Letter from Chennai

The Bharatiya Janata Party could not have imagined even in its wildest dream that its ally in Tamil Nadu would prove such a hard nut to crack. Very few will believe that the letter drama enacted by AIADMK chief Jayalalitha had little to do with the probable distribution of Central portfolios. The AIADMK may remain out of a BJP-headed coalition but that hardly means that she is content with the role of a king-maker and does not claim the right to be as much of a minister-maker at the Centre as rival Muthuvel Karunanidhi was during the brief days of UF rule. Nor can everyone be convinced that all this is entirely unrelated to such corruption charges against the AIADMK leader as dealt with by Central agencies. It may not be long before the alliance, an electoral asset, becomes a serious liability for the BJP. More important than the delayed letter of support from the former Chief Minister on behalf of the front minus the MDMK was the cynical spirit behind it.

Jayalalitha has shown scant respect for the votersand their verdict in her post-poll sparrings with her national ally. She has rejected the logic of the pre-election alliance that should have led to participation in power it helped win. She has done so, despite repeated BJP statements during the campaign pledging such power-sharing without any demur from her camp. And, no one ever lent undue credence to her claim of offering quot;unconditional outside supportquot; to a government under Atal Behari Vajpayee. At least none who knew her real, regional political concerns that had very little to do indeed with stability at the Centre. The top BJP leadership has been at pains to deny that a commitment to dismiss the DMK government was a condition for the proffered support but without carrying conviction.

The partner8217;s blushes have not prevented the Puratchi Thalaivi from unabashedly stepping up the call to oust the quot;anti-nationalquot; government. Her statement about staying out of the Central coalition quot;for the time beingquot; only adds to apprehensions about her TamilNadu-centred scheme of things. Especially after the elaboration by one of her State allies that the stance of outside support will be reviewed after the State Assembly elections.Whatever be the BJP8217;s protestations now, its alliance with the AIADMK has always been problematic.

In the beginning, the attempt of the party-in-waiting was only to avert an unflattering impact of the alliance on its own image. An apologetic description of the pact as an quot;aberrationquot; was accompanied by denials of any deal on the corruption cases against AIADMK deity Jayalalitha. It was tightrope-walking that would have tested the ablest of political acrobats. The denials had to be denied, if not directly, and the alliance defended as a social contract in the way the BJP8217;s clumsy and abortive experiment with the Bahujan Samaj Party had been. It is embarrassment of an entirely another kind that the election results have entailed for the party staking its claim to power in New Delhi. With the BJP bloc falling short of a clear majority,and the Tamil Nadu front with its impressive State-level tally emerging its second largest constituent, it is now the turn of Jayalalitha and company to act coy. The dangers of the tail wagging the dog could not have found a better political illustration.