The Khurana Question

Madan Lal Khurana outsmarted the BJP leadership, or its controlling authority -- the RSS -- on just one count: He chose the timing and ma...

Madan Lal Khurana outsmarted the BJP leadership, or its controlling authority 8212; the RSS 8212; on just one count: He chose the timing and manner of his exit.

Khurana had defied the leadership on occasions. In 1989, his supporters held a rally outside the BJP headquarters on Ashoka Road to ensure that he was not denied ticket from the constituency he wanted in Delhi. Not only did he get it, but he also ensured that the powerful troika 8212; Kedarnath Sahni, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Khurana 8212; had their say in deciding Delhi8217;s Parliamentary candidates. Then he escaped the axe of the Parivar, as the RSS had not been able to find an alternative leadership to the trio. They also represented the Punjabi Hindu Refugees who had become dominant supporters of the party and were its significant donors.

Today, the BJP leadership could dispense with Khurana because the party has grown beyond its earlier identification with the Hindu refugees even in Delhi.

The Punjabi Hindu refugees had been the immediate cause for theformation of the Janasangh, the previous avatar of the BJP, in the early 1950s. Shyama Prasad Mookerji, formerly of the Hindu Mahasabha, had resigned from Jawaharlal Nehru8217;s cabinet in order to head Jan Sangh, with RSS Pracharaks as ideologues and Punjabi Hindus as main supporters, following his open denouncement of the Nehru-Liyaquat Ali pact over the settlement of the Hindu refugees.

The RSS style of operations has not changed. Anyone trying to defy the organisation or those using it for their individual gains have almost always been punished.

First, it was Jan Sangh president Maulichandra Sharma who protested against the Sangh interference in the party matters in 1956. He was reduced into a non-entity in the Hindutva fold with Sharma not being able to damage the Sangh-Janasangh.

Then, it was Prof Balraj Madhok, Jan Sangh president. Sangh insiders say he tried to project the politics of one-upmanship wanting the Sangh to play a second fiddle to him. And who else but L K Advani moved the resolution forMadhok8217;s exit.

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In the early 8217;90s, the Sangh denied a second term as BJP President to Murli Manohar Joshi largely because of his Kashmir to Kanyakumari Yatra. In the Sangh perception, was a parallel to Advani8217;s Rath Yatra, largely with a single-minded mission. That was to project himself Joshi as a national leader like Atal Behari Vajpayee and Advani in the party and use Sangh volunteers for that. He, however, never challenged the Sangh supremacy like Khurana did now. In fact, Joshi overdid the RSS factor, which a top functionary called immaturity8217; on his part.

Joshi survived because of the loyalty factor. But Khurana would not survive in the Sangh-driven BJP politics any more. And he cannot challenge them effectively because his politics has always revolved around translating the Sangh8217;s Hindu world views. He will continue to remain a Hindutva Politician8217; wherever he goes.

Why the Sangh Parivar can afford to ignore Khurana has a lot to do with electoral politics and the changing profile of its corevote bank. Punjabi Hindus went against the BJP on a large scale for the first time in the recent Assembly elections. The calculations of the RSS and the BJP went wrong. They saw Khurana hand in the sabotage8217;, and the matter was understandably raised in the party8217;s executive meeting where he was humiliated and denied the chance to put across his viewpoint.

Khurana read the message. He resigned from the ministry and the party8217;s national executive. That might enhance his image inside the Parivar, or evoke some sympathy, but that8217;s at the cost of his political career. He might still remain a negative factor for the BJP in Delhi.

Yubaraj Ghimire works with BBC, London