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The BJP does not want to be known as an alliance breaker. Therefore, it will not take any unilateral steps to dump the AIADMK from the ru...

The BJP does not want to be known as an alliance breaker. Therefore, it will not take any unilateral steps to dump the AIADMK from the ruling coalition.

This is not because the BJP is unable to cobble together a majority without the AIADMK. The party realises that if it ejects its southern ally from the government, it will only expose its own inability to lead a coalition.

Since it cannot escape coalition politics, now or in the foreseeable future, it finds it more expedient to put up with the AIADMK rather than venture into the unknown.

This was clear from the deliberations of its national executive at Jaipur, where the emphasis was on settling all the disputes within the coalition through the coordination committee.

While advising the alliance partners not to air their grievances in public, the BJP overlooks the fact that it has clearly failed to put in place an effective system to reconcile political differences.

Even the coordination committee was an afterthought. Its composition is such that itcannot meet as frequently as problems crop up.

In comparison, the steering committee of the UF was far more effective. The BJP may find it difficult to admit this but it is nevertheless a fact that its inexperience in running a coalition is at the root of the problem.

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The main problem that the coalition faces is internal. Hence its diatribe against the Opposition lacks credibility. As of today the Opposition has not taken any step worth the name to destabilise the government. In fact, the BJP government owes its stability to the Opposition and not to its allies, some of whom are only waiting for a green signal from the Congress.

Things will, of course, change once elections to the four states are over later this year. If the BJP is able to retain Delhi and Rajasthan, wrest Madhya Pradesh from the Congress and open its account in Mizoram, nothing will strengthen the Vajpayee government better. Any other result will have disastrous consequences for the stability of the government at the Centre.

In otherwords, what will be on test in the assembly elections is the performance of the Vajpayee government. At Jaipur, the two outstanding achievements of the Vajpayee government mentioned were Pokharan-II and the Cauvery dispute settlement. However, the government8217;s failure on the price and law-and-order fronts could prove its Achilles8217; heels unless steps are taken to address them forthwith.

The BJP has rightly cautioned the nation against the machinations of communal forces seeking to besmirch the reputation of the party in the states where it rules. The party has always prided itself on its ability to prevent riots when in power.

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But recent incidents in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, along with the rubbishing of the Srikrishna commission report, have begun to cast a shadow over the party8217;s claims. To make matters worse, it has not yet been able to restrain some of the constituents of the Sangh Parivar from taking extremist positions on contentious issues.

The BJP8217;s defeat in its strongholdsimmediately after the demolition at Ayodhya was proof that only a moderate Hindutva was acceptable to its voters. All this shows that more than the Opposition it is the conduct of the BJP8217;s friends and allies which threaten the stability of the government.

But there was no indication at Jaipur on how the BJP planned to meet this challenge, even as much energy was expended in bashing the Opposition.