Don146;t dismiss BJP, or Advani

Whatever happens to him personally, L.K. Advani has shifted the debate in the BJP, the Sangh parivar, and indeed in the subcontinent, on the...

Whatever happens to him personally, L.K. Advani has shifted the debate in the BJP, the Sangh parivar, and indeed in the subcontinent, on the definition of secularism and the role of Jinnah, Nehru, Gandhi. The issue is not going to die down easily. At the heart of what Advani is trying to convey is a bald truth: the BJP has to shed its anti-Muslim image if it is to be a serious claimant to power.

The stand seems to have provoked RSS chief, K.S Sudarshan, into also making Muslim-friendly noises. That the Sangh sarsanghchalak should suddenly feel the need to lambast those who project the RSS as 8220;Muslim bashers8221; is interesting. Sudarshan, in his recent speech, also expressed his admiration for Indira Gandhi. This, of course, is not new. But here again it is the timing of the statement 8212; that the late PM was an 8220;iron lady8221; 8212; which is significant. The RSS chief seems to have two objectives in saying this. One, he is drawing Advani8217;s attention to what leadership is all about. She gave a fitting reply to Pakistan in 1971 and carved out Bangladesh, but he Advani went to Pakistan and praised the man responsible for dividing India. Two, it8217;s a veiled warning to the BJP that the Sangh can withdraw its support, if it does not return to its core agenda. There have been moments in the past when the RSS had put its weight behind the Congress 8212; as, for instance, in the run-up to the 1984 elections following Indira Gandhi8217;s assassination, and earlier in the Jammu and Delhi polls.

Taking these signals together, it is clear that the RSS is not going to ease its pressure on Advani. Or on the BJP. Its line is clear: the former must quit, the latter must fall in line, organisationally and ideologically.

While Advani8217;s decision to withdraw his resignation has eroded his authority within the party, he may have saved the BJP from coming totally under RSS control. Had Advani walked into the sunset on an issue like Jinnah, on which he had little support in the BJP or in the country, the RSS would have got to dominate it totally.

Now, with Advani refusing to oblige the RSS, a fierce battle is underway for the party8217;s mind and soul, even though the BJP is not likely to sever its links with the Sangh. Nor is the party likely to split. Ever since the Jan Sangh8217;s inception, there have been periodic attempts to loosen the RSS8217;s hold on party functioning. For instance, it was more autonomous under Shyama Prasad Mookherjee. It also had a degree of independence in the mid-60s, when anti-Congressism came to the fore, and yet again in 1977, when the Jan Sangh merged itself in the Janata Party. The six years of Vajpayee rule, too, saw an effort to distance the party from the Sangh. Traditionally, the Sangh has tried to wield control through the party organising secretary, many of wh-om were Sangh appointees. But tension has characterised the relationship. When the BJP emerged in 1980 after the 8220;dual membership8221; tussle, Vajpayee had asserted that the party should be run as an autonomous entity, even while maintaining its ties with the RSS. The current tussle, then, is not new.

The RSS8217;s problems with the BJP were compounded over the last six years because both Vajpayee and Advani were so much more senior than the top Sangh leaders. In any case, the party was in power then and Sangh leaders had to trot across to meet Vajpayee and Advani, rather than the other way around 8212; which had been the established norm.

Today, neither Advani nor Vajpayee can be wished away so easily. Less so when they continue to bat on the same side. The RSS may want to convert the party into an ideological club, but the party knows that this would marginalise it politically in an era of coalitions.

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Fifteen years ago, when he was atop the rath rousing people to build the temple in Ayodhya, who could have imagined that a day would come when it would be the RSS calling for Advani8217;s head for betraying the Hindutva cause. But the more they bay for his blood, the more his image gets moderated. For years Advani had been trying to become a Vajpayee, without success. With the Jinnah controversy, he has come the closest ever to achieving this.

Advani8217;s decision to withdraw his resignation indicates that he would like to choose his own timing on the issue of his departure. His major miscalculation was to imagine that the party would stand by him on the Jinnah issue 8212; just as its did when Sudarshan had asked him and Vajpayee to make way for younger leaders. That did not happen.

In their bid to convert the BJP into the kind of soft Hindu, right-of-centre party 8212; like the Congress used to be before 1947 8212; Vajpayee and Advani may have banked on the plurality of opinion within the Sangh coming to their aid. But, such is the Sangh8217;s functioning, only the dominant line is visible.

Yet, for all the disarray in its ranks, it would be foolish to dismiss the BJP because it has a core constituency even in the worst of times. Similarly, it would be premature to dismiss Advani. Could he lead a coalition four years down the line or whenever elections are held, even though he appears to have overplayed his hand at this moment? The regional parties are on the ascent. A double-digit BJP will be way ahead of any other regional party. But, of course, much will depend on how fit Advani is to meet this challenge, both physically and politically.