sticks to middle path

8220;The primary responsibility of the party is that of giving a good account of itself as a governing party. In office, the BJP-led Government will be guided by the National Agenda for Governance8230;.Outside Government, the party should actively create awareness and mobilise mass support for the National Agenda,8221; it stressed.

The parameters for both in the trying months ahead are thus clear 8212; good governance is the primary concern.

There was no mention of the party8217;s pet issues including the Ram Mandir which incidentally did not find a place even in the presidential address of new party chief Kushabhau Thakre.

Thakre, in fact, stuck to themiddle path, valiantly balancing the demands of an ideology-driven party with the compulsions of running a fragile coalition government.

8220;Our workers must realise working as part of a coalition, the BJP can only do this much and no more,8221; Thakre cautioned the two thousand-odd delegates who have gathered here to felicitate him as he starts his two-year tenure.

In keeping with this new orientation, the slogan today was 8220;Bharat Mata ki jai8221; and not the heady 8220;Jai Shri Ram8221; of the Ayodhya phase. Although Thakre8217;s speech was addressed to a party convention, it also contained subtle messages to the BJP8217;s partners in Government and the people at large. For instance, he devoted some time to explaining the relationship between the BJP and the RSS, emphatically denying that the former was 8220;remote-controlled8221; by the latter.

8220;The RSS expects us to devote ourselves to the service of the nation. It expects us to lead a simple life8230;.It expects us to be men and women of character and principles. That is theonly expectation the Sangh has of us,8221; he asserted.

He also sought to quell the growing resentment in party circles over the Government8217;s perceived 8220;soft8221; approach towards its coalition partners by exalting the ruling alliance as 8220;both a challenge and an opportunity8221;. It has given the BJP 8220;an institutional context in which to interact with so many parties,8221; he pointed out. He made it clear that since the BJP was the 8220;heart and the nucleus8221; of the alliance, it was the party8217;s responsibility to keep the coalition going.

The emphasis in both his address and the political resolution was on the need for development and progress; the issues raised were straight out of the NAG: swadeshi and swavalamban self-reliance as the basis of the Government8217;s economic policies, 60 per cent of Plan funds for agriculture and rural development, 20 lakh new housing units annually, a special plan for development in the North-East, passage of the women8217;s quota Bill and so on.

The security environmentin the sub-continent was identified as a major concern with the resolution calling on the Government to take 8220;urgent measures to combat terrorism, separatism and ISI activities8221;. Thakre was more blunt in his speech. 8220;The situation brooks no further delay in bringing Pakistan to heel,8221; he declared.

Thakre is expected to finalise his team shortly. There is a slight hitch because the party is still in the process of deciding who should stay back and who should go into government when Vajpayee expands his Cabinet.